at what cost?

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is back to work, opening this weekend with old stand-by's Bolero, and La Mer and 20th century guru Olivier Messiaen's Poemes pour Mi.

Full details of the contract aren't out, but here's some of the breakdown from the press release:

• Graduated 5 year plan
• Pay drops initially 32% (!!!!) to a base wage of $53,000, rising up to $70,000 (10% pay cut) by year 5
• first 2 seasons will have 8 less weeks (37-38 weeks). After that, 38-42 weeks will be scheduled. this is down from the 45.5 weeks scheduled before
• 74 full time musicians, no layoffs (original offer had 5 involuntary layoffs)
• Benefits are kept and most pension benefits (no specifics)

The lack of specifics and pension benefits (what is "most?") makes it hard to figure this out.

Considering the original proposal from the symphony society, and their amended October proposal (side by side in the symphony society's press release) it doesn't look terrible. The society really low-balled to begin with, and forced the lockout. And there's one tid-bit tucked in the "joint" press-release that irked me 

"As a key ingredient to the success of a five-year contract, the ISO and musicians agreed to a 

short-term contract in order to put the musicians back to work immediately and to permit the 

$5 million in funding from new donors to be secured"

When I first read this, I thought- "Shit, people were donating, to the musicians, and it can't be used till the contract is signed." Then I remembered something from an earlier press release from the musicians. Drop down to the bottom:

"The termination clause proposed by the Society would be triggered if it could not raise $5 

million by March 31, 2013 in donations from donors who had not made any contributions to the 

Society or its related Foundation during the last two years."

Termination clause? $5 million new donations? OH, that's what the press release meant!

That they can now try and get $5 million in new donations by March 2013, or else they can renegotiate the last 2 years of the contract!

SO, if the management doesn't do it's job--the musicians have proven they aren't the problem with their benefit concerts playing to packed houses with standing ovations--then management gets a do over. All while they still don't have a CEO, development director, or marketing director? So, it looks like this will repeat itself in a few years.

It's a rough contract, but the musicians did well to keep benefits and pension. They gave the salary figure, so I'm guessing the musicians already decided that it was an acceptable sacrifice.

But 32%? Imagine if you lost 32% of your salary, right now. If I did, I'd be in trouble. I don't make much as it is, but if I lose almost 1/3 of my net salary, well...let's just say eating would be difficult.

At what cost is the symphony back in business? Honestly, I don't think the base pay is far off from what I think it should be, but it's the manner in which it was achieved that worries me. An instant drop off and a slow climb, with a possibility of losing all this work in a few years if someone else doesn't do their job. The musicians did what they needed to, but was it too much?

What would you do in that situation, especially considering the lay of the land in classical music these days? Is the cost too high, the initial jump too perilous?

What would you sacrifice to continue to have your art?

What are we worth?

Ok, this is an incredibly hot topic, and i'm positive i'll take flack one way or the other on this...

First here, here's a link to a story about Sarah Chang and her "Detroit Dilemma"

The union asks Sarah Chang to not perform in Detroit until the labor strike is over.

I've gone through the DSO's site, read through all the articles. It seems the management really boned things over quite well. superbly in the past, reading through some of the things. It's obvious that the people on the management side are definitely not out for the best interest of the musicians. there are many things in the proposal that are just...well...wrong, such as provisions that actually make the playing environment unhealthy for instruments, and some unhealthy for the players (major cuts in health coverage, no pension, etc).

However, when i look at some of things the musicians were discussing, it really made me wonder...

What are we worth? as musicians, as artists, as people.

The current average "veteran" rate for the DSO is $104,650.

The median income in Detroit is around $28,000 (with sharp declines the last few years.)

the current average "veteran" rate for the NY Phil is $134,940

The median income in NYC is around $39,000

This, of course, doesn't tell the whole story, at all. There are tons of other things to consider, for sure...but when i saw those numbers, i got to thinking...

The average pay for an experienced surgeon in the US is between $150-260K a year

It really makes me wonder a great deal about America and how it works. Now, I'm not an expert on such things, but i've just been thinking...what am I worth? what are musicians worth?

