(Re) construções identitárias no cenário musical notívago em Pelotas/RS

Abstract

This research analyzes the identity construction of musicians who perform in bars, dances, events, and nightclubs in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul. These entertainment professionals have careers strongly tied to commercial music, which is produced and disseminated by a broad structure that Adorno and Horkheimer (2021) refer to as the Culture Industry. Therefore, the dichotomies between the influences of this industry and the reality of the historically established local market are explored. Using participant observation, interviews, and an online questionnaire, it was possible to create an overview of the local music scene, identifying contradictions in the discourses, perspectives, and practices of the involved agents. The research addresses the history of music in the city and the influence of media and informational technologies, in addition to characterizing the current market based on Becker's (2010) concept of the "art world." The results reveal that the local market and musicians undergo uneven and heterogeneous changes. Through Erving Goffman's sociology (2014), it is perceived that musicians' identities are fluid and constantly being reshaped, manipulated through different roles and strategies they perform in their daily acts. The implications of these findings offer a deeper understanding of the identity and organizational dynamics in Pelotas's night-time musical scene, a universe hitherto little explored in Social Sciences. All these changes, although linked to various factors, have music as a vector, making it a central piece in this research.