Swimming with sharks: Occupational mandate and the film composer in Hollywood

The role of the Hollywood film and television composervis-a-vis the client-employer illustrates some classic occupational conflicts. The composer-artist works for a businessman, who generally has no knowledge of composing. The role of each party needs to be defined and negotiated before a composition is written. The task itself, the composition, also has to be negotiated subject to many contingencies. This paper examines these points and ends with a discussion of occupational mandate. An earlier version of this paper was delivered at a conference on Social Theory and The Arts, Fredonia, New York, 1975. Some of the materials appear in “Dilemmas in Commercial Work: Hollywood Film Composers and Their Clients,” Urban Life 5 (April), 1976.