Being a musician is commonly known to be a daunting career choice. Maintaining an art form, actually, of any medium, and sustaining oneself is harder than anyone can truly imagine--and this now endangers classical musicians trying to make a buck with their original compositions according to Sound and Music.
Per an article at The Guardian, classical composers who are commissioned to work nowadays are getting shorted on their checks as people who inquire for their work are usually lowballed for their talents.
Anyone who's been around the music circuit can understand that the amount of time and energy spent in coining a new composition of any kind no easy task. With the physical and emotional toll it takes to continue prolificacy as a working musician, it should be a duty to bring awareness to bring this growing issue to light.
Via a posted report, some key findings include:
• 66% of the 466 composers who responded stated they do not find commissions to be a significant proportion of their income. Given that the respondents had an average of 2.65 commissions in 2013 with an average fee per commission of £1,392 it's easy to see why.
• 74% of composers received the same amount or more commissions in 2013 than in 2012 but only 15% earned more income. We also discovered that those who had been undertaking commissions for more than five years were likely to win more commissions but get paid less per commission.
• There are significant variances in income: the best paid 1% of composers received over 25% of all commission income captured by our survey. Once we excluded them from our sample, average annual commission income fell from £3,689 to £2,717.
• 49% of composers feel there is less rehearsal/preparation time for new works.
Keep building awareness for this issue and spread the word on trying to find a way to keep musicians working and well-fed. I mean, it's hard to write the next "Morning Mood" on an empty stomach, am I right?
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