McManus: Musical ‘Oversupply’ No Excuse For Exploitation

Are U.S. and European orchestras facing an oversupply of qualified young musicians? AJ blogger Drew McManus doesn’t think so, since more musicians competing for fewer jobs can also mean a fresh supply of musically knowledgable individuals who might move into other areas of the industry. But “instead of seeing greater numbers of musicians as a benefit to the business, too many people may consider this as an ‘oversupply problem’ and attempt to force established musicians into accepting lower wages or, even worse, begin to establish new ensembles bent on taking advantage of inexperienced, yet highly trained, labor for personal or organizational gain.”