Composers can barely afford their rent and their bills, let alone the luxury of studio space, award-winning composer Hannah Kendall has said.
Talking on a panel at a recent event marking PRS for Music Foundation’s new Composers’ Fund, she explained: ‘The crux of the problem for composers today is that they can barely afford their rent and their bills, let alone the luxury of having studio space - without extra funding.
‘I want to highlight that, based on the last Sound & Music report, composers are making just over a thousand pounds from writing music every year. So [the average London studio rental rate of] £300 a month is in no way affordable to most people,’ she added.
Alongside Kendall, the panel gathered composer Emily Hall plus Nick Hartwright (The Mill Co Project) and Jonathan Reekie (Somerset House) to debate the issue of lack of affordable, suitable studio and rehearsal space available to composers.
Concerns had been formally raised in PRS for Music Foundation research leading to the creation of its new fund, and many who took part in the study were present in the audience.
The panel discovered that it’s not just personal studio space that’s in dire shortage in the capital. Collaborative and rehearsal space is in short supply too, as Hartwright explained. ‘In my experience, generally developers just want to build flats. It’s becoming harder and harder to have diverse creative spaces.’
His company, The Mill Co. Project, is a social enterprise that provides project spaces at competitive rates for artists, and is operating at the cutting edge of the property boom.
‘There’s a huge need for spaces to record strings,’ he continued. ‘You’ve got Air Studios and Abbey Road, which charge hundreds and hundreds of pounds a session. We need to look at making more affordable facilities so they can benefit everyone.’
Reekie, who heads up the Somerset House Trust, told the panel he is working to convert disused government offices at the central London site into affordable arts space for 300 creatives.
In two years, the new environs will welcome those from the breadth of the cultural industries, with special attention given to ‘makers’ and ‘artists’.
‘From our point of view, we’re trying to create a much stronger artistic purpose for Somerset House. We want to bring artists and makers – and the production of art - back into the heart of the city.’
PRS for Music Foundation launched the Composers’ Fund at London’s City Hall last week. The new initiative aims to give talented composers direct access to funding at pivotal stages in their careers.
It was unveiled on 25 February at an event at London’s City Hall including Munira Mirza, deputy mayor of education and culture.
Read Mirza’s comments on the pressure that London’s growth is putting on the city’s creative infrastructure: http://www.m-magazine.co.uk/news/london-growth-putting-pressure-on-creativity-expert-warns/
Talking on a panel at a recent event marking PRS for Music Foundation’s new Composers’ Fund, she explained: ‘The crux of the problem for composers today is that they can barely afford their rent and their bills, let alone the luxury of having studio space - without extra funding.
‘I want to highlight that, based on the last Sound & Music report, composers are making just over a thousand pounds from writing music every year. So [the average London studio rental rate of] £300 a month is in no way affordable to most people,’ she added.
Alongside Kendall, the panel gathered composer Emily Hall plus Nick Hartwright (The Mill Co Project) and Jonathan Reekie (Somerset House) to debate the issue of lack of affordable, suitable studio and rehearsal space available to composers.
Concerns had been formally raised in PRS for Music Foundation research leading to the creation of its new fund, and many who took part in the study were present in the audience.
The panel discovered that it’s not just personal studio space that’s in dire shortage in the capital. Collaborative and rehearsal space is in short supply too, as Hartwright explained. ‘In my experience, generally developers just want to build flats. It’s becoming harder and harder to have diverse creative spaces.’
His company, The Mill Co. Project, is a social enterprise that provides project spaces at competitive rates for artists, and is operating at the cutting edge of the property boom.
‘There’s a huge need for spaces to record strings,’ he continued. ‘You’ve got Air Studios and Abbey Road, which charge hundreds and hundreds of pounds a session. We need to look at making more affordable facilities so they can benefit everyone.’
Reekie, who heads up the Somerset House Trust, told the panel he is working to convert disused government offices at the central London site into affordable arts space for 300 creatives.
In two years, the new environs will welcome those from the breadth of the cultural industries, with special attention given to ‘makers’ and ‘artists’.
‘From our point of view, we’re trying to create a much stronger artistic purpose for Somerset House. We want to bring artists and makers – and the production of art - back into the heart of the city.’
PRS for Music Foundation launched the Composers’ Fund at London’s City Hall last week. The new initiative aims to give talented composers direct access to funding at pivotal stages in their careers.
It was unveiled on 25 February at an event at London’s City Hall including Munira Mirza, deputy mayor of education and culture.
Read Mirza’s comments on the pressure that London’s growth is putting on the city’s creative infrastructure: http://www.m-magazine.co.uk/news/london-growth-putting-pressure-on-creativity-expert-warns/
