Balancing Demand and Supply in Music Labour Markets. The Shifting Role of Italian Music Conservatories

This chapter begins by offering a brief account of the historical path of Italian music conservatories and then focusses, through a before/after comparison, on the main changes following the implementation of the 1999 reform, also pointing to some of the issues it has ignored, such as gender inequalities. This account will be illustrated with excerpts from the semi-structured interviews with nearly 100 conservatory students, teachers and professional musicians trained in Italy, conducted between 2013 and 2017 and updated more recently. Conclusions note how the critical points identified in the reorganization of Italian music conservatories may find an adequate policy answer only from a strong political engagement that considers music a strategic asset for the country.