Freelancing at universities....
It won’t come as a surprise to anyone to know that the music industry is predominantly filled with entrepreneurs and the self-employed. Recent data from the National Office of Statistics shows 83% of musicians are self-employed. This consists of slightly more men than women, 84% and 78% respectively but compared to 16% across all other sectors it is extremely high.
Music could be considered the original ‘gig economy’, in place a century before the emergence of the digital version. ‘Gig’, is an entertainer’s engagement contract, (derived from French jazz musicians), that deals with one performance at a time. In fact many people outside the industry do not realise that all musicians signed to record labels are self-employed and have investment not employment contracts.
Even those in music business support roles such as Artist Managers, PRs, Graphic Designers, Lawyers, Festival Promoters and so on are often self-employed and work very short-term contracts. Indeed DCMS estimates up to 72% of those working in music, performing and fine art are self-employed, or in other terminology freelance.
Freelancing, though lauded by government and business gurus is often precarious and uncertain in that it can consist of one-off jobs for very short periods, it is often unreliable, often low paid and it can be challenging to be paid on time.
The problem with this work is that though it could be considered, from the outside, glamorous and desirable and therefore of ‘high status’ the vast majority struggle financially with a number of reports demonstrating musicians’ earnings well below the national average. And of course there is a significant gender earnings gap with research published last year showing men earned on average £20K per year and women £13K from their music. Meaning those with family money can survive – perpetuating socio-economic disadvantage on the way – but it’s a day-to-day struggle for everyone else.
So an apparent income stream, especially during covid which decimated so many opportunities for musicians to earn money, has come from universities and conservatoires. There has been a whole industry developed over the past two decades training the next generation of music performers and executives. Many of these courses are fantastic and I wish I had benefitted from such training when I was in my early 20s. And many institutions have excellent connections across all areas of the industry ensuring students have access to the latest developments, thinking and opportunities to network.
However, and I am speaking from painful personal experience here, many of the universities have payment systems so antiquated and convoluted they would make Dickens weep, giving the Circumlocution Office a good run for its money. In the words of one musician, MIRI, who participated in an ‘industry day’ a couple of months ago…..
“I have been a self-employed musician for 11 years. I’ve always known first and foremost at the core of what I am and what I do, I am an artist (singer-songwriter). In recent years this has led me to other fields of creative work and bookings from speaking on panels, facilitating music sessions in mental health units, running my ‘Find Your Voice’ vocal workshops to other music-led community work.
Throughout this time I’ve found that the charities and grassroots organisations I have freelanced for have always paid on time and simply required an invoice along with my UTR number. Most of these charities work so hard to secure funding and understand the importance of their freelance musicians getting paid on time. There’s a true sense of community and care.
So when I was invited to speak on a music industry panel recently I was caught off guard when informed that payment could take up to two months and that I’d be required to provide a hefty amount of information including a document to prove my bank details and address. I also had to speak to an agent, calling from an organisation based in India, because as ‘a new supplier in our system’, they needed me to speak to someone to confirming my bank details.
After a particularly tough time in 2021 I’ve been working hard to build back my workload and dealing with this additional work was stressful. It is imperative for my freelance existence that I get paid for work swiftly”.
I have many experiences similar to this. I have spent the past three years doing many presentations and workshops for music students. Informing and inspiring young people is something I have felt strongly about for years. I chaired the UK Music Skills and Education group for a number of years and set up an Academic Partnership scheme at BASCA/ The Ivors with universities up and down the country. And I have given presentations to numerous universities over the past three years.
However I would have given more if not for the off-putting red tape. This has always involved filling in ‘new supplier’ forms. But has sometimes also meant many different forms and spreadsheets, zoom interviews for passport checks, bank statements and insurance documents all to receive the necessary purchase order number. One particular institution insisted I go on the payroll for one hour and then promptly sent me my P45 (was I fired?!).
My most frustrating experience currently is 15 months after doing a keynote presentation for an International Women’s Day event, I have yet to be paid. This despite UK legislation stating suppliers should be paid within 30 days of issuing an invoice. The loophole being if the university won’t issue you a PO number you can’t issue them an invoice.
A recent LinkedIn post I made about this issue garnered dozens of private messages with horror stories of people undergoing similar experiences. No-one wants to name and shame the universities involved because they are worried about being seen as trouble-makers but surely there has to be a review of how they pay music freelancers? If you’re going to get the benefit of my 25 years’ experience in the music industry and THEN make me chase you for six months, taking perhaps days of my time, is it really worth it? Sadly many of us are now saying, no. And the universities, and more importantly their students, will be all the poorer for it.
