Audience in Bury to contend with (9)
I believe the answer is:
interview
'audience' is the definition.
(I know that audience can be written as interview)
'bury to contend with' is the wordplay.
'bury' becomes 'inter' (synonyms).
'to contend' becomes 'vie' (synonyms).
'with' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'inter'+'vie'+'w'='INTERVIEW'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for interview that I've seen before include "job talk" , "encounter" , "Formal meeting" , "Assessment of applicant - discussion" , "Question and answer session" .)