 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2011-05-13 00:00
A new project to increase the bass clarinet literature has been launched, the Bass Clarinet Commission Collective. The idea is to "crowd-source" the funding of new pieces for bass clarinet. Rather than relying on traditional arts organizations, or government hand-ours, we clarinetists should take things into our own hands, and wallets. Working with an IRS approved arts organization, Fractured Atlas, the project is a non-profit, charitable donation project, patterned after Jeremy Eig's wonderful Clarinet Commission Collective and other similar efforts. The Artistic Advisory Board consists of Lawrie Bloom, Henri Bok, Rocco Parisi, and Jeff Anderle of Sqwonk. We have commissioned two new pieces, one by Marc Mellits for bass clarinet duo, as a sequel to his "Black"; the other piece will be by by Jonathan Russell for bass and orchestra. You can get all the information at the website, which is launched and ready for donations. Here it is:
https://sites.google.com/site/bassclarinetcollective/
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-05-13 00:13
Kewl. (I even recognised some of the names).
One thing that bugs me (independently of Bass, or even clarinet altogether) is that while music is universal, funding the latter (including nudging your favourite taxecutor) is a rather domestic project. Now if I happen to toss in say $50 for some worthy project, I may or may not get a tax deduction, depending on where the profitee is actually, uh, raking in the cash. That's not fair, and that's not helping in a global scale.
I think we need some universal "NPO" entity, accepted by gov'ts globally and beyond.
But that's just idle musing. As Jim would put it "I'm just sayin'".
--
Ben
Post Edited (2011-05-13 00:15)
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2011-05-13 00:47
Hi Ticatatux, I don't understand your point about not getting a tax deduction. If I give $50 to a qualified organization, I get the deduction, period. How much the deduction helps depends on your marginal tax rate.
I do take you point about the desirability of a global NPO, but governments are quite protective of their own tax bases, and since you are in Switzerland you will appreciate this, especially given that Switzerland is not in the EU and therefore doesn't accept Euros. I go the Geneva often and thus have quite a few pieces of Swiss currency that i can only spend there.
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2011-05-13 01:28
I thought about that and wasn't sure what dollar amount to peg that to, and agree its a good incentive. What amount do you think would be appropriate?
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-05-13 06:03
Dunno... depends on how much you get (part only, piano reduction, score, full orchestral parts, etc.). Could even have different levels that give different stuff.
Have you considered putting this up on Kickstarter? I know a bunch of people who have successfully funded projects through that site, and I've given to several.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-05-13 06:55
> I don't understand your point about not getting a tax deduction. If I give
> $50 to a qualified organization, I get the deduction, period.
Yes, but the criteria for what is "qualified" differ from state to state, from country to country. Crowd Funded Entities don't qualify here. Per the tax rate - hey, every penny helps. Especially if you're gravitating between adjacent progressive tax brackets...$1 less income can mean $1000 less in taxes...
> Switzerland is not in the EU and therefore doesn't accept Euros.
Euros are accepted in most places, albeit not at the most competitive exchange rate ever. Now I'm not sure how the Euro relates to taxes and deductibility...
--
Ben
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2011-05-13 13:47
Dear Tictactux:
Yes, I should have said Switzerland hasn't "adopted" the Euro; but as you point out, since the exchange rate is so poor for Euros, even though some people accept it, it is more efficient to use Swiss currency; hence the 60 Swiss Francs in my wallet which I will feel compelled to spend during my next trip there in 10 days. The connection with currency and deductions is that like currency, deductions go to a country's fiscal policies, which tend to be country driven, and certainly not global. In the U.S., the deductions for this project are first federal, then of course state by state but I doubt if a deduction qualifies at the federal level, any state would say no. But I'm a copyright lawyer, not a tax lawyer.
The more important point issue is how to get new compositions written for bass clarinet (or any instrument or group of them). One approach would be pure market-driven: you leave it up to composers to write if they think there is a market for their work. If they don't, they don't write. That may work for popular instruments or popular ensembles, but it doesn't for the rest of us. A second approach is write compositions yourself, or transcribe public domain ones. Not everyone is a composer and transcriptions get you only so far. My friends at Sqwonk went the transcription route, got bored, and then started to try and get new pieces written. (Jonathan Russell does compose too so that helps).
If you're going to ask someone to write a piece for you, how do you pay them? If you are wealthy enough or they want little enough, I guess you could pay for it yourself. Or, maybe you can get grants. The collective is based on a different model and approach: if enough people are willing to chip in, we can together get more pieces written and for less money individually. Individuals working together for the common good. Not all individuals are interested of course, and since unlike taxes which are mandatory, participation is voluntary. this means that there may not be many who do contribute even if they are interested. The thought may be that others will pay for it anyway, so why should I?
This raises its own problems because it puts heavy burdens on a few. I made the first contribution, for $3,000, which I think is a lot, because I wanted to get the collective off to a good start, and as a Founder, I thought I had to put my money where my mouth is. But if hardly anyone else contributes, it won't work at all. Hopefully, others will give to the extent they are interested and can. Per EEBaum's suggestion, I am trying to figure out the right amount that would get contributors a free score. I have asked Marc Mellits and will report back soon.
I think the collective is a good way for lots of people to work together rather than relaying on others, but its an experiment and we'll see if its a good one. Bass clarinet is not a large market for most composers, and it seemed to me that a collective where we all work together was a good idea. It may be a good idea but the wrong execution in which case maybe others will offer ideas how to improve it. But I was willing to put the work and my own money into trying to get pieces written that everyone, not just me, will enjoy.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-05-13 22:25
The problem with market-driven composition is that there really isn't much market for it. Given the amount of time to put into it, orchestras' limited budgets, and the glut of composers writing concert music, it's difficult to write a piece of music for the concert hall and expect a return on your invested time.
