Success Beyond The Score

Labour Day is an opportunity for workers across the globe to pause. Whether you use the day to rest and recover, to reconnect with others, or to think about ways to improve the conditions of your trade, the day is about having a breath and look at the reality of labour without the rush of the race for success (or survival).

In a landscape where 71% of music makers and professionals are freelance, however, the date can easily be dismissed and pass unnoticed. This is highly detrimental, given that freelancing is a particularly hostile and challenging model of work. The specificities of freelancing make plenty of room for abuse, exploitation and intimidation. It's vital that we push together for increased standards of protection for freelancers all across our sector, and for that, we need information and perspective.

Last year, Black Lives in Music worked to inform the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) report on Misogyny in Music, which found wide-scale issues that pointed to an ‘end...

After two successful online concerts in 2021 and 2022, the women of Time For My Music are ready for a bigger challenge. We have been discussing the format and features of our next performance for some time now, and we would deeply value your input!

If you have attended any T4MM concert, or you have watched the videos afterwards, please answer this short survey for us. (THE SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED)

If you haven't seen any of our work yet, here are the highlights of the first concert:

And here's the second concert in full:

One year ago today, the talented women from Time For My Music got together for their second online concert on YouTube. They showcased their fantastic skills, old and new, and raised money for charity. We also paid tribute to our dear former member Carlene, who sadly passed away a few weeks before the concert.

It was a great experience and we definitely want to go back to the stage in 2023. In order to improve our show, we have put together a quick survey. If you have attended or watched a Time For My Music concert before, we’d be very thankful if you could take a few minutes to fill it out.   (THE SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED)

Remember that you can revisit the concert on YouTube at any time:

Thank you so much for your input. We hope to see you in our next big show!

Help Musicians UK and Musicians Union have helped funding the PiPA (Parents in Performing Arts) Classical Music Survey, which aims to identify patterns in job and working environments in relation to work-life balance, and develop practical strategies and resources for Classical Music organisations to better support parents and carers, and the wider workforce.

You can take the survey clicking here.

The survey was developed in partnership with Association of British Orchestras, Liverpool Philharmonic, SWAP’ra, Black Lives in Music and UK Music. It will investigate the impact of caring responsibilities on career progression as well as wider worklife balance and wellbeing challenges in Classical Music.

The survey will provide data driven insights to enable PiPA to develop a range of strategies and resources for the Classical Music sector to empower organisations to better support parents, carers and the wider workforce.

PiPA wants to hear from people from all backgrounds and circumstan...