Analysis - Benefits and appeals were recently launched to support the medical costs of veteran South African guitarist Madala Kunene. It's not the first time such initiatives have been necessary, nor the first time that media and politicians have expressed astonishment that a renowned musician 'died in poverty'.
Musicians' dire financial circumstances are sometimes wrongly blamed on irresponsible spending; a musicians' pension plan is often proposed as a solution. But until very recently, no data existed about what musicians in South Africa really earn, what costs they carry, and the tough trade-offs between professional and household costs they often need to make in order to survive.at IKS Cultural Consulting into a relief fund supporting SA jazz musicians during the COVID-19 period.
Identifying details of the fund's 700-plus recipients were removed before we analysed the income and spending data they submitted. A voluntary anonymous survey followed in 2022, which 311 of those completed. More extended retrospective reflections followed late in 2024 with seven on-the-record interviews.
Although our research population was jazz musicians, and we don't claim their situation is identical to that of musicians making other kinds of music, we're confident their circumstances apply far more widely. More than 90% of them, like their counterparts worldwide, work in other genres too.Our research was skewed towards experienced musicians, some at the height of their careers.
Musicians carry significant opportunity costs in terms of the long and usually unpaid rehearsal and practice hours they have to put in to stay skilled. During that time, they cannot do other work. They carry significant working costs: instrument and equipment purchase and upkeep; studio and venue hire; and - most significantly for many - transport. Some reported turning down engagements because travel costs would be higher than the fee offered.
Studios and other service providers also have to compensate for the devastating losses incurred during the pandemic. Because some venues have closed and events ceased, work is scarcer, and the fees offered are static or have even dropped.
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