The collective idea is a good one, though there is that black hole of "will the music be any good once we've paid for it?" Given my huge pile of music I've bought and never played because I didn't care for it or couldn't put together the ensemble for it, I'd be hesitant to contribute. If the cost I'd pay toward the commission is LESS than I'd pay for the sheet music at a later date, I'd be more inclined.
But then, I'm a composer myself, so if I'm lacking music to play, I get proactive and write more myself.
Really, most new works come out of Academia, where you don't rely on market forces. When a faculty member is salaried (or a student is in school), they'll get an idea for a piece and just write it. Coming up with $25k to get someone outside of academia to do the same thing is quite a price tag.
In my situation, writing pieces for one another tends to be a case of exchanging favors... I, a composer/clarinetist, might write a piece for a composer/bassoonist, who, in turn, writes a piece for me or plays for free in a couple shows I'm putting on. Large sums of money are rarely exchanged between us (beer and dinner, usually); the emphasis is placed on establishing and furthering the music scene and our careers, and increasing the general cash flow from various sources in our direction (e.g. ticket sales, merch, getting our names out for the jobs that pay).
It also depends on how important it is to you to have monumental symphonic repertoire written for your instrument. Not a priority for me.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2011-05-13 23:57
Hi Alex, thanks so much for your comments. I agree that market forces don't work here which is why I thought the collective a possible alternative. There are two initial pieces, one for bass duo, and one for single bass and orchestra although I doubt it will be a monumental orchestra since the performance possibilities are very limited, but not impossible: this October Lawrie Bloom is performing the Musgrave Sonata with the Chicago Symphony.
You make a good point about wanting to know what it is you are getting for your money. Of course any new piece is new by definition and so you won't know before it is written, but you can listen to past works, and here I should have provided links on the site to Marc Mellits and Jonathan Russell's past works. I will do so. But here is a link to a performance of Marc's "Black": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngVoCYF0Ei4
Here is a link to a performance of Jonathan's piece for two basses and (small, non-monumental) orchestra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwwMLUULl5s
I like both pieces quite a lot and think they augur well for the new compositions.
On getting a free score for a contribution, I have corresponded with Marc about this and he thinks it is a good idea. We are trying to work out the numbers. I don't think the numbers should be less or even the same as if you bought the score retail. For one thing, you are getting a tax deduction, so the money goes a lot farther. But more basically, the fundamental purpose is really to pool money for the creation of the work, a cost above the cost of a score, appreciating that we are happy to take contributions in any amount.
It may be as you suggest that this won't be of interest to enough people for it to work out. I think it worth trying though, and if enough people give even small amounts, it can. I would rather try but fail than not try at all.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-05-14 03:01
Cools. Well, good luck with this. Hope it works out, and I do like the model. Very much like a bunch of Kickstarter projects, which have been very successful.
If you're not familiar, they accept donations for projects at various levels, all of which offer some sort of compensation for the donor. For a band to record a CD, $1 might get you a thank-you postcard, $5 and MP3, $20 a signed copy of the album, $50 a signed copy of the album and signed band photo, $500 all of the above plus the lead singer cooks dinner for you, $2000 and the band plays at a private party, etc. Works really well. Donation money is all authorized on donors' credit cards, but only actually charged if the project reaches its funding goals successfully. For example, one I contributed $20 to: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/meze/orkestar-meze-is-recording-their-debut-album?ref=live
This way, you get something in return, something that usually, in one way or another, you can't just go out and buy under normal circumstances. Huge incentive for donation.
If the score-bonus level is above retail, it would be more enticing if you gave some bonus... perhaps have the copy of the score signed by the composer. Trickier in your instance, as the composer isn't involved in the fundraising effort.
FWIW, in my current financial situation, tax deductions have no effect, so that incentive is right out for me.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2011-05-14 03:57
Thanks so much for your encouragement. At your suggestion, I have cleared with Marc Mellits (whose piece will be funded first) these incentives: those who give $250 will get a free copy of the full score. Those who give $400 will get an autographed copy of the full score. Those who give $500 will get a copy of the full score and the parts and the right to perform it as much as they want.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-05-15 06:07
Some incentives at lower levels may help grease the wheels, too, especially if you're looking at this as a crowdsourcing effort... $250 still hits "benefactor with name in the program" vibes if it's the minimum for anything in return. Perhaps something for $20 or $50? A photocopy of a page of some of the composer's sketches? A photo of... something...?? An mp3 of the premiere? A bass clarinet t-shirt?
Point being that, with various levels of rewards, to the point that everyone who donates gets SOMETHING, you can get more of the benefits of market-driven funding in a donation-based project.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2011-05-15 13:42
Excellent advice again Alex. I have been researching statistics on Kickstarter, which found the most common contribution to be $65. So, we will add a $65 level which will get your name added in the acknowledgment sections of the score. Marc and I are also thinking of money options. I'll keep you posted.
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Author: rgames
Date: 2011-05-15 15:50
Just a note that there are other organizations that do similar things - the listings come up in the ACF newsletter. I think they're also available on the website.
There are several programs that provide funds to match composers with performing ensembles, so it's another source of funding for this type of effort.
rgames
____________________________
Richard G. Ames
Composer - Arranger - Producer
www.rgamesmusic.com
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