I am a singer – do I have to learn another profession now?
As if the studies were not long and difficult enough:
The vocal apparatus, the breath, the psyche, the musicality, the expression – all the time you’re stuck on another corner and when after 6 years (that’s as long as a basic study of medicine!) you finally stand on your singer’s feet and are lucky enough to be engaged at a theatre, you’re a „beginner“ with a basic salary of 2000€/month, gross mind you. If you’re lucky enough to sing concerts, it’s quite possible that the concert fee is as high as a monthly fee at the opera; but that doesn’t happen so often and you always have to ask if you can get time off at „your“ opera house.
If things go well, one can soon negotiate more money, and if one is well „on the road“ as a freelancer, the evening fees climb up quickly. You can earn real money as a singer if you are stress-resistant, can cope with not seeing your family for weeks on end, can maintain or improve quality for years and are not exactly a complete social contact idiot. With the earned money one must be able to budget, but otherwise: yes, great job!
A freelance singer makes sure that s/he has a cushion
- for pregnancy/s
- for disease
- for private pension insurance/retirement provision
- for cushioning any losses due to flooding, storms, strikes, etc.
- and s/he puts money aside because s/he knows that at over 50 it will be less with the engagements and you have to get the maximum out of the good years. How long does a soprano „last“?
Now Corona has shown us:
There are decision-makers in the theatre and political management levels who think that the well-earning singers „could have put something aside“ for bad times. The (if any) cancellation fees are only a fraction of the contractually agreed and planned fees. You plan your life, right? If you earn more, you usually live a bit more generously. And if you know that you earn 40,000€ between March and June, you can look a little more relaxed into the summer slump and hope that another production will come in for the autumn.
Now some theatres offer 25% and say that even this has been difficult to negotiate politically. Then the singer has 10.000€ instead of the expected (and contracted) 40.000€, should be grateful for the offer and doesn’t know how this money will be enough for 6 months. What then? Sure, one attacks the pension plan – the consequences „we’ll get later“, we don’t worry about that for now.
The majority of Corona’s aid programs, at least those in Germany, only cover operating costs: you can get coached, take part in a training course, or create a new website. But the cost of living is usually not suitable for aid programs.
Access to Arbeitslosengeld 2 is easier now and you can manage to get around 1000€/month with housing benefit, etc. – if you have not „accumulated“ any savings – that money might cause exclusion from the program:
If you have taken good precautions, you are screwed now (excuse my language!)
To cut a long story short:
We have to A. FIGHT and B. RETHINK; „the system“ doesn’t leave a „normal“ person without support, but the „freelance = self-inflicted“ is haunting many minds…
What you can do now?:
1. FIGHT:
Together with the groups of singers/music theater people who are finally showing solidarity:
in Germany: KreaKtiv-musiktheater stands up on Facebook, soon kreaktiv.art!
In Austria: StimmIG stimm-ig.org
In France: UNISSON unisson.net
In Italy: Assolirica assolirica.it
In Spain: ALE alesindicatolirico.com
In Sweden: Teaterforbundet: teaterforbundet.se
All these groups are highly motivated and are currently creating the International LYRICoalition.
In each country, the artists have started to work together with the agencies. The aim is to soon sit around a round table with the theatre directors and politicians to establish fair conditions for the freelancers.
So: join the group in your country, and if there is nothing in your country yet, start your own group/page.
2. RETHINK YOUR LIFE-PLAN:
BRAINSTORMING is the slightly overused magic word.
Ignite a storm in your brain, which mixes up your common thinking patterns! Dare to think around the 15 corners that you usually forbid yourself or for which you are usually too comfortable! If you are a writer, take the famous big note and draw a mind map. You can find out how to do this on the Internet, for example here: https://www.lernen.net/artikel/mindmap-erstellen-9401/
This can look like this, for example:
What else can you do?
Teaching
Sure, teaching is the obvious alternative, but: if you’re already 40 and have never had the urge to teach anything (for example tutoring, piano lessons, yoga, or whatever), then maybe it’s not your thing! You can be a good person without wanting to teach:)
If you like teaching, then write (for yourself) a teaching concept and think about what kind of teaching you give and what kind of teacher you are/will be.
Further education
Distance learning, regular second-degree courses, online courses, weekend seminars.
Coaching
Let somebody help you think when you are stuck! A good coaching session can help you to solve thinking blockades. You don’t have to go there all the time – a good coach will help you in the first session so that you can continue thinking on your own.
You can also declare coaching as further education and finance it with the Corona-Hilfe or at least deduct it from your tax bill.
Surprise
Look into an area that you do not know – who knows what is hidden there?
Memories
What fascinated you as a child? What did you enjoy doing as a student?
Fill your gaps
You never knew how to use Excel properly? It’s high time you finally learned!
You can only play the piano badly? Then start practicing!
If you sing in Germany: Join the GDBA
They give legal advice, also for freelancers. After a waiting period of 6 months, you can call on a lawyer, before that you will also get general help and contacts.
You do not need a new profession, because you have a profession you love very much, but you need, we all need an additional perspective!
Have fun with creative searching and
see you soon!
Hedwig
