Sound Work: Music as Labor and the 1940s Recording Bans of the American Federation of Musicians

Twice in the 1940s, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) banned recording by its members. According to the union, the use of records on radio and in jukeboxes was replacing live performers, thus eliminating work for musicians. In an era of shifting federal policies and changing modalities of l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Anthropological quarterly 2013-07, Vol.86 (3), p.791-823
Main Author:	Peterson, Marina
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	20th century American Federation of Musicians Anthropology Archives & records Bans Cognitive problems, arts and sciences, folk traditions, folklore Economic aspects Ethnology Ethnomusicology folk music History Intellectual property Labor Labor disputes labor union Legislation Music Music and technology Music practice Musical forms Musical modes Musical performance Musical recordings Musical register Musicians Musicians & conductors Property Radio recording companies sound recording technology Technology United States
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Summary:	Twice in the 1940s, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) banned recording by its members. According to the union, the use of records on radio and in jukeboxes was replacing live performers, thus eliminating work for musicians. In an era of shifting federal policies and changing modalities of labor, the bans put sound at the center of a struggle between labor and corporate interests. The bans provide a case through which to explore the significance and multidimensionality of music as labor. As a case that is integral to, yet distinct from, histories of audio technology and intellectual property, the bans are an important yet overlooked moment in the formation of current configurations of sonic value.
ISSN:	0003-5491 1534-1518 1534-1518