#TBT Past Performance Is No Guarantee Of Future Results

Today’s #TBT is really a prelude to tomorrow’s post about one of the dynamic ways recent changes to the tax code will impact the field of nonprofit orchestras.

In order to get the most out of that post, it will help to have a broader understanding of how orchestras, as employers, offload what are normally costs of doing business onto employees.

In its own ironic way, the field has been a century ahead of what we now call the “sharing economy.” In case you’re not certain, that’s not a good thing. But more on that tomorrow. In the interim, take some time to learn more about this in a post from March 2017 about the costs of instrument ownership.

Counting The Costs

You can follow that up by learning more about how certain musicians are able to push back against this trend by way of individual agreements.

Three Big Mistakes To Avoid When Negotiating Overscale

Getting Real About Transparency: The Compensation Double Standard

Examining the Minnesota Orchestra Redline Agreement Part 2

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.

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