The key points in brief:

Fair pay requires fair funding structures.
The cultural policy framework calls for fair remuneration for institutions receiving public funding. From our perspective, this falls short: fair pay must apply across the entire field of professional music-making — including clubs, festivals and live events, as well as project-based funding for independent professional musicians.

At present, fair pay is only achievable within the classical music sector. This is primarily because orchestras and classical institutions receive substantial state support. In all other areas, the necessary financial resources are lacking — for example, at Basel’s funding bodies such as the Musikbüro and the Music Expert Committee, as well as among clubs and event organisers. If the cultural policy framework — rightfully — demands fair pay, this cannot be realised without a fundamental rethinking of current funding structures.

Selective funding — but not at the expense of diversity.
The cultural policy framework seeks to mobilise the funds needed for fair pay by reducing the number of funded projects. This will inevitably result in a loss of diversity. After all, a large share of the city’s cultural offering is generated in the very area that is mainly supported through project-based funding — namely independent music creators.

For us, this is unacceptable. On the one hand, the institutional music sector receives CHF 21 million out of a total of CHF 23 million and is therefore able to pay fair fees. On the other hand, project funding is expected to be drastically reduced in the name of fair pay.

Find our full statement here