rent-a-musician.ch is online!
The SMPV complements the range of services for its members with the placement platform for musicians www.rent-a-musician.ch in the sense of helping people to help themselves.
Marianne Wälchli - As we all know, the coronavirus crisis has hit the music industry hard. Fully or partially self-employed and freelance members in particular keep telling us that they have had too little work since corona and that they sometimes almost despair as a result. This is remarkable because musicians are actually conditioned to only report on successes because they are afraid that their "market value" could drop if they admit that things are not going so well.
When its members clearly need help, it is the duty of a professional association to help within the scope of its possibilities. That is why the SMPV has decided to set up a private tuition platform parallel to the www.mein-musikunterricht.chThe members have already been able to advertise their private music lessons on this platform for some time. We are very pleased that www.rent-a-musician.ch has been online since November 5! The platform will gradually be filled with profiles of musicians from all over Switzerland, but already shows a wide range of instruments and musical styles.
Well, there are platforms outside the SMPV where you can advertise your private music lessons or concert activities. Unfortunately, however, these offer musicians, who are not on a bed of roses anyway, unprofitable conditions: Members complain that, depending on the platform, between 15 and 23% of their hourly fees or royalties are withheld by the platform operators, leaving them with only around two thirds of their wages after they have also paid social security contributions on their earnings. From this salary, they also have to pay the rent for the course venue, sheet music, instrument maintenance, insurance, etc. We keep hearing from members that they feel exploited, but that they still have to register on these platforms because they have been so reliant on finding students and getting concert engagements since coronavirus.
In this respect, the SMPV also sees its platforms as a wage protection measure for its members who work partially or fully independently or as freelancers, i.e. now also for those members who are permanently employed at a music school but who also perform independently or as freelancers. The SMPV does not charge any registration or placement fees on either platform. The possibility of placing one's profile on both platforms is part of the SMPV's service package, and membership fees did not have to be increased because of the new services.
Another advantage of the SMPV platforms is that the SMPV is the only platform operator that can guarantee that only profiles of qualified music teachers can be found on its platforms. Anyone who has obtained a music teaching diploma or who has ever taught didactics knows how much you need to learn in the field of didactics in order to provide your pupils with the best possible support and to avoid postural and vocal problems, for example. A great musician is not automatically a good music teacher!
As only those who have at least a Master's degree in music education or a teaching diploma in an instrument can become SMPV members, and because SMPV members can only register on both platforms in subjects in which they have a professionally qualifying diploma, the SMPV can really guarantee quality. We find it highly problematic for our profession that other platforms sometimes post profiles of musicians without didactic training on their teaching platforms.
