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The current, often vitriolic debate over the Arts Council's future funding of the London orchestras remains - for all the particular whiteness of the heat being generated - 'merely' the latest in the long line of controversies over public subsidy for the arts. For the average freelance musician, watching it all from the sidelines can feel like witnessing a Wembley penalty shoot-out ... nothing to do but watch and hope. Except that defeat in a soccer match doesn't normally carry with it the threat of a loss of livelihood for supporters.
But how far need that feeling of helplessness in the face of fate apply within the rank-and-file of the music profession? Is the arts lobby in fact yet showing the same powers of organisation, from the grass roots upwards, as other familiar lobby groups, be they anti-abortionists or yeoman farmers? Here's what senior figures in and around the music industry are thinking.
The active lobyist
Louise Honeyman, executive director of the London Mozart Players, has for many years been an active lobbyist at the national level, as a board member of the National Campaign for the Arts (NCA), and at local level as she chases cash and concerts from local authorities. The LMP currently has no subsidy from the Arts Council at a time when so many other sources of money, private and public, have been in decline. "I actually think the arts lobby isn't in that bad a shape - the NCA has done a fantastic job in recent years behind the scenes, talking to politicians, having private meetings with decision-makers. The important thing is not to lobby for jobs - that means nothing to this government. You have to take the line of emphasising what the country and localities will lose if the arts are destroyed, what the dangers are if everything becomes market-orientated. The arts contribute to people's health, their sense of well-being ... and of course so many people working in more 'popular' fields in design, music or theatre owe a great deal to a 'classical' background.A call to action
"So...what can an individual musician do in all of this? Well -writing to your MP and encouraging friends to do the same is important. There's so much lobbying that needs to done at local council level - the squeeze is not just on the national arts budget but on local authority spending, of course. I think we all have to find ways to get our points across more aggressively. A jazz band can drum up support sitting on the back of a truck ... that's not so easy for a symphony orchestra. Theatre people are much better at all this - musicians are more mild-mannered and that doesn't help. The stakes are very high - orchestras like ours are seeing a huge cut in numbers of concerts, we're all trying to undercut each other, overheads are being pared to the bone. I really fear for the next 20 years ... on music tuition, for example. It's 20 years from now that we'll feel the effect of cuts, when orchestras can't find the players."The ABO
Libby Macnamara is director of the Association of British Orchestras. "If we in the field of music are looking for maximum profile then we have to look to be more outspoken. And we have to speak with one voice - duplicated activity leads to a mish-mash of approaches which government can find it easier to ignore. "However, if grabbing the attention by staging huge newsworthy events is one approach we could develop, it's equally important to see that change is often brought about by a combination of noise and more subtle pressures, the quiet targetting of decision-makers in order to put across constructive ideas - the National Campaign for Arts have, I must say, been brilliant at doing this. Orchestral players should think carefully about joining the NCA -it'll mean being kept in touch with what's going on...new legislation, and so on, and having the opportunity to go to meetings in order to have a say. Individual players should be the building blocks of the whole campaign, doing what they can, where they can, whether it's writing to The Times or the local paper. It really matters ... jobs are on the line now. If one or more London orchestra does go under there'll be a ripple effect which is bound to affect freelance opportunities as more players chase the jobs. The damage caused by substantial changes in government funding could be irreparable."The NCA
Jennifer Edwards is the new director of the National Campaign for the Arts. "The rumour is that the government may be proposing even further cuts in the arts budget of around twelve million pounds. This might be deliberate disinformation on the part of politicians so that the actual cuts can be painted in a better light, but I'm still very worried indeed. We're organising a lobby of Parliament in November before the budget - everyone's more than welcome to be there. The point is that no-one can feel safe as long there is no clear acknowledgement from the government of the importance of the arts.Speaking with one voice
