90 percent of musicians are worried about affording food due to the cost of living crisis

 

90% of musicians are worried about affording food this winter. Picture: Getty

By Sophia Alexandra Hall, ClassicFM London

@sophiassocials

 

After two years of Covid-19 lockdowns, navigating Brexit red tape, and now a cost of living crisis, the music industry is living through one of its toughest periods to date. 

With Christmas just around the corner, this has historically been a lucrative period for those working in the arts industries.

But over the last two years the festive season has been anything but reliable, as the music industry has had to endure lockdowns, Covid cases, and a disruption to freedom of movement. And now, the cost of living crisis is making its mark on the country’s arts scene.

Last week, the government announced that the UK had entered a recession for the first time since 2008. According to the charity Help Musicians, the ‘cost of living crisis’ has meant that more than half of the musicians in the UK are concerned they’ll be forced to leave the industry.

Classic FM spoke to classical music venues and ensembles to learn how the the music industry is struggling to keep their heads above water this winter, and whether there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The cost of living crisis is negatively impacting musicians ‘more than the pandemic’

Help Musicians CEO, James Ainscough, has described the current environment for musicians as “brutal” and believes that now is the toughest time it has been to be a musician since the Second World War.

In a recent survey, the UK charity found that 98 percent of musicians are concerned about earning enough income over the next six months, and 90 percent are worried about being able to afford food

60 percent of musicians also told the charity that they are earning less than they were in 2021, suggesting that the cost of living crisis may be impacting them financially more than the pandemic. 

The following challenges are having a severe impact on their mental health, with 88 percent saying their poor mental health is currently negatively impacting their career.

Read more: New report warns of ‘talent exodus’ in classical music, as parents and carers struggle

Artists have also been found to be in a 'cost of working' crisis, with 91 percent unable to afford music equipment, whilst energy and fuel costs are making travelling to concerts and heating rehearsal spaces impossible for many.

In response to the “unique set of challenges facing musicians this winter”, Help Musicians have published advice on managing finances, developing a career, facing financial crisis, touring, and managing mental health.

Concern is echoed across the industry. Earlier this month, Naomi Pohl, general secretary of the Musicians’ Union said in an interview for PRS for Music: “We’re at another moment when the industry needs to pull together.

“We were joined up during the pandemic and we again need to make sure there’s additional support for musicians who need it, otherwise there’s a risk of a talent drain.”

The Musicians Union’, along with other unions, gathered outside the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on Tuesday 22 November to protest cuts to arts funding. The unions have argued that the cuts put musicians’ jobs and livelihoods at risk, during a cost of living crisis.

Read more: ENO chorus sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ outside Arts Council office as 300 jobs at risk

Members of the ENO Chorus sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ outside Arts Council England’s London office

‘Our energy costs have gone up by 250 percent’

Central London church, St-Martin-in-the-Fields, is an 18th-century building that also functions as a classical and jazz music venue, attracting audiences of tourists and locals alike. Its tourist audience has shrunk over the last two years due to the impact of Covid and a decline in travel and tourism, but the cost of living crisis brings another new challenge to the venue.

Chris Denton took over as CEO of St Martin’s in May 2021, leaving his role as executive director of audiences at the Southbank Centre. “We’ve got this issue of audiences who have been reluctant to come back following Covid-19,” Denton told Classic FM.

“Because of Covid-19 fear, we’ve got the issue of tourism in London not having bounced back, so that’s already a downer on classical music audiences returning.

“The cost of living crisis really adds another dimension to the problem, and it is so unwelcome for all of us in terms of the fragility of the recovery from Covid.”

Denton continued: “Over the last year, our energy costs have gone up by 250 percent. We’re a church, and like a lot of older buildings, very expensive to heat.”

For Denton, dealing with these rising bill costs is “a careful balance of trying to maximise people coming through the door, without overpricing things and putting them off,” which it seems he has been successful in.

Denton said the cost of living crisis has “hugely” impacted St Martin’s, from the programmes they decide to present, to their pricing strategy.

“There’s this question of whether or not audiences are prepared to be risky with their ever decreasing disposable income and actually thinking what, what might they want in order to entice them to come out. There’s lots of different issues that we’re thinking through because of this current crisis.”

And he’s not alone with centring the needs of the audiences – balancing what they want to see and what they can afford, while still upholding the values the concert venue wants to try and deliver in terms of the artistic offer.

Dougie Scarfe, chief executive of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra told Classic FM that the orchestra is “doubling down” in its efforts to ensure audiences can access their various discounted ticket schemes for students, children, and people on Job Seekers Allowance.

