The 2008 Compensation Reports Are Almost Here

It’s getting close to that time of year again and the 2008 Adaptistration Compensation Reports are on track to come out a little early this year. For those new to the reports, the articles present the most recent compensation information on nearly 300 executive director, music director, concertmaster, and base musician positions throughout 76 ICSOM, IGSOBM, and ROPA orchestral ensembles. There are only a handful of outstanding IRS Form 990’s but once those are delivered, the reports will be ready for publication…

New for 2008 will be a completely redesigned print edition
containing detailed compensation data from the 1999/00 through the
2005/06 seasons (seven seasons!). In addition to the standard
comprehensive compensation tables which present information
alphabetically by ensemble, the new print edition will contain an
executive summary for the most recent season allowing users to scan
high-level data sorted by criteria such as budget size, compensation
level, conference, and group – an oft requested feature from current
report users.

Although all of these enhancements will make the print and
online edition of the 2008 reports better than ever, I want to know
which components you think could make the report as useful as possible.
As such, take a moment to submit a comment or send an email with your
thoughts and observations.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

Related Posts

Leave a Comment