In Detroit, the DSO musicians offered to take a 22% pay cut with annual raises for "cost of living." That puts the salary down to the $80K range or so. That, to me, seems like a fair salary. Management wanted to take it down about a third, to the $70K range. I still think that is a fair salary for an orchestral musician IN DETROIT.

why? the living is cheaper. The median cost of a house is around $108K in Detroit (all basic facts and figures taken from Census data...so, they've prolly fallen since 2006's mini census...)

In NYC, of course they're going to have to make more. Why? Have you ever looked for an apartment in NYC? well, here's a taste. Yeah, that's right, spending $2500 is CHEAP in manhattan. That one is on the upper west side, around 96th street. if you go into Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, LI, or NJ it's cheaper, of course, but still not cheap. You're still looking at a 1 BR costing you in the $1K range a month...

makes my $428 studio (which is bigger than most NYC 1 BRs by the way) look like a GREAT deal.

I understand, as a symphony, needing to be competitive to get the best players. But there is only so much a city can sustain. I think the 22% cut is gracious of the musicians and shows a certain practicality. Losing anything as far as health insurance and pension is borderline inhumane to me (but i think health insurance shouldn't cost even half what it does...and that health care is a RIGHT and therefore we should be able to get it without fear of bankruptcy, but, that's another rant...). It really makes me wonder...

I saw a fabulous piece of art for sale in a gallery. It was, basically, a Nerf Sword shoved into a bar stool, the kind with the handle hole in the middle. I thought it was great, i loved seeing the concept of line and space interpreted through these common items. i love the nod to "the sword in the stone." Thought it was fantastic.

The artist wanted $600 for the piece...I took a step back and looked. Yeah, it's awesome, but $600 awesome? how long did it take him to figure that out, conceptually? not long, i'd wager. And the cost of raw materials is low, prolly in the $40 range (cheaper than a really nice canvas!). Take out taxes, (a solid 25% usually) and the gallery fee (some galleries take up to 50%! WTF?!?!?), and maybe a bit more overhead for a "studio." So, he comes out around, say, $175. not bad for 15 minutes of work...

so why the cost? the years of practice? yeah, i get that...but then, a general practicing doctor, for a 15 minute visit, will charge about $150, 200, if he's getting insurance money (i knew some that charge $50 to people without insurance, or sometimes even less...). Let's say he takes $200 for his 15 minutes. after overhead (paying the nurse for her 15, plus the other staff, plus taxes) he prolly takes home about 40% or so, maybe...something like, $80-90 for his 15 minutes.

We can talk about "commodity." We can talk about rarity. but what is your time worth? what are you worth as a musician? as an artist...

When i freelance in KC doing audio, i charge around $25 an hour. I get SCOFFED at for charging that much. well...i do have plenty of experience, 3 years with a major company, 3 more doing recording work, and another 3-4 doing theater work before that. Pretty solid on the experience. Have a MM with an emphasis in that area...and i'm doing a DMA with an emphasis in the area. $25, even in KC, seems about right. if i'm working for a company, and i know they don't have the money, i'll go less. I've worked here for as little as $10 an hour, or even "an equal share" of what a band makes...

What if i were to go play trombone, solo, in an art gallery. what's that worth? what are those 4 hours worth. Well, honestly, i'd say $50/hr if i'm being a jerk. What about lessons? Well, $25 per half hour seems about right for a beginner, MS, even HS, but that may be high. i remember paying $10 per half hour for piano in Indiana...

I'm still trying to find my worth...In the grand scheme of the world, i do not believe I am worth as much as a doctor. Is the worth easy to figure out, in a straight linear fashion? no. But i don't think i'm "worth" more than many professions. I believe what i do is important, but i also realize that it is not as important as other things in my life.

I don't have an answer about Detroit. Now that i've read some more of the arguments, i'm not pro-management anymore (a lot of articles make the Symphony out to be bad guys, not wanting to take wage cuts...even others just make them seem like big jerks whining- and those are the ones written by PRO MUSICIAN BLOGS! lol). I'm not pro anyone. I think the musicians understand the disparity and what's happening in Detroit, so maybe they've got the inside track...

I don't have an answer as to my own worth. I'm not that big into money. I live simply...If i could make around $45K a year, i'd be so freaking happy. unless I'm in NYC, then i'm starving. LOL.

Still...what is a single piece of art worth? what is your time worth? let me know your thoughts. maybe they'll help me sort my own out