Dear Editor,

Having heard Professor Brian Norton’s excellent address to the Forum for Music in Ireland, I was delighted to read his article in the Jan-Feb JMI on the subject of music and economic development.

He challenges the musical community to change its stance from one of concentrating entirely on excellence of product to one of selling that excellent product in the market place.

For years, we, the arts community, have been producing extensive reports showing the necessity of adequate funding for the arts and in particular for music education. Why have these reports been ignored? Why have the sports organisations such as the GAA been able to access enormous grants? Why do science, engineering and IT departments receive massive funding while the arts have to do with ‘the crumbs from the table’?

Obviously our arguments have not been convincing enough to loosen the state purse strings. We have been concentrating on making the case for the intrinsic value of music but Professor Norton points out very clearly that we must now start looking at the product and put monetary value on it. It is not easy for artists to think commercially – we are accustomed to defending the aesthetic value of what we do, so how do we now start defining ourselves commercially?

Have we ever, for example, approached the IDA to include information about local music schools, arts organisations, and so on, in the portfolios sent to companies they hope to attract to our locality? Have we attempted to quantify in euro the value to the local economy of a music school? Have we evaluated in financial terms the contribution of artists in the local community?

Professor Norton also touches on the necessity to speak with a united voice. Organisations such as the Forum or IAMS (Irish Association of Music Schools) allow us to share our problems and our solutions. Artists can be solitary folk but we need to recognise the value of putting aside some of our individual concerns and weighing in for the common good.

I welcome the opening up of the debate and, like Professor Norton, consider that we need to move now!

Anne Woodworth
Director, WIT Music School
Waterford