Patronage System For Today

A topic of fascination for me isn't so much the composers themselves, but how composers in general lived in various moments in life, as well as the culture that surrounded them. One time period that comes to mind is the classical period and how composers lived in the patronage system. This got me wondering, would any of us-- if given the chance-- would participate in the patronage system if given the chance?

Lets think of this in terms of a hypothetical:

(For this hypothetical I will be modeling a modern mock contract from a contract Haydn used with the Esterhazy Family. You can view that contract here) 

The family that wants to hire you as their personal composer/musician/music teacher are called the Smiths (I know very original lol)

The Salary is roughly $80,000 USD a year plus living quarters and transportation provided. This is a 3 year contract. You have access to one of the finest orchestras in the world and have almost unlimited resources at your disposal. This family and their orchestra are one of the most well known orchestra in the world and your fame is almost guaranteed.

The stipulations and conditions are as followed:

1. You are considered staff, which means you enter the house from the staff entrance in the back and speak to the family as such. 
2. You are in charge and the boss of 120 musicians. You take care of the hiring, firing, paychecks, and maintenance of the family orchestra and all that is involved with that.
   1. If needed you are allowed to hire more musicians within reason. 
3. You are also in charge of the musical education of the families six children. You must teach them either an instrument, how to sing, basic music, or composition (however you see fit). 
4. A mandatory weekly concert will be held every Friday, however you must enter the master bedroom and enquire to see if the family wishes for a concert that day. If they say yes, you will be given a few hours to prepare the musicians for said concert. All music must be new. 
5. You must also provide music for all family functions such as weddings, funerals, family reunions, Christmas, birthdays, etc.
6. All music produced is property of the Smith family. No music shall be reproduced or composed for anyone else. All music can be used and/or sold by the Smith for their benefit.
   1. All musical appearances outside family functions must be approved and must be of benefit to the Smith family. 80% of all monetary gains from said appearances must be given to the Smith family. The remaining 20% will be applied at the end of the year to you salary as a bonus. 
7. You must live on the premises for the total of your contract. All vacation time must be approved by the head of household. 

I tried to mirror the condition that classical period composers would have had to deal with. Knowing this, would you enter into this contract?

Probably yes. It's well paid, and despite the constrains, a fast-working composer with a penchant for conducting could do pretty well. Nowadays, there are no constrains on the creative side, so I could write whatever new music I want and have it performed. After wearing the hell out of myself for 3 years, I could opt out with a handsome paycheck and take a real vacation.

My, but that's a full schedule...  As long as you are allowed to deputize some of your orchestra members to help counting out silver for payroll and hold sectional rehearsals while you are busy teaching those adorable children.  

And/or conversely, to have an orchestra member teaching the children how to play their instrument :smithy:... :cool:

This would be a no-brainer if you are a young aspiring composer.  Full, unlimited access to a world class orchestra with frequent guaranteed performances would more than outweigh the downsides, particularly the lack of ownership of your music.

I had a friend tell me "I totally want to be your patron of the arts and support your lifestyle with my hoards of wealth. First I need to get a hoard of wealth."

Joking aside, this arrangement would be really good for someone who could manage it. I'm not one of those people. I'd be flustered and angry all the time. That said, I'm a total novice at composition so maybe when I'm better and could put out better stuff with more efficiency I would think of this scenario in a better light. There are people with real skill on this site, so I guess this question was aimed at them :P

I would accept without much consideration, simply for the reasons people mentioned above. The only thing that might worry me is the fact that, due to the circumstances of having new music every week, you'd either have to create smaller-scale pieces that are pretty good, or larger-scale pieces that are unrefined and unworked. I'm guessing the composer in this hypothetical would have to go with the smaller-scale pieces. This being a downside, the composer could never actually compose larger, better works without having to be able to compose smaller works to satisfy the weekly requirements. Thus, it would be frustrating to any composer looking to broaden their compositional repertoire. But for only three years, it'd be so worth it. 

Also, the weekly constraint might be pretty difficult to a contemporary composer because harmonies today are so much more complex than harmonies from the 18th century, especially when Haydn was under the patronage of Esterhazy. I'm sure any composer worth their salt could manage to work within the time-constraints though. 

This is a very strange anachronistic scenario. But if the pay is $80,000 adjusted for deflation back into 19th century florins, I would jump at the chance and would be only too happy to enter through not just the staff door, but the dog door, if hired. Anyway, three years goes by like that. And during that time, one can make the acquaintance of the ladies in the court. And what the prince doesn't know won't hurt him.

patreon.com

patreon.com

 True but patreon.com isn't as strict and demanding as a Patronage contract would be. Its more like constant crowdfunding. 

Well, I'm married with two kids, so I don't think it would actually work for me now without substantial allowances. But! If I was younger and unattached, I would certainly take up this offer. I currently write music mainly in the hours of late night and early morning, when the kids are sleeping, but I would salivate at the chance to not only spend all day composing, but be PAID for it! My main worry would be teaching the children, because I have never been a strong singer and my instrumental skills are limited to keyboards and guitar. If young Noah were deemed worthy to take this job, he certainly would.