Working on a dream : careers of pop musicians in the Netherlands = Werken aan een droom : carrières van popmuzikanten in Nederland (met een samenvatting in het Nederlands) : proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Utrecht op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof. dr. J.C. Stoof, ingevolge het besluit van het college voor promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op vrijdag 6 november 2009 des ochtends te 10.30 uur

The four studies presented in this dissertation are concerned with the question why a musician's career can become a failure or a success. What are the determinants of career success for Dutch pop musicians? Findings from a qualitative study among artist and repertoire (A&R) managers working in the Dutch music industry.These A&R managers are employed by record companies and form important intermediaries that can help progress musicians in their careers, as they are the 'gatekeeper' of the record company. The second study deals with a different kind of career entry: participants in the Idols talent competition are discussed. It focuses on the question whether the contestants' characteristics influence the outcome of the show. In the third chapter findings from a cross-sectional study among a group of aspiring professional pop musicians are reported. The main objective of this study is to explore whether findings from earlier research in the field of career psychology as well as findings from studies on popular musicians and development of musical skills are applicable to the study of career success of popular musicians.The fourth study focuses on a longitudinal analysis of the careers of this group of pop musicians over a three-year period. In this study I distinguish between four groups of musicians with different career patterns: upward careers, downward careers, stable unsuccessful careers and stable successful careers.This study aims to find out how these groups differ from one another and what this tells us about the career development of popular musicians.