Exploring the career development issues of young musicians through participation in music festivals: A case study of the Youth Music Culture Guangdong Festival

Previous studies have highlighted that emerging musicians have a narrow understanding of their future careers due to the limitations of university education and therefore encourage them to engage in extra-curricular spaces such as music festivals. However, much research has focused on the external impacts of music festivals, neglecting its core stakeholders of participating musicians, especially the younger generation. This study, therefore, examines the impacts of participating in music festivals on the career awareness, employability and career development of young musicians by using a case study of the Youth Music Culture Guangdong (YMCG) festival in Guangzhou, China. The data collected from interviews with three festival organisers and eight participating young musicians were analysed through thematic analysis. The results reveal that the music festival has impacted young musicians’ careers in terms of stimulating creativity, motivating working passion, building transferable skills and expanding sustainable networks, horizons and industrial understandings. The multiple impacts of festival participation contribute to developing a learner identity, which was described by previous research as the key to young musicians’ careers in such a precarious industry. Different from university contexts, music festivals provide a more diverse, inclusive and uncompetitive environment for young musicians to explore the possibilities of the music industry.