In Case You Were Wondering If The Grass Was Greener

The debate between which arts funding systems work best is nearly self-perpetuating. Based on overall dollars spent per-capita, there are two frontrunners: the US and German systems. While this is a tremendous oversimplification, the major difference between the two is the US system relies funding from private resources while the German model depends on government funding. That difference is rooted in the birth of nonprofit status in the US. Interestingly enough, …

Read more

More Details On The Colorado Spring Philharmonic Orchestra’s Path Forward

On Monday, 12/7/2020, we learned the Federally mediated bargaining between the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra (CSPO) and its musicians had broken down. At the time, the musicians issued a press statement that indicating they expect to pursue independent arbitration to address the illegal cancellation of their CBA. I reached out to the CSPO bass trombonist and Chair of the Players Committee, Jeremy Van Hoy, to learn more. “We have two grievances that …

Read more

Shop Talk S01E09: Get A Handle On Digital Content Production Quality

The shift from producing live events to becoming a digital content producer is such a daunting task that some orchestras opt for not even trying. Among the biggest challenges is simply getting started and that’s what today’s podcast is all about. I asked two professionals to take part in the discussion and bring perspectives from opposite ends of the experience scale to the conversation. The first was conductor Bruce Kiesling, who …

Read more

Mediation Fails To Resolve Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s Labor Dispute

After multiple weeks of Federally mediated bargaining, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic musicians released a press statement on 12/6/2020 to announce those efforts have failed to resolve the ongoing labor dispute. The dispute was triggered in October 2020 when the employer decided to terminate an existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and replace it with non-union work contracts. According to the musicians, they used mediation to offer sizable concessions to help the organization …

Read more

Here’s Some Positive News: The Person Responsible For Killing Net Neutrality Is Leaving

Vox reports that Ajit Pai will be stepping down as FCC chair on January 20, 2021, the same day President-elect Biden is sworn into office. Pai is the individual singlehandedly responsible for gutting Net Neutrality, the set of regulations that used to require Telecom providers, (like Internet Service Providers Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner, and AT&T) to deliver all web content at the same speed. When it was a thing, net neutrality …

Read more