Music promotion in the canton of Basel-Stadt put to the test

The text of the unformulated initiative, which was submitted with 4098 valid signatures, reads as follows:

"The Canton of Basel-Stadt promotes public music in a way that takes into account the diversity of interests and the needs of today's society. In future, the Canton of Basel-Stadt will therefore increasingly support not only institutions but also independent musicians with appropriate funding, thus ensuring a diverse range of music. To this end, the following regulation will be implemented within 4 years of the initiative being accepted:

1. The Canton of Basel-Stadt supports independent music creation with at least one third of the total music funding budget each year. This includes: a) contributions for freelance musicians; b) contributions for program, venue and structural support.
2. The Canton of Basel-Stadt is adapting the funding structures accordingly and standardizing the awarding processes for all independent music creation."

Problematic consequences

What at first glance appears sympathetic, namely to provide appropriate support not only for classical music, but also for electronica, hip-hop, jazz, pop and rock, has consequences that the initiators either did not consider or did not want to see: In particular, the Basel Symphony Orchestra SOB (which is funded by the public purse) and the Theater Basel, where the SOB provides a considerable proportion of its services, would no longer be able to continue their performance mandate in its current form if the 30% subsidy were to be cut. One of the initiators, Roberto Barbotti, says in an interview in the Basler Zeitung: "Nobody said that they wanted to cut funding for classical music if the initiative was accepted. That is scaremongering." It is unclear how this is supposed to fit together, as the government council rejects a further increase in the culture budget. In the same interview, rapper La Nefera says dismissively: "Even if only a few people listen to classical music, I think it's important to promote it." In the 2018/19 season, the Basel Symphony Orchestra alone had around 125,000 listeners! Both the SOB and the Basel Chamber Orchestra regularly play to sold-out halls. This also ignores the fact that the SOB, for example, employs around 170-180 freelance musicians for a wide variety of programs during a season in addition to the 100 or so permanent employees. These perform a total of around 3,000-3,500 services and cost around 900,000 to 1.2 million francs (depending on the season). It can therefore be assumed that the share designated as institutional funding also includes substantial funds from which freelance musicians benefit. The fact that the initiators are not explicitly calling for an increase in the cultural budget - apart from the fact that the canton of Basel-Stadt already has the highest per capita expenditure in the cultural sector in Switzerland - is due to the fact that the implementation of the "Tip Initiative", which was adopted in 2020, has already introduced measures that significantly improve the conditions for independent music creation in the canton of Basel-Stadt and counteract the historically grown imbalance of genres. It provides for a gradual increase in the cultural budget over the years 2022 to 2024 totaling CHF 3.15 million, which is intended to strengthen youth and alternative culture in all genres.

Government Council and Grand Council reject the initiative

As the Government Council explains in its 2023 report, music creation and the range of music on offer are supported by several public funds, in all genres from classical music and amateur choirs to contemporary and improvised music and popular music. He is of the opinion that "implementing the demands in line with the initiative text would jeopardize the stability of identity-defining cultural institutions and Basel's reputation as a city of culture, lead to the dismissal of permanent staff and a reduction in commissions and performance opportunities for freelance musicians".

On the recommendation of its Education and Culture Committee, the Grand Council rejected the initiative in June 2024. The development of a counter-proposal, which would have included an improvement in social security for cultural workers, failed because the demands of the initiative were not specific enough for an alternative proposal. In an interview with the Basler Zeitung, Franziskus Theurillat, the orchestra director of the SOB, explained that there had been talks with the initiators before the initiative was launched and that they might have supported it, but apparently it was not just about obtaining funding, but about fundamentally questioning the funding system for ideological reasons.

Initiative divides the cultural landscape

The committee "Caring for Basel as a City of Culture", which is campaigning for the rejection of the initiative and of which SMV Central Secretary Beat Santschi is a member, comments: "The initiative is populist and characterized by envy and resentment. It is driving a wedge into our cultural landscape. The initiative calls for additional funding for a certain group of "independent" artists and deliberately accepts that this should be at the expense of "institutional" artists. This special treatment is unfair, divides the various players in the cultural city of Basel and sows discord. [...] The initiative wants one-sided support for music. That is not in keeping with the times. Cultural promotion today is interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral. We want to promote innovative collaboration and overcome divisions. However, the initiative has the effect of pitting the various disciplines, genres, cultural forms of expression and institutions against each other." Franziskus Theurillat aptly summarizes the situation before the vote: "I can only support the concern for balanced promotion that underlies the initiative. Diversity too, anyway. That's the tricky thing. I have mixed feelings. I can support the cause, but not the initiative in its current form."

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