Music and the Changing Economic Climate

The economic viability of most of the industrialized world took a body blow this week, with banks failing, markets falling, and governments scrambling to re-establish liquidity. Lest you think that the arts is immune to this sort of activity, think again. Governments that were eager to support the arts may have to shift priorities in the coming year, private individuals that donate to the arts may reconsider their gifts in light of their own situation, and the public might be slightly less than willing to pay top dollar for concerts, subscriptions, recordings, and lessons.

How can we in the classical music field both survive and thrive in this "new" economy? Here are some links from those on the leading edge of helping artists find their way through the coming recession:

-Adaptistration's Drew McManus has created a Cultural Confidence Indicator based on the results of a continuing poll on his readership's economic outlook.

-Scott Sweeney has written a damning article about the recording industry and their complete miscalculation of the intrinsic value of music in a download culture:

When music has little or no personal value it takes more to find satisfaction. But as stated, because of easier accessibilty and storage, people will strive to have the largest collection possible. It is different from the days of vinyl, tapes and compact discs.

This is why people illegally download music. It’s not worth 1 dollar per song.

-Joshua Nemith has just written the first part of Freelancing in the "New" Economy, a series that looks at ways that musicians , especially those without permanent positions, can "regroup and retool" their careers. Take a look at #3, which may just be a recession-proof line of work, and shows that perhaps collaborative pianists were the smart ones all along...

-Finally, for those eager to create and market their musical product, why bother to deal with the vestiges of a crumbling system when it's cheaper and potentially just as rewarding to handle all the steps yourself? Andrew Dubber in New Music Strategies writes about how to sell MP3's from your own website.  

As we move through the coming months, I look forward to hearing your stories and comments regarding the changing landscape.

(Image via dropsheet and the Vanished Detroit Pool on Flickr)