Fair pay chain table proposal with zzp rates for composers and musicians jazz/world/contemporary: respond now!

Rewards for musicians in four career stages and composers

Among musicians, in relation to concerts, four career stages with the following rewards were determined: Starting phase/assistance level; Upcoming/minimum wage; Midcareer/75% modal wage; Recognized/Cao HBO nonprofit step 10/11 scale 7. Bureau KNYFE examined nine reference collective bargaining agreements in culture and adjacent sectors. And examined how HBO’ers are classified there. In view of the average salary scale, the middle step for the career stage musicians and composers was taken.

Nine weighting factors in career stages

In addition to self-assessment, nine weighting factors were formulated to determine musicians’ career stage:

1. Did you graduate from a conservatory?

2. How many years have you been active as a professional musician?

3. Has your formation released any new material in the past year: physically, on YouTube or other digital service providers?

4. In terms of marketing, is your formation supported externally by, for example, a label or distributor?

5. Has your formation had positive reviews in (inter)national media in recent years?

6. Has your formation won any awards or other prizes?

7. How many monthly listeners does your formation have on Spotify?

8. On average, how many tickets did your formation sell at past concerts?

9. How many followers does your formation have on Instagram or Facebook?

Time commitment per concert

Based on preliminary research, in-depth interviews and further surveying, the time commitment of a jazz/world/contemporary musician per concert including travel time and preparation has been put at 11 hours and 20 minutes. In addition, there are 2 hours and 20 minutes of specific organizational and administrative activities. If one is a bandleader, organizer or booking manager, it involves 4 hours and 42 minutes of specific administration and organization per concert.

Zzp storage factor

Musicians and composers jazz/world/contemporary rarely have salaried employment. Therefore, KNYFE determined a zzp surcharge factor on top of a regular wage, as was done by this agency at the chain table Freelance Classical Musicians. This surcharge is 91%. It includes the following elements: non-declarable hours (including general administration, acquisition and cutting loss), the statutory vacation allowance of 8% and provisions covering risks of unemployment, short-term sick leave and long-term sick leave. Finally, a contribution to the health insurance law and pension premium, which is calculated on the hourly rate plus vacation allowance, must be taken into account.

Rates for composition commissions to composers

The existing fee table of the professional association New Geneco for composition commissions to composers proved to be widely accepted. Moreover, it was developed by a national cultural fund, the then Fund for Creative Music, with the help of independent researchers. The amounts are indexed annually. The fees in the table are expressly for the creation of the composition. Other activities such as the creation of sheet music, attending rehearsals and related costs are not covered by this. Bureau KNYFE has converted the amounts in the fee table to hours worked, taking into account the average remuneration of an HBO (higher professional education) graduate in the nine aforementioned reference collective agreements.

For consultation:

‘Final report rates composers and musicians: outcomes instrument development fair practice for jazz/world/contemporary’.

___________________________________________________________________________

Fill-in form

Download the entry form below. You can e-mail it back to fairpacct@platformacct.nl preferably before Sept. 16.

Fill-in form

___________________________________________________________________________

Online calculation tool for rewards musicians in the works

An online calculation tool to easily determine the rewards to musicians jazz/world/contemporary per concert is scheduled to be available on the fairPACCT site by November 1. This tool will take shape based on the chain table’s final fair pay practice tool with its four career stages and nine weighting factors. The associations of musicians, venues and festivals will be involved in the test phase. The intended calculation tool is similar to the existing calculation tool of the chain table Popmusicians for gages at concerts by pop musicians in different career stages. Furthermore, Bureau KNYFE, together with the relevant chain table, has already developed an online calculation tool for freelance classical musicians.

To be noted:

Online Calculator tool determining career stage pop musicians.

Online Calculator tool fair pay for freelance classical musicians.

The concert market and the fair pay gap in focus

For completeness, Bureau KNYFE has also depicted the market in playing venues for musicians jazz/world/contemporary given combined data from BiMpro, NPP, VNJJ and VSCD. The range of the total number of concerts is: 2,508-4,000. The range of the number of plays by bands with an average of 3.8 musicians is: 9,530-15,200. Assuming an average number of concerts of 63 per year per musician based on surveys, there would theoretically be room for up to 241 musicians. Bureau KNYFE also calculated the fair pay gap, given the current fees of an average of € 226 per concert. This amounts to €1.7 to €2.7 million per year. However, additional data on concerts within the free sector e.g. at weddings, parties and the like are not available.