BSO Resound performs Copland's Simple Gifts

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is Classic FM’s Orchestra in the South of England, and covers an impressive 10,000 square miles of the southwest of England.

As well as in-person shows, the southern orchestra is one of the few ensembles to have continued their ‘on-demand’ video and livestream output since the end of the pandemic.

For Scarfe, it’s important to consider the cost it takes to get to the venue, on top of the ticket price. “With our livestream concerts actually being live, if you live 100 miles or 200 miles away from the concert hall, or you can’t get a local transport to our venue, you can still share in that live experience with our presenters and musicians.

“We’ve got audiences who have had their dinner, opened a bottle of wine, some of them get dressed up into the lounge where they sit watching the concert on their computers, or on their TV, and still are able to share that live experience. And I think in times like these, our role bringing music into people’s lives is actually never more important.”

Read more: All the pictures from Classic FM Live with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra performing at Classic FM Live earlier this year. Picture: Matt Crossick

For audience members who are coming out to see concerts, the BSO has deals with local restaurants so guests are able to make the most of their ‘night out’.

Scarfe says that this is what people missed during the pandemic. “That feeling of being with other people who are having a great time, whether that’s in the theatre, whether that’s football, or in the concert hall.

“I think there’s a genuine desire within audiences to come back. And if we can help this by making it as affordable as we can, with ongoing concessions, and live streams to make the experience more accessible, then that’s what we’re going to do.

“A fundamental thing to human life is to have that shared experience, and by putting all those things together with all the offers and all the deals, we can help out audience have a really fantastic night out.”

‘The crisis is forcing people to think twice before buying concert tickets’

Jon Collins, CEO of Live, a group that represents the UK’s live music business, said in a statement: “While we welcome the government’s desire to bring stability to the UK economy, today has offered little help to secure the future of our £4.5 billion industry and the 200,000 people it employs.

“Unprecedented operating conditions are pushing our sector to the brink, as much-loved venues close their doors, tours are cancelled and artists drop out of the industry.”

Simon Eaton, Head of Live at the Troxy theatre in London, told Classic FM, “The cost of living crisis is forcing people to think twice before purchasing tickets for concerts. Not only having to account for the price of the ticket itself but also the night out that comes with it – travel, food, drinks – which are all on the up.

“We’re certainly seeing people drinking less at shows which for a venue is difficult as it’s our major source of revenue. Unfortunately, the same crisis is affecting artists too.

“Touring is more expensive than ever before and as result ticket prices are going up which leads back to people being unable to purchase them and a negative cycle created.”

In response to the Autumn budget, the Independent Society of Musicians noted that the statement did not provide targeted support for the music industry.

If you or someone you know in the music industry needs help finding crisis resources, visit Help Musicians for further sources of support

How Do Musicians Express Their Emotions through Music?

by Frances Wilson, Interlude

Music is a powerful means of communication, by which people share emotions, intentions, and meanings, and our personal engagement with music, whether in a live concert, listening to a CD or via a streaming service, is driven by the medium’s ability to convey and communicate emotion. Music can arouse strong feelings, recall memories; it can promote extreme happiness or engender feelings of deep love or loss…

Like speech, music has an acoustic code for expressing emotion, and even if a piece of music is unfamiliar, we can “decode” its message. Because of this, while musicians perform music according to their own interpretations, we can still understand the basic acoustic code: a crescendo indicates increased intensity or drama; a minor key suggests seriousness or melancholy; pauses create suspense and anticipation.

For the performer, the ability to communicate emotion, or tell a story, in music requires more than the technical facility to process what’s on the score. A good understanding of the structure of the music is important for a convincing, and communicative, musical performance, allowing the musician to respond to aspects such as variations in tempo and dynamics, harmonic and melodic tension and release, phrasing, repetitions, etc. By responding to these elements, the listener is given a set of musical “signposts” which guide them through the music, and bring cohesion, interest and variety to the performance.

A performer must resolve the entire depth of the ideas contained there. How often carefully notated shadings, accents, tempo changes reveal not simply a positive characteristic of sound but rather the untold sides of the author’s concept. How many directions we find in Schumann, Chopin, Scriabin, even Beethoven that a pianist should follow not in a real sound but by addressing the subtlest hints to the imagination of a listener!
– Samuil Feinberg

Communicating emotion is the most elusive aspect of the performer’s skillset, and is the fundamental reason why people – performers and listeners – engage with music. At a basic level, music communicates specific emotions through simple musical devices, for example:

• Happy – fast tempo, running notes, staccato, bright sound, major key
• Sad – very slow tempo, minor key, legato, descending sequences or falling intervals, diminuendo, ritardando

But there is something else which makes a performance particularly rich in expression or communication. Performance is generally regarded as a synthesis of both technical and expressive skills. Technical skills can be taught, while expression is more instinctive: it is of course possible to act upon expression markings in the score, but in order for these to sound convincing and, more importantly, natural, the performer must draw upon other factors, including extra-musical ones.

