Great discussion, all.

http://parabasis.typepad.com/blog/2010/02/submission-fees.html

http://createquity.com/2010/02/eighth-blackbird-and-the-ethics-of-pay-to-play.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Createquity+(Createquity.)&utm_content=Twitter

Think of it this way. How many hours have you already spent composing your chamber sextet? Have you been compensated for any of that time?

If you have, then congrats! You’re way ahead of the game. If you haven’t, then the measly $50 entry fee seems like a drop in the bucket compared to the much greater loss of at least $25 per hour’s worth of your time.

Complaining about entry fees feels a little pennywise, poundfoolish to me.

No one owes us anything. Not even their attention.

What 8bb is doing is conforming to an economic model, the one that surrounds them here in the United States. Whether that economic model is good for the future and good for the arts in particular I very much doubt, but I’m glad that someone like 8bb is actually following through with the consequences. It’s a valid reaction to the situation (=dire) of the arts in the age of turb0-capitalism.

A second valid reaction, admittedly less effective, is to complain.

A third valid reaction is to set up more generous, more progressive funding mechanisms for things like this, which will always be politically precarious. That is what we do nowadays and could do more of. Precariousness be damned! …even as such band-aids don’t solve the underlying problem.

All three reactions come to terms with reality in their own way. The 8bb solution shouldn’t be demonized, because it’s one way among many and probably the most effective in helping the ensemble thrive at the level it’s at today without sacrificing its commitment to music that’s difficult to bring to life.

Sure, we don’t enjoy whipping out the credit card for things like this, but it’s a necessary part of doing this sort of business in this day in age. I recently paid a $45 fee to have my application considered for participation in a program that would help boost my organization’s stature. Did I want to pay it? No. But I knew it was necessary and I didn’t think it was at all unreasonable.