Archive for March 3rd, 2011

Listen to the Seagulls

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

by Keith Clarke

One of the best things about living in London is getting out of it. True, the city’s cultural offerings are pretty spectacular (though Paul Moor, RIP, would always insist that it couldn’t even hope to begin to compete with his beloved Berlin), but it is also noisy, overcrowded, and cursed with an often dysfunctional transport system.

My answer is to beat the retreat every couple of weeks to the south-west coast of Wales, where I swap the roar of London’s traffic for the soothing cry of Pembrokeshire’s seagulls.

So after last week’s diary of Anna Nicole on Monday, Lucrezia Borgia in 3D on Wednesday, a play in a pub theatre on Thursday, Madam Butterfly on Thursday and The Mikado on Saturday (“Why didn’t you do the Berlin Phil on Tuesday?” suggested a friend who thought I wasn’t getting out enough), I am sitting a two-hour drive from the nearest major concert hall – Wales Millennium Center in Cardiff.

Tenby is a small seaside town that punches above its weight in many ways, and has a lively arts festival every September – this year is its 20th – but it does not provide an urgent need to catch the hot ticket every night of the week, which is fine by me. A chance to recharge the batteries does wonders for the cultural appetite, and makes one ever more appreciative of the sheer volume of first-class entertainment that London has to offer.

At a time when all of us around the globe have a constant multi-choice of material making a claim on our time, it is no bad thing just to stop, and listen to the seagulls instead.

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The deliberations of the Association of British Orchestras annual conference continue to reverberate. One of many issues creating heat was the large gulf between the earnings of top-name conductors and soloists and the rank-and-file musicians on stage. One player had done her sums and reckoned that when all things were taken into account, she was working for about £30 ($48) an hour.

There were some mutterings about how this compared with the going rate for a plumber in London, but the musician’s beef was how it compared with conductors, who she reckoned were getting five to ten times as much as the players. Must be something wrong with her calculator, for the great divide is far worse than she thinks, given the caliber of conductors who wave a stick at her band.

The major London orchestras have an agreement in place to cap conductor and soloist fees, but the big names still put a big smile on their accountants’ faces. At the other end of the scale, soloists on the way up the career ladder are being offered the kind of fees which hardly cover their expenses, a situation which we shall be investigating in a forthcoming issue of Classical Music magazine.

One singer told me how he had been rung to see whether he was available for a date. He wasn’t, but suggested a number of excellent young post-graduate singers from the music college where he is a tutor. “Oh no,” came the reply, “They cost £190 [$309]. I was thinking more of £130 [$211] maximum.”

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Would Beethoven Have Given Up His Copyright?

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

by Edna Landau

The following column was prepared with the kind and generous help of a few wonderful friends and colleagues whom I would like to thank and acknowledge: composers Derek Bermel, Jennifer Higdon and Alex Shapiro; Kristin Lancino, Vice President, G. Schirmer, Inc., and Mary Madigan, President, Madigan New Music.

The excellent question below was submitted by Steve Danyew, an accomplished and entrepreneurial composer, as well as the editor of the new Polyphonic on Campus section of Eastman School of Music’s widely read Polyphonic.org.

Dear Edna:

As a young composer, I’m wrestling with the decision of whether to pursue publication of my works through a reputable publisher or to continue to self publish. I’m leaning towards pursuing a publisher because of the distribution and marketing reach that many publishers have. As a self-published composer, it seems difficult to reach all the ensemble directors and musicians who may be interested in my music. At the same time, I’m not entirely sure where to start when thinking about publishers – which organizations would be the right fit, if this is the right point in my career, etc.     –Steve Danyew

Dear Steve:

I understand from the composers I have been speaking to that hardly a day goes by that they are not asked the very question you have posed. Not unlike young performers hoping to attract a manager, chances are that a composer in the early stages of their career will find it difficult to attract interest from a “reputable publisher.” Much will depend on the quality and volume of their work, record of past performances, and opportunities to hear their music in concert. Recommendations to the publisher from respected colleagues can also have great impact. Until such a time is reached, composers are advised to learn all the skills of self-publishing, as you seem to have ably done.

The next big question is, if you can succeed in attracting a reputable publisher, can you agree to the terms of the proposed agreement which typically include ceding control of your copyright and sharing revenues from sales, rentals, performances, and other uses of your music? Presumably you would only want to do this if you felt that you got a great deal in return. In addition to editing and preparation of score and parts, managing and negotiating agreements relating to the copyright and processing all orders, this could include substantial marketing and promotion and a targeted strategy to introduce your music to a well-established (possibly international) network of contacts, potentially enhancing your chances for new commissions. There is no doubt than an association with a major music publisher also carries with it a certain amount of prestige that can have incalculable effects on your career.

Do bear in mind that as with almost everything in life, nothing is absolutely black and white. Most deals have the potential for negotiation, especially if you are at a point in your career where you have some leverage. Some composers have succeeded in working out co-publishing agreements where the publisher may assume only some of the responsibilities mentioned above and the composer may retain partial ownership of (and greater revenue from) the copyright. Others have retained ownership of their copyright and passed along some activities to an independent entity such as Bill Holab Music, “publishing agents” for an impressive group of composers.

In choosing the right fit, it makes sense to study the catalogues of individual publishers to see if they include the type of music you compose and whether you admire, and maybe even know, the composers who are represented. This allows you to inquire what type of experience they have had. You might also want to get a feeling for whether the focus of the publisher’s activity is domestic or international. You will certainly want to research the level of music organizations with whom they regularly do business; check whether they are staffed adequately to provide the marketing and promotional support, as well as individual attention, you are seeking; find out whether they meet regularly with their clients and travel to key performances and premieres, and who would be your primary and regular contact. It is important to feel a good chemistry with that person and to sense that you would be a priority for them, not unlike a good artist/manager relationship.

In making a final decision, you need to weigh the benefits and financial realities of a publishing relationship against the time spent on maintaining total control of your business and growing it to higher levels. I suggest you speak to as many composers as possible about their personal experiences. In the end, the answer may lie somewhere in the middle.

© Edna Landau 2011

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