The Latest Development In AFM-EPF Pension Headaches
Mon, Apr 4, 2017
by Drew McManus
On 1/17/2017 we examined the growing problems within the American Federation of Musicians & Employers’ Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) that led to the Board of Trustees to send a letter to plan members explaining how the fund has suffered since the economic downturn and their plan for recovery. Since then, that letter does not appear to have assuaged
Throwback Thursday: Music Director Compensation
Thu, Apr 4, 2017
by Drew McManus
We’re about two months away from the latest installment in the annual orchestra compensation reports so I thought it would be fun to take a quick look back at the music director installment from last year’s series. If you recall, this was one of the biggest bombshells in the entire series history in that it
Where You Think Links Should Open Could Be Influenced By Your Age
Wed, Apr 4, 2017
by Drew McManus
One of the regular conversations I have with Venture Platform clients is how to handle the default target for where links open: new tab or same tab. Prior to the mobile device age, a common practice would be to have links pointing to internal website pages open in the same tab while outbound links open
Please Don’t Bait The Composers…Okay, Maybe Just A Little
Tue, Apr 4, 2017
by Drew McManus
It started with an innocent Facebook post from composer Jim Stephenson who was wondering if composers of old would have made it in today’s environment and evolved into a trending hashtag on Twitter. https://www.facebook.com/jim.stephenson.946/posts/10154527139678581 It’s a great discussion thread, worthy of a blog topic in and of itself, but long story short, the discussion turned
Updated Data For The Dead White Guy Programming Table
Mon, Apr 4, 2017
by Drew McManus
Over the weekend, composer and arts administrator Rob Deemer sent along the latest update to his list of programming data for the 2017/18 season and the ratio of works (both percent and number) of dead-white-guys to living, women, and non-white composers. The latest figures includes an update for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra figures. See
Would We Still Bill The Titanic Musicians For Missing Uniforms?
Fri, Apr 4, 2017
by Drew McManus
Today marks the 105-year anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic and well before the movie launched the disaster into new levels of cultural consciousness, examining the historical event was a major stepping stone from my conservatory years. Specifically, one of the school’s ear training professors used to keep a framed photo of the
Get Your 501(c)(3) On
Thu, Apr 4, 2017
by Drew McManus
It’s been awhile since personally going through the process of filing for nonprofit status and on one hand, it’s pretty much the same as its always been. At the same time, it’s so nice to have so many readily available resources; even state and federal documentation is much better than it was a decade ago.
Low Hanging Fruit Wednesday
Wed, Apr 4, 2017
by Drew McManus
It turns out Funny Or Die remembered that United Airlines made a commercial using a symphonic orchestra to convey how well each of their individual corporate pieces works together and decided it was an ideal petard on which to hoist the company. The end result spliced in footage from the recent incident where the airline
You Had Me At “Pretty Shoes”
Tue, Apr 4, 2017
by Drew McManus
Patrons love learning seeing what goes on behind the scenes, whether its learning how music librarians dodge incoming fire or the complexities of equal pay for equal work among musicians. Case in point, Holly Mulcahy published an article at Neo Classical that examines what a concertmaster does. In addition to the typical duties and responsibilities,
Granny’s On The Grift? Tell Me It Isn’t So.