Living under the lights

Musicians have always performed aesthetic labour but the music industry is changing because of new technologies, organizational forms and declining record sales. This paper draws on interviews with independent musicians in Toronto to demonstrate that aesthetic labour is becoming increasingly important in the contemporary marketplace. It is argued that aesthetic labour has become more time-intensive and takes place across a growing range of spaces, including the stage, the street and online. This paper contributes to existing studies in geography that consider the spatial dynamics and precarious conditions of creative labour.