Without realizing it initially, the recording industry has succeeded in exalting music primarily as a museum art. The repertory most recorded, most purchased, and most heard is historical. This should be a major concern for all music professionals, not just composers. A committed final rendition is unlikely. The union movement has done much to bring dignity, proper protection, and an increased sense of worth to workers and their individual contributions to the total enterprise.
Rehearsals now proceed by the clock.
Marketplace concerns affect programming to an unhealthy degree, and rehearsal time for the new and untried is frugally allocated. Unionism is one aspect of a clear trend toward recognizing the primacy of group presence and clout. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the unionization of performers means that their concerns assume the central place on the table, demanding to be addressed and accommodated in some fashion. We composers, unhappily, have no recognized union. There is no working guild to speak consistently for our particular interests, to set fee structures understood as industry standards, to articulate our point of view, clarify our requirements, and work to raise our profile in the concert music world.