Adam M Payne

General Business Musicians Adam M Payne

This book explores the initial formation process of bands of General Business (GB) musicians. GB musicians are professional instrumentalists and vocalists with a substantial repertoire of popular songs spanning various time periods, genres and styles, whose primary work includes weddings, banquets, corporate events, and other forms of function work. This exploratory, qualitative study observed and recorded the rehearsals or showcase of four GB bands within the first four months of existence, and the 25 band members were interviewed. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Analysis of the observational data revealed three emergent themes, and analysis of the interview data revealed six emergent themes. All emergent themes relate to being a GB musician, leadership, norms, comfort, interdependence, expectations, and anxiety. Results show that what plays out in a GB band during initial formation is very consistent with the literature on initial group formation, and that GB bands can serve as rich examples of the initial group formation process. Since it is rare for group studies to include video observation, this study provides an example of the benefits of doing so. The findings of this study suggest implications for GB band leadership to consider, and these include group member expectations, direction-setting considerations, and the establishment of norms. It is hoped that future research will make use of this study to expand the research on initial GB band formation and initial group formation.