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“Where Can We Work?”: A Report on Workspace Availability for New York City’s Musicians. Image credit: NYC Performing Arts Spaces.

Music making generates hundreds of millions of dollars for New York City’s economy each year. But music making is also a very tough business. The city’s professional musicians who are not associated with a well-financed music institution, an estimated 15,000 individuals, are profoundly affected by intense competition for rehearsal and performance spaces.  Using an extensive online survey of musicians who perform in New York City and backed by a New York State Music Fund grant, NYC Performing Arts Spaces (NYCPAS) examined how the availability of rehearsal and performance space in the New York City area directly impacts musicians’ work patterns and productivity.  With its survey and analysis, NYCPAS aimed to identify the space needs and consequent productivity constraints of professional performers, composers and music educators. 

The resulting report, “Where Can We Work?” is the first of its kind to analyze statistics about what musicians working in New York City earn, where their work takes place, and how they function as small businesses.  In 2006, for example, of the professional musicians surveyed, 63 percent earned less than $50,000, with nearly one third living on less than $20,000 per year.  Meanwhile, soaring real estate values and rapid re-development are creating a critical shortage of affordable rehearsal and performance spaces, further hindering their ability to earn a living making music.

The report illustrates that without support, such as the tax incentives that the city currently gives to television and film production, there will be steadily fewer opportunities for musicians to play in New York City and be paid equitably.  It concludes by proposing five strategic recommendations for grantors, policy makers and the business community to work together to support musicians, thereby increasing the effectiveness of their contribution to the city’s cultural life.

NYC Performing Arts Spaces is a nonprofit organization that focuses solely on resolving performing artists' continuing need for rehearsal and performance space. “Where Can We Work?” is an extension of its mission to foster a vibrant performing arts community and help broaden public access to the performing arts by stimulating growth within the artistic community.