Why Media?

Since the explosion of symphonic employment in the 1960s, many aspects of “the business” have changed very little. Full-time orchestras still average eight services per week, rehearsals still last 150 minutes with a 15-20 minute break, section musicians grumble about principals, and the relationship between conductors and musicians is still profoundly dysfunctional. One thing that has changed significantly in the past 40 years, however, is how – and how many – symphonic recordings and broadcasts are produced.

Through the 1960s, virtually all symphonic electronic media was produced and paid for by commercial entities, whether record companies, radio stations, or TV networks (NBC even had its own house orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini on regular live TV and radio broadcasts). The landscape now is profoundly different. While there are a few record companies still distributing recordings of orchestras, and while several American orchestras are still broadcast on national radio networks, virtually all of the money paid to musicians for this activity comes from the orchestral employer and not from for-profit enterprises. This change has led not only to an up-ending of the labor agreements under which such work is done, but removing the direct external financial incentive, has led orchestras – and musicians – to consider why they do media at all if not for large checks from record companies and broadcasters.

This discussion is intended to focus on the reasons for orchestras to do electronic media and for musicians to make it possible. There are many local and national labor agreements covering such work, and many competent musicians, managers, and union officials to negotiate such agreements. At the end of the day, though, the agreements will reflect the value that the participants place on the work governed by the agreements. Accordingly, this will not be a negotiation, and we will not discuss the merits of the various agreements; rather, this will be a discussion of the reasons why, or why not, to engage in electronic media at all.

So I would pose the following questions to the panelists to start the ball rolling:

1. Where is there value in doing symphonic electronic media for orchestras and musicians: fundraising, selling tickets, prestige, music direction retention, general promotion, or elsewhere?
2. Has your orchestra seen evidence of that value?
3. Can your orchestra measure that value?