"What all in the arts have to do is make sure their basic joint message, about the overall level of government funding, is crystal clear...that no one individual issue involving one group or another competes with that. What the NCA would wish to emphasise is that all the sectors in the arts need to come together on this one... and that's happening successfully on a regional basis in, for example, the West Midlands and on Merseyside. "The strength of the individual contribution to the campaign is that it can deflect government's tendency to answer criticism from the NCA or other organised bodies with 'Well you would say that, wouldn't you?.' If players are, say, at receptions after concerts, there's nothing to stop them seeking out any person of influence who happens to be there and telling how the current situation is affecting them... or a situation they know about, like perhaps the threat to a schools orchestra or something like that. Personal stories can be very effective."The House of Commons
This is a view endorsed by MP Toby Jessel, a formidable pianist and chairman of the Conservative party's arts and heritage committee. He confirms that expressing concerns to your local MP is likely to meet with a considered response. "MPs will tend to pay more attention to letters from individuals than from large corporate organisations, as long as those involved are constituents. I'd go so far as saying that it's far better for each member of a 90-piece orchestra to write to his or her own local MP than for the orchestra as a whole to make a group declaration of some sort. MPs tend to be geared to working for people, like doctors, vicars and solicitors .... we all like to be well-thought-of by our constituents, although there can't be guarantees over what we can do, of course. MPs will be able to approach ministers if they feel it's appropriate. All I would say is .... make your points crisply and briefly. We all get on average 20 to 40 letters a day so there's always pressure on us." Raymond Gubbay is one of the UK's leading independent classical music promoters, known particularly for his regular presentations of opera evenings and orchestral concerts at London's Barbican Centre. As someone not accustomed to relying on government subsidy, how does he view the importance of the arts lobby?Raymond Gubbay
"Government cash is an important element in the functioning of orchestras, so indirectly I feed off it and, yes, I'm all for a strong arts lobby. But I don't see that as being well-organised at the moment. I don't view the Arts Council as an effective lobbying body and I fear that too many orchestras, for example, are inhibited over what they'll say in public.....won't stand up to be counted. The argument then gets diluted. "You can see how tough things are for freelance musicians when you look at the sort of work quality players are accepting now which they wouldn't have before.I think the MU has a problem infighting on behalf of individual players without being seen to threaten the interests of those in the permanent orchestras. Personally, I'd strongly advise concerned players to write to their MPs ... I say this because many more MPs these days are genuine working politicians, who tend to take seriously an individual's expression of concern as part of their job. Equally I feel behind-the-scenes lobbying - going for the right people - can be far better than stumping up some kinds of publicity which focus on how 'impoverished' the arts are .... like opera audiences having a bucket waved at them from the stage. If you're not careful that leaves a rather shabby impression."
Getting the message across
Judy Grahame is one of Britain's leading specialists in marketing and PR within the classical music field. Among her clients figure the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and BBC Radio 3. How would she plan and focus a campaign for the arts lobby?"As anyone in the commercial world would tell you, 'distinctiveness' is the key to a successful campaign. If the message becomes bogged down in detail then it will get lost. Being concise is very important...which of course means there may well have to be agreement from those involved in the lobby to surrender particular aims and objectives for the good of the whole project.
"As to the content of the message, I think the arts lobby has to take great care at a time when audiences up and down the country are generally at a low ebb - that fact doesn't help the strength of the argument that there's a demand for the arts. For me, the focus has to be on the fact that the arts and music present tremendous value in terms of a return on government investment. It also needs emphasising that a live concert experience is something that can never be captured on TV or CD. And then there's an argument from the fact that, while the arts is about the business of attracting younger audiences, it must also look at how the population is ageing. There are many more retired people with leisure time on their hands for many of whom the provision of the performing arts is extremely important.
"As to the style of a campaign, I'm not keen on the idea of lorry loads of musicians being driven through London for photo-opportunities and that sort of thing. One big glitzy event involving big names from public life is so important...maybe then followed by regional events. It's important to concentrate media coverage over just a few days to establish the message. Once it's been put across it can, shall I say, be 'topped up' later.
"As for the role of the individual musician....well, signing petitions helps - bulk opinion can be a powerful weapon. But it is important not to attempt anything truly high profile ... as a one person band. That can diffuse the message. Find an organisation you feel comfortable with and then support it."
Andrew Green
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