Awash in a Sea of Possibilities: Anchoring a 21st Century Music Business

This paper explores the musicological environment in the 21st century from a business perspective. It begins to theorise recent changes to the industrial context in which independent musicians find themselves and the prospects for New Media to assist them to build a sustainable musical living in a way that was not possible under the 20th century industry models. Then, reporting on a survey of self-described ‘independent’ musicians, it begins to define a nascent “musical middle class” of musicians whose careers are benefiting from those changes