Many performers create a vivid internal musical and artistic vision of the music they are playing. This may include an aural model; the use of metaphors or adjectives to create a narrative or picture for the music; and personal experience, including extra-musical experiences. A performer’s own emotional experiences may influence the way they convey emotion in the music. This suggests that only a performer who has actually experienced the highs and lows of romantic love can perform, for example, Schumann’s Fantasie in C with the requisite emotional insight. Of course, not every performer will have the life experience, but they can still convey emotion in their performance by awakening their imagination to bring expression and emotional depth to their playing. In addition, in a concert situation, the imagination of the listener is very much at the disposal of the performer, to be shaped and influenced through sound.

We talk about performers “communicating the composer’s intentions” (i.e. paying attention to and acting upon directions in the score such as dynamics, tempo and expression markings, articulation, rests and pauses etc) or “conveying the story of the music“, but fundamentally I think as listeners we crave a performance which touches us personally. Listening to music is a highly subjective and personal experience – we’ve all had those ‘Proustian rush’ moments when a piece of music, or a single movement or even a phrase, provokes an involuntary memory, sometimes with physical side-effects such as goosebumps or shivers (physiologically, this is the result of the release of Dopamine, the brain’s “reward” neurotransmitter). Sometimes we want to feel uplifted or transported by music, taken us out of ourselves and the mundanity of everyday life to another place, to experience something touching the spiritual or transcendent. Such moments, and the memory of them, are very special and individual.

Occasionally one is at a concert where a very palpable sense of collective concentration can be felt in the auditorium. This occurs when the performer creates an intense communication between music and listener. I experienced it, along with the rest of the Wigmore Hall audience, at a performance of Beethoven’s last three sonatas by the Russian pianist Igor Levit in June 2017. The sense of concentrated listening and suspense was extraordinary. How did Levit achieve it? I’m not sure…. a combination of exquisite tone control, musical understanding and the sheer power of the music itself.

Most people like music because it gives them certain emotions such as joy, grief, sadness, and image of nature, a subject for daydreams or – still better – oblivion from “everyday life”. They want a drug – dope -…. Music would not be worth much if it were reduced to such an end. When people have learned to love music for itself, when they listen with other ears, their enjoyment will be of a far higher and more potent order, and they will be able to judge it on a higher plane and realise its intrinsic value.
– Igor Stravinsky

10 legendary musicians who never learned to read music

Taylor Swift, Hans Zimmer, Aretha Franklin. Picture: Getty

By Sophia Alexandra Hall, ClassicFM London

@sophiassocials

 

You don’t need to be able to read music in order to be a great musician. From Hendrix to Zimmer, these famous faces will make you question just how much musical education is needed to achieve greatness.

You’d think to be a famous musician... you’d need to be able to read music?

Well, you’d be wrong to think so, as these following musicians have been proving for decades.

More and more musicians are learning to play via the Internet and by ear, which can be evidenced by the rise of apps and online lessons for children, which don’t necessarily involved learning to read sheet music.

Read on to find out which of your favourite musicians have created successful careers, without this once thought to be mandatory skill.

1. Jimi Hendrix (1942 - 1970)

   The singer-songwriter Jimi Hendrix reportedly taught himself to play by ear on the electric guitar, and would use words and colors to express how he wanted the music to sound.

   

   Jimi Hendrix Performs in New York. Picture: Getty

2. Stevie Wonder (1950-)

   Stevie Wonder has been blind since shortly after his birth. He played multiple instruments from an early age, including the piano, harmonica, and drums and was signed to Motown at the age of 11.

   

   Stevie Wonder performs onstage at Q85. Picture: Getty

3. Hans Zimmer (1957-)

   One of the most famous film composers in music history, Hans Zimmer cannot read conventional music notation. He started out playing piano for bands before becoming a jingle writer, which is where he credits the development of his compositional skills.

   

   Hans Zimmer performs onstage at the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix. Picture: Getty

4. Danny Elfman (1953-)

   Another film composer, Danny Elfman, who is known for scores including Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, spent a large part of his career being unable to write or read music.

