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This chapter outlines the AMU’s history immediately post 1918 and its moves towards merger with the National Orchestral Union of Professional Musicians (NOUPM) to form the Musician’s Union (MU) in 1921. It examines the resignation of Joe Williams and the problems faced by his successor as General Secretary, E.S.Teale and his successor, Fred Dambman. Changes within the music profession as musical tastes change are outlined. The advent of broadcasting is discussed and the BBC’s developing role as a key employer of musicians is highlighted. The development of the recording industry is discussed and the crisis in musical employment caused by the advent of the “talkies” in the cinema outlined. Problems caused for the Union by “alien” musicians working in the UK are noted.

Chapter ten presents an account of the lives and careers of musicians, with a particular emphasis on the diverse ways they were compensated for their work. Boys who dreamed of becoming organists, cantors, and kapellmeisters in eighteenth-century Germany often endured discouragement and even contempt from the authority figures in their lives. Pursuit of such work on behalf of courts or cities seldom brought fame or fortune, and many professional musicians often endured hardship. Those who persevered were compensated largely by the freedom to spend their careers doing what they loved to do, and by the encouragement they received from fellow music enthusiasts. The primary means by which most organists interacted with the communities they served was not performing but rather private teaching.

The chapter reports on the impact of the election of Joh Morton as General Secretary on the Union and outlines developments during his years in office. Attempts to split the MU and attempts to make the Union more relevant of popular musicians are reported. The advent of commercial radio and the Union’s response to it are outlined. The 1977 Annan Report is outlined and the continuing importance of the Performing Right Tribunal stressed. Trade Unions reforms and a key Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on Collective Licensing are explained. A strike at the BBC is reported.

The last several generations of scholars have made great progress in illuminating the mundane details of J. S. Bach’s working life. Our intense focus on this famous composer, however, has skewed our understanding of his era. If we are to truly know the world Bach inhabited, we need to learn more about the musical lives of ordinary people. This book explores the musical culture of Bach’s Germany from the perspectives of those who lived in it. The protagonists are not famous composers but rather amateur and professional musicians, patrons, instrument builders, and audience members. They are treated here not as extras in the grand sweep of music history, but rather as stars in their own private dramas.