tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9617011.post8314953947438666528..comments2024-03-27T23:45:06.093+01:00Comments on Renewable Music: The missing mechanismDaniel Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093101325234464791noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9617011.post-54480181570920323032007-10-18T05:04:00.000+02:002007-10-18T05:04:00.000+02:00As someone who has produced and presented a lot of...As someone who has produced and presented a lot of new music concerts over the years (I'm starting up again after moving to Fort Worth Texas 8 years ago), let me state the general economic principle for new music: <BR/><BR/>you really CAN make a small fortune in new music whether as a composer, ensemble/performer, promoter/presenter, or any other function, but only if you start with a large fortune.Herb Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18361075879064632458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9617011.post-71002263251741503832007-10-16T04:01:00.000+02:002007-10-16T04:01:00.000+02:00I agree with this and had a similar idea several w...I agree with this and had a similar idea several weeks ago when I purchased the domain youCommission.com and then I went on holiday and moved and let the project slip from my mind.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, my plan was to set up the beta version for free and then charge a a flat fee for every listed item. <BR/><BR/>I want to partner with somebody bigger, like Meet the Composer, to get some legitimacy, but I need some working prototypes first, I think. In future version, I'd like to see this integrated with social networking sites. People don't consume music like they consume Great Art, so I think it's reasonable to treat commissioned music as a commodity similar to CDs or other recorded music. Folks can get very sentimental over pop tunes. I see commissioning not just as a business model, but as a way to encourage that kind of emotional connection with my music.<BR/><BR/>Heh, thanks for reminding me about this project! I'll go look for some open source auction software to use tomorrow.<BR/><BR/>In other news, I hope to be running a banner ad soon (for my own music only) on a non-music-related website. <BR/><BR/>The biggest obstacle I see for commissioning projects is not technical - it's not setting up a site and making it work - it's reaching a mass market audience. There may be a partnership out there which could help with marketing, but I can't think of who yet.Charles Céleste Hutchinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18123138871494922485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9617011.post-5336470542625227662007-10-16T03:12:00.000+02:002007-10-16T03:12:00.000+02:00Matthew --A "funky dynamic" is right; performers a...Matthew --<BR/><BR/>A "funky dynamic" is right; performers are as often associated with the commissionee as the commissioner. In many cases, a composer works through a partner performer to negotiate or even broker a commission. <BR/><BR/>I think Dennis and Celeste have it right in that the institutional presence has got to be one more like eBay than Meet the Composer. The specialized expertise in auctioning and settlement mechanisms is more essential than any specific knowledge about music and traditional commissions and it would probably be easier to adapt eBay to the unique hybrid of good and service that composes a commission than for MTC to learn auctioning. Moreover, it would probably be prohibitively expensive to organize such an auction framework from the ground up; ASOL cannot compete with eBay on fees.Daniel Wolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09093101325234464791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9617011.post-57349944613956236482007-10-16T02:48:00.000+02:002007-10-16T02:48:00.000+02:00I think the wild card in commissioning is the actu...I think the wild card in commissioning is the actual performers. Most large organizations don't commission out of their operating funds, but out of donated funds, which means that the people willing to spend money on commissioning have to have a preexisting relationship with the performance organization. And "Meet the Composer"-type commission grants require a preexisting relationship between performers and composer. In a way, the current set-up is rather like the middleman also functioning as either the provider or receiver of services, which is, to put it mildly, a funky dynamic. <BR/><BR/>I think that an auction-style clearinghouse would actually be a beneficial development—it would certainly benefit both smaller organizations and composers who aren't particularly interested in, say, orchestral or operatic projects. But that would require some extra-institutional body to function as the market—Meet The Composer, say, or the American Symphony Orchestra League (or whatever they're calling themselves lately) or Chamber Music America or what have you. And then the question becomes: is there a sufficient market there to make hosting such a market via membership fees economically viable, as it is for the NYSE or the CBOT? Or, alternatively, does the sponsor of such clearinghouses get a cut of the deal, as an auction house would? <BR/><BR/>It's a fascinating idea, really—but I'm with you: my gut tells me there's not enough of a critical mass to support it yet. So the next question: how do you develop a critical mass in that area?Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10936327293692397100noreply@blogger.com