   
   

   

   Danny Elfman speaks at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Picture: Getty

5. Taylor Swift (1989-)

   Taylor Swift shot to stardom with her first album at the age of 17. While a talented multi-instrumentalist, Swift revealed in a Rolling Stone interview that she does not read music. She says, “I would not have majored in music because when music becomes technical for me I don’t like that part of it.”

   
   

   

   Taylor Swift on stage at Westfield. Picture: Getty

6. Bob Dylan (1941-)

   American singer-songwriter, Bob Dylan is regarded by some as one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Notably, Dylan was inducted into the Hall of Fame without knowing how to read music.

   

   Bob Dylan Records "Bringing It All Back Home". Picture: Getty

7. Aretha Franklin (1942 - 2018)

   The Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin could not read music. She music by ear, having perfected this talent by spending her childhood singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan.

   

   Aretha Franklin on Top of the Pops. Picture: Getty

8. The Beatles

   “None of us could read music… None of us can write it.” John Lennon admitted this about the band in a 1980 Playboy interview, “but as pure musicians, as inspired humans to make the noise, they [Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr] are as good as anybody.”

   

   The Beatles at a press conference. Picture: Getty

9. Eric Clapton (1945-)

   English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Eric Clapton ranked second in the Rolling Stone’s list of the ‘100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time’ despite not being able to read music.

   

   Eric Clapton At Prince's Trust Rock Gala. Picture: Getty

10. Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

    The King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley played guitar, bass and piano all by ear. He couldn’t read or write music and had no formal lessons, but could hear a song and reportedly play it after only one listen.

    

    Elvis Presley on television 1968. Picture: Getty

Musicians are abandoning the industry for a stabler career

Classical artists share truths about arts reopening

Pianist Anna Tsybuleva; guitarist Miloš; organist Anna Lapwood. Picture: Instagram/Richard Johnson/Nick Rutter

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

 

The arts and live music are gradually being restored. But the long-term impact on musicians has been disastrous and many are leaving the profession entirely, say the classical industry’s leading figures.

“A friend of mine recently started working on an opera production for the first time in 15 months and noticed that two of the cast with whom he was chatting during a coffee-break had cuts and bruises on their arms; it turned out that one had been working as a bricklayer and one as a gardener,” conductor Ian Page tells Classic FM.

Since the pandemic began, musicians have been surviving by taking on any work they can get. Now that live music is finally reawakening, is a swift return to business-as-usual on the cards for the country’s classical artists?

Not so much, say guitarist Miloš, organist Anna Lapwood, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston, conductor Ian Page, clarinetist Julian Bliss, pianist Anna Tsybuleva, conductor and saxophonist Christian Forshaw, and classical music small business owner Katie Beardsworth.

We spoke to these leading classical figures about the truth behind live performance’s big ‘bounce-back’, and how the realities of Brexit are affecting the revival of UK arts.

Read more: ‘I went from singing arias to being a hospital porter’

Milos, guitarist – playing at Royal Albert Hall on 17 July

On the arts reopening: “Nothing can replace that magical feeling of hearing music happening in front of you, experiencing the electricity in the room and breathing together with your favourite artist. It might take some time before everyone feels comfortable enough to enter a concert hall or a theatre… but now more than ever we need those bums on the seats and all the support and love we can get.”

On Brexit: “The full extent of Brexit has not yet been fully felt, I’m afraid. This is a scary time for all... but when you add Brexit to the mix it becomes a very big concern for musicians. Simply put, there is absolutely no clarity nor plan. British-based artists are in a very difficult place right now. I don’t always understand the point of it all... it’s hard not to feel betrayed.”

Miloš is a classical Montenegrin guitarist based in London. Picture: Esther Haase

Ian Page, conductor – performing with The Mozartists at Cadogan Hall on 8 July

On the financial impact of COVID-19: “For individual artists, many are still having to survive by taking other work completely unrelated to their training and areas of expertise. A friend of mine recently started working on an opera production for the first time in 15 months and noticed that two of the cast with whom he was chatting during a coffee-break had cuts and bruises on their arms; it turned out that one had been working as a bricklayer and one as a gardener.”

On Brexit: “Brexit’s like an even bigger nail in the coffin during these unprecedentedly difficult times. Not only have we been set back by the pandemic, but now we face extra costs and bureaucracy to perform in Europe or to engage European artists. This will make international collaboration much harder and have a significant and detrimental financial impact on our industry. Even in the 18th century, Mozart’s education was predicated on the fact that he had freedom of movement to spend 15 months in London as well as time in France, Holland, Italy and several other countries.”

