Where Did All The Freelancers Go?
There’s been a lot of talk in recent weeks about The Great Resignation of 2021. Covid certainly changed a lot of things for a lot of people, and it seems like poor treatment from bosses and insufficient wages just can’t cut it anymore. Since living in DC, I have learned a LOT about toxic work culture - it seems like this city is built on it - and if the ‘Hiring Now’ signs that are up in the windows of pretty much every business on my street are anything to go by, there’s definitely a steep hill to climb before we’ll see any change.
I’ve been watching this issue develop, perhaps selfishly, from my own angle as a freelancer. The freelance world has always held its fair share of pros and cons but, honestly, it’s a lonely place to be right now, and I guess I’m looking for solidarity here. So I hope you’ll reach out if you’re feeling what I’m feeling!
Most musicians are freelancers to some degree. Even those lucky enough to have stable positions in orchestras or universities often have side hustles and projects too. Pre-covid, I was as freelance as you can get; I lived pay-check to pay-check, taking gigs as they came, and my whole career relied on my phone ringing for the next job. There are wonderful things about that kind of life; you can decide what work you want to take and what you don’t, you get to work with different people/ensembles each week, and you can be your own individual - your own boss. There’s never a dull moment.
But it’s also really, really tough. The work doesn’t come easily; building connections takes a lot of time, effort, and courage. Trying to plan anything in your personal life is almost impossible, as you never know if something might come up. Then, you end up taking too much work, because what if next month there is nothing. There are no benefits like health insurance or retirement plans, no paid vacation or sick days, no office perks, not even regular office hours. Oh yea, and you get taxed for being self-employed. It’s a job that never really stops, it’s your life.
When Covid happened, freelance musicians (and all gig workers), had their whole lives swept away from them. We didn’t have the privilege of deciding whether to resign or not, it was forced on us. And for the last 18 months, we’ve been picking up the pieces of our lives and trying to put them back in some jumbled way, like a puzzle where none of the pieces quite fit together. We joined the masses of the Unemployed. We turned to different careers. We went back to school to learn a new skill. Our resumes were re-worked; instead of listing our extensive musical training and qualifications, we had to find other ways to convince employers to hire us. All while grieving the loss of our professions, of the craft that we have worked for our whole lives.
And there are things that I am extremely thankful for, and it’s important to acknowledge them, because I know it’s so much worse for so many others. I’m in a partnership, with someone who is not a musician. The economic stability of that is obvious, but the emotional support is truly incalculable. I’ve been able to shift my career to teaching. I have worked on a couple of my own projects. Although I’ve come close, I haven’t given up; I’m still here, waiting out this storm, still practicing (most days…).
This summer, it looked like Covid was finally coming to an end with the hope of the vaccines. I played my first live concert in over a year and I have just started to book gigs for next season. Freelancer life is just beginning to reveal itself again, and although I have so much excitement bubbling in me, I don’t trust it. Every day, I’m waiting for the email that tells me that the few precious concerts I have booked so far are canceled. I’m too nervous to make travel plans and haven’t even started practicing any of the repertoire I’m supposed to perform. I don’t believe that this nightmare is over yet, and I don’t know if freelancers can survive it.
Truthfully, I’m not in a rush to get back to full-time freelancing anyway. Who knows what the future holds. Maybe Covid will strike again in a different form, maybe live music will have to be canceled yet again. Maybe it won’t even be to do with Covid, but some other reason that musicians will be out of work; budget cuts… floods… wildfires… politics… Putting all my eggs back in the freelance basket feels way too risky.
Maybe I’m biased, but I feel like the loss of freelancers (performers and gig workers) to our society could be a severely overlooked casualty of Covid. This is a community of hard-working, passionate, highly-skilled people, who form a large part of the fabric of our culture. Freelancers are people who got lost in 2020, and I want to know who is taking care of finding them again?
Of Interest
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I just finished Volume 2 in my Proust journey. I shared some of my favourite bits about it there and saved them to my Book Thoughts highlight, in case you want to hear some more easily digestible Proustian ideas. This is my favourite quote;
”We shall love it longer than the others, because we took longer to love it.”I just watched the 90s classic, Thelma and Louise, and had a blast! Thrilling feminist energy, corny 90s lines, and an American road trip with a wild ending. Can’t ask for much more in a movie.
Josephine Baker was a hero for many reasons, and should be celebrated as such.
This short story by Alice Munro for the New Yorker was so good. Her writing somehow captures the feeling of reading a fully fleshed-out novel in just a few pages… It is quite genius work.
I recently heard someone say that for them, exercise was about self-discipline and not motivation, and that struck a chord. If, like me, exercise is a miserable, neverending battle with yourself, this might work for you too! Finding the ‘right exercise for you’, having all the top gear, and the best will in the world, motivation just doesn’t cut it, especially when its competitor is a comfy warm bed. In those moments, self-discipline is the only tool we’ve got left.
The time tax in America is so real. This article in The Atlantic was illuminating on this subject.
Thanks to Tik Tok, I recently discovered what a ‘Swing’ on Broadway does, and they are pretty remarkable people. More than the principal roles, more than the understudies, swings have to be able to step into MULTIPLE different roles on stage with only a moment’s notice (and sometimes none at all). Also, it’s wonderful to see Broadway communities reconvening again!
This NY Times article about the environmental impact of tote bags is worth reading.
”An organic cotton tote needs to be used 20,000 times to offset its overall impact of production… That equates to daily use for 54 years — for just one bag.”This week, I was a substitute violin teacher for a young boy, and we played some duets together - the first time he had ever made music with somebody else. The look of amazement on his face when we finished, followed by his exclamation, “That was so professional!“, really made my whole week.
How gorgeous is this painting by Rubens…
The Origin of the Milky Way, Peter Paul Rubens
Lastly, I wanted to welcome my new readers on Substack - thank you so much for subscribing! Please feel free to comment on anything I have written or send me a private message if you prefer. I love to engage in discussion!
Thanks so much for reading, see you again in two weeks.
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