Everyone Loves A Good Horse Race
With just over 75 votes at the time this piece is written, Tuesday’s poll asking whether or not an orchestra administration should be expected to provide special compensation to musicians for recording marketing/education/outreach material has produced a 50/50 split with two uncertain votes. Given the level of depth to this issue, it seems reasonable to keep the poll open through this evening so everyone has an opportunity to vote…
If you missed any of the earlier discussions about the value of orchestra recordings in the new economy leading up to this poll, you can get caught up here and here. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see if the poll results continue to generate close results or if either side can gain any momentum.
Should an orchestra administration be expected to provide special compensation to musicians for recording marketing/education/outreach material?
- Yes (43%)
- No (54%)
- I don't know (3%)
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Adaptistration is authored by orchestra consultant Drew McManus and since its launch in 2003, the blog has become standard reading for arts administrators and arts administration programs throughout the world.
I think it is an interesting question. I think it is obvious that the musicians should get paid for their work. Recording is beyond their usual contractual obligations, so they should get a special fee.
However, these recordings do not generate much direct revenue for orchestras. So smart musicians’ unions should negotiate fees that will make it possible to make recordings. Recordings add to the overall institutional presence, add to the overall prestige of an institution, and help champion an orchestra or a composer.
Also, orchestras have to start developing a greater presence on the internet by making recordings available–audio and video– If they don’t, then they will only fall further behind in our culture. Musicians deserve compensation for their work. Institutions need to raise the profiles of their orchestras and their musicians.
I believe that the questions of special pay or not is a distraction from what the institutions and the players should be focusing on which is: How do we make this happen?