The Arts Council is currently deliberating on the funding of the National Portfolio Organisations for the next three years 2015 to 2018. Dryden’s line from Absalom and Achitophel, “Beware the fury of a patient man” neatly describes the feeling of the jazz community in the England towards the appalling under funding of jazz.
When Arts Council England announced its response to public sector cuts with the new National Portfolio of Organisations programme (NPO) back in 2011, a number of seminars were held across England and it was emphasised that a key priority was to address ‘cold spots’ – “the places where there was no provision; places in need and places that were isolated from mainstream provision” (mailout magazine June/July 2011)
However the exercise was flawed. Arts Council England before any thought of formulating a strategic framework should have asked and provided the answers to two fundamental questions; Where are we now? and where do we want to be? The failure to answer these questions and to address the flaws in equitable provision for music and jazz in particular regrettably missed the one chance to ensure that the music portfolio was balanced fairly and equitably.For example the 8 orchestras in England all received the same cut of minus 2.3% in cash terms (-11.0% in real terms). This implies that all 8 orchestras were on an absolute par with each other in terms of the criteria for selection to the National Portfolio Organisations Programme or that they were processed without rigorous examination.
Opera needs to be placed in context with the wider landscape – in 2010 the Royal Opera House received £28.3 million (circa £15.3 million if you exclude ballet). 625 yards away is the English National Opera who received £18.3 million in 2010/2011. Within less than a quarter of a mile in London there is a concentration of scarce resources of £46.6 million. The audience for opera in England is 1.6 million people; for jazz 2.5 million people and for classical music 3.3 million people. Total Arts Council funding for opera in England in 2012/13 was circa £50.5 million, for classical music £18.9 million and for jazz £1.25 million.
The labourer is worthy of their hire but with the chief executive of the Royal Opera House receiving a salary of £390,000 in 2010; this remuneration belongs more to the City of London than to a vocational occupation.
Furthermore, there is the Arts Council opera touring policy for England “Spheres of Influence” that has been in operation since 1982. In 2009/2010 Welsh National Opera received £6.6 million from Arts Council England under this scheme to tour 7 cities in England: Birmingham, Oxford, Liverpool, Southampton, Milton Keynes and Plymouth. The total funding from Arts Council Wales to the Welsh National Opera was £4.5 million. Welsh National Opera also received £360k of Sustain funding from Arts Council England..
Jazz on the other hand developed a policy that was published by the Arts Council of England in 1996 with no resources attached to it and it was shelved, with no consultation, by the Arts Council Director of Music Strategy Hilary Boulding in 2000.
In February 2013 I wrote a briefing paper on the Arts Council and its flawed approach to funding.
“Where are we now? and Where do we want to be?The failure to answer these questions and to address the flaws in equitable provision for music and jazz in particular has regrettably missed the one chance to ensure that the music portfolio was balanced fairly and equitably. In fact the Arts Council appears to be run like a hedge fund – an investment portfolio of arts organisations replete with the slogan “Great Art for Everyone”. Whatever next Anne Summers – “Great Sex for Everyone”, or the Cooperative Funeral Care – “Great Funerals for Everyone”. Even more risible is the fact that they have adopted from the banks the oxymoron “relationship managers………………..”
To read more please click on Arts Council England funding for jazz – “Beware the fury of a patient man”