Posted by unpopular opinion on May 04, 2003 at 19:56:10:
In Reply to: Saving Orchestras posted by Ryan W. Schultz on May 04, 2003 at 17:41:07:
If an orchestra can't make enough money to pay its musicians, it deserves to fold.
I'm shocked that some folks think that the arts need to be subsidized by the government or by donations, and that a professional orchestra deserves to exist in any given place solely for the sake of the arts.
Let's not kid ourselves here. Music is entertainment. Entertainment is a luxury. The consumption of luxury items will vary with the state of the economy. Go find the books from your economics classes from college. (What? You didn't take economics because you majored in music? If that was the case, you should complain to the dean or registrar or whoever is the head of the PhD club of your respective school, because they did you a disservice.)
If my personal compensation depended on the blind generosity of others, I think I would have to find a more reliable source of income. If the budget of a symphony depends on donations then the economy goes south, people hold on to liquid assets rather than give it away. Donations will be less when the economy is down.
duh.
So, what do they need to do to 'fix' it?
Short answer: They need to find a way to make money without the donations and follow that kind of business plan even when times are good. That could mean more pops concerts, more mass appeal of programming, playing background music for movies, playing the scores to cartoons for tots, or birthday parties, ....