The Philharmonia has quietly scrapped musicians’ media payments — and almost no one’s talking about it

I’m a professional orchestral musician, posting anonymously for obvious reasons.

A short piece ran in Private Eye last week about something that’s barely been discussed but affects hundreds of freelance players across the UK.

The Philharmonia Orchestra — which proudly calls itself “a world-class symphony orchestra for the 21st century” — has recently removed itself from the Musicians’ Union (MU) Preferred Contractor list after a dispute over pay for freelance players (known internally as “E&Ds” — extras and deputies).

Here’s the issue:

For broadcast work (like BBC Proms concerts), freelancers traditionally receive a “media buy-out” payment — usually £75–£90 — on top of their basic session fee. The BBC’s contract with orchestras includes this money specifically to pay performers when concerts are broadcast or recorded.

The Philharmonia has now scrapped these payments entirely, replacing them with a £3-per-session pay rise instead.

According to the Musicians’ Union, this change was made without consultation. When the MU eventually obtained a list of the Philharmonia’s regular freelancers and ran a private consultation, 97% of respondents rejected the new deal — but by that time, it had already been implemented and enforced.

The MU is now considering a boycott of future Philharmonia projects that rely heavily on freelancers. But realistically, it’s hard to see that working. Most freelancers can’t afford to turn down work, especially without confidence that their colleagues would do the same — and the MU doesn’t have a strong precedent for this kind of coordinated action.

The bigger issue is what happens to that BBC money. If the corporation allocates Licence Fee funds to pay performers, and the orchestra diverts those payments for other use, that raises serious ethical (and potentially contractual) questions. Should they really be allowed to take that BBC performer money, and spend it on private commercial ventures with no benefit to Licence Fee payers for example??

Here’s the Private Eye piece that first mentioned it (from “Lunchtime O’Boulez”):

I’m curious to hear from other players, contractors, or anyone connected to the orchestral world — has anything similar happened in your organisation? How do we stop this “race to the bottom” before it becomes the new normal?