Anna Lapwood, organist and conductor – performing at St-Martin-in-the-Fields on 21 June

On the arts reopening: “I think one of the biggest challenges as a performer is the uncertainty – gigs are returning, but in the back of your mind you’re trying to predict ‘is this really going to go ahead or not?’. I’ve had performances that have been postponed two or three times and it’s difficult from a psychological perspective. Musicians are such goal-oriented people, so when those goals are constantly shifting around it has a huge impact on the preparation process.”

On COVID-19 support for the arts: “Support isn’t just financial – the thing we’ve all been craving from DCMS is logistical support surrounding guidance, providing clarity and ensuring everyone has enough notice to implement changes. Just this week, new guidance was published the day after restrictions eased, stating that amateur choir rehearsals are limited to 6 singers. Not only was the tightening of restrictions a total shock, it was also announced so late in the day that many choir leaders found out whilst they were setting out the chairs for their rehearsals.

“There’s also the lack of parity between restrictions placed on musical events and those placed on things such as sports/pubs/restaurants. It is pretty hard to get your head around people being allowed to sing in a football stadium but a small group of singers not being allowed to sing in a well-ventilated church.”

Julian Bliss, clarinetist – playing at London’s Wigmore Hall on 25 May

On the financial impact of COVID-19: “Other sources of income are always good, if they complement the core of what you do. But a number of musicians I know ended up getting jobs in completely different fields just to make ends meet, which is sad and very unsettling. I think we have all realised that relying solely on one stream of income can be risky.”

Anna Tsybuleva, pianist – performing at Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, China on 9 July

On the arts reopening: “I know of many incredibly talented musicians who have abandoned the profession entirely in favour of a more stable line of work, which is such a terrible and long-lasting consequence of these times. I have been fortunate in a sense, because this artificial pause on ‘normal life’ has enabled me to spend time with my young daughter, which has been a true blessing. But it is my hope, of course, that all musicians can be back making music for live audiences again as soon as possible – it is our food, our oxygen, and our true privilege to connect and communicate in this special way.”

Christian Forshaw, composer and saxophonist – new album ‘Historical Fiction’ released on 17 September

On the financial impact of COVID-19: “Sadly I and many of my colleagues fell through the cracks and didn’t receive any government support during the whole pandemic. I was fortunate to be able to continue my work as Professor of Saxophone at the Guildhall School, but lost all of my other income.

On Brexit: “Brexit has added an infuriating layer of difficulty when planning tours and performances abroad. That kind of work would have been a lifeline as we come out of lockdown, but sadly we are faced with yet another barrier in re-establishing our performing careers.”

Jennifer Johnston, operatic mezzo-soprano – currently in teaching jobs

On COVID-19’s impact on freelancers: “Freelancers who have no job security at the best of times, despite being part of a world-leading powerhouse cultural sector, are turning to other sorts of work to make ends meet, whether driving a delivery van, teaching, working on farms, or in nursing homes on minimum wage.”

On Brexit: “The cultural sector is now decimated, and there is a further hidden enemy, whose impact has been masked by the onset of the pandemic: Brexit. For our touring musicians, Brexit serves as a death-knell to the days of freedom to tour the EU endlessly. British musicians are hit from both sides: almost no work at home because of the pandemic, no work abroad because of Brexit. A ‘bounce-back’ may happen, but it may be too late for many smaller arts organisations whose margins are tiny and for freelancers who have sought more secure employment elsewhere.”

150 opera singers fight for the arts in Parliament protest

Singers perform Verdi in a campaign for support during the COVID-19 pandemic, at London's Parliament Square.

Katie Beardsworth runs Polyphony Arts, an independent classical artist management business

On COVID-19’s impact on artists: “We receive emails every day from promoters who really want to book our artists but are struggling to make commitments given all the uncertainty they are facing. I particularly feel that what is often not highlighted in all this is that most artists do not feel that their careers are at a stable and steady point. Progression is a huge aim for most musicians.

On diversity and creativity in the industry: “On the flip side of this, there is a positive side to this industry disruption. The artistic community’s response to the pandemic has been monumental. Artists have produced online work, worked on their profiles, and sought their own support like never before.

“The classical music industry needed to take a step back from the culture of unspoken hierarchy which exists and hampers the progress of artists that are minorities and/or from less advantaged backgrounds. There has been a big ‘levelling’ in all this, and I think artists that were previously struggling to find their path to success have a real opportunity here, to take their own space and find their own voice.”