Taking Note
The American Music Center and the American Composers’ Forum have commissioned an artist reasearch from Columbia University called Taking Note. Composers ranging in age from 18-97 took surveys on various topics concerning the compositional climate in the United States today. Overall, 75% of the surveyed composers are more successful now than they were five years ago. While that is a positive figure, many composers are still not finding the kind of success desired. The study offers suggestions to composers and institutions programming music in order to get composers more in the public eye. A few highlights include:
- More imaginative financial support–composers need money. Composing takes time and energy that can be non-existant when working a job. This is true, however, I would argue that composers (including myself) need better time management and social skills. It would be nice to not have to work and make composing a full time job, but with the amount of other composers wanting the same thing, it is simply not always possible. Many successful composers had to work other jobs until their music could pay for everthing. Philip Glass drove cabs in New York and didn’t start making enough money from composing until his 40s. Increased grants would be great, but these types of programs are reactive solutions: composers need money, so give them a grant to write a piece. That increased financial support could allow one to take significant time away from their job and focus on music, but what type of job ouside of a univeristy would allow for a significant amount of time off? Then what happens when the grant money runs out? I feel a better way to do things is to either start a performance ensembe as many great performers and composers have done, or do all you can to support these groups by attending concerts and submitting scores to them directly, if they allow. One of these groups, or your own, is bound to like your music and play it. Performances increase your visiblilty and someone else may want to play it, and so on. ASCAP pays royalties for performance and soon you could be looking at commissions from specific groups that will keep growing from there. Look at how rock bands make it and those prinicples can be applied to any music. Through developing a working relationship with performance ensembles, composers will get feedback from people playing the work and a real friendship can form from this, and everyone needs friends, right? This discussion has bled into the topic of More Personal Commissions, found later in the article.
- Educate the Audience–in my experience, the non-musicians I know aren’t stupid. Though they may not understand everything about it, the overall experience of going to a concert or listening to contemporary classical music has been enjoyable to them. They may not want to listen to Xenakis or Lachenmann everyday, but most people can appreciate new things without us warning them to not be scared by what they hear. Increased dialog between composer and audience would be helpful in sharing with the audience the intended aesthetic and for them to see you are a real person living, breathing, and answering their questions. I don’t feel the composer necessarily needs to act as a tour guide through a piece of music, but, as previously stated, increased dialog would be a nice thing to see.
- Space to create, work, and perform–this is very important! It would be nice to see workspace rented out to all artists for a small fee. The New York State Council on the Arts helps dancers, writers, and visual artists with space rental and it would make sense to bring composers in as well. More states should invest in the arts as part as a well rounded education system.
These are the main points that caught my eye. It is helpful to read about what other composers are saying about funding, etc. from all parts of the US. and to know that others are concerned about the future of new music. Read the executive summary for other points and statistics.
