Why The “If You Aren’t Playing, We Aren’t Paying” Rationale Just Doesn’t Work

As coronavirus shutdowns continue, we’re seeing some genuinely positive interaction between employers and musician employees working toward mutually agreeable solutions to the sensitive issue of payroll. Outside of those scenarios, I’m seeing one of the most derogatory old-school stereotypes emerge as justification for cancelling musician pay entirely: musicians only work 20 hours per week. This twisted notion assumes that musicians are only paid for the time they are on stage rehearsing …

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Don’t Overlook This Crucial Remote Work Related Metrics Task

If you manage your organization’s Google Analytics account, there’s a critical task you need to complete in order to filter out all of the incoming web traffic from remote working locations. Good news is you can leave all of these new filters in place once everyone returns to the office. You can find step by step instructions with annotated screenshots at an article I published at ArtsHacker. Don’t Forget To Filter …

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Examining Coronavirus Orchestra News

For the most part, it’s genuinely heartening to see the degree of care and accuracy of news related to Coronavirus related news about the orchestra field. Having said that, there have been a few small exceptions worth examining. One that would benefit from some added clarity was from an article in the 3/23/2020 edition of Vulture.com examining the New York Philharmonic’s labor decision to reduce musician pay over the summer. Beginning …

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Yes, Audiences Will Come Back

Anxiety over losing audiences not just during periods of social distancing but beyond is something I hear a lot from arts managers these days. The good news is this has been figured out for you already. Spoiler: people do miss it. They down right yearn for it. In the course of her work with Arts Capacity, violinist Holly Mulcahy has discovered just how much people miss the impact live cultural experiences …

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Advocacy Alert: Don’t Let Old-School Culture Wars Nonsense Sideline Relief Funding For The Arts

By the time this article is published, congress may have passed the $2 trillion stimulus package. If not, I strongly encourage everyone to begin contacting your elected representatives and advocate for the inclusion of arts funding. Sadly, relief funding for the arts and culture sector has become a flashpoint for stereotypical political ideology that either understands inherent value the arts and culture sector provides and those who see it as an …

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