Professional Musical Life / Minimum Fees
The work of professional musicians is an indispensable pillar of our cultural and social life and, at the same time, a significant economic factor. The professional music scene shapes Germany’s cultural identity and contributes to its international cultural influence. It fosters artistic innovation and plays a central role in promoting social cohesion.
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Effective in 2024, cultural projects and institutions that receive at least 50 percent of their funding from the federal government are subject to a mandatory requirement to comply with minimum compensation standards for fee-based work. The recommendations for minimum fee thresholds issued by the relevant professional and trade associations are to serve as the basis for this requirement.
The 2025 MiKADO study on the shortage of young talent points to growing structural pressures: By 2035, there is a risk of a significant shortage of skilled workers, as many teachers are retiring due to age and too few qualified graduates are entering the field. The main causes are inadequate compensation, limited planning security, and a lack of social recognition. Fair and transparent compensation is therefore a crucial prerequisite for ensuring the quality, the next generation of teachers, and the long-term viability of music education.
Recommendation on Mininum Fee Thresholds in Musical Education (February 25 2026)
Wir engagieren uns für:
a future-proof funding framework based on a three-pillar model consisting of institutional funding, structural funding, and project funding, in order to ensure continuity, innovation, and sustainable working conditions in equal measure
increasing and revitalizing public funding for the arts so that appropriate and fair compensation for musicians and teachers becomes the norm
educing bureaucracy, streamlining decision-making processes, and tools such as lump-sum funding as key prerequisites for an effective grant-making process
Establish legal, financial, and structural frameworks for binding fee recommendations, particularly in the field of education
expansion and continuation of multi-year funding programs by the federal government, the states, and local governments to foster artistic quality, long-term collaborations, and sustainable structures in the independent music scene
Weitere Infos
In the music sector, both salaried employment and self-employment are possible and common, whether in the concert industry or in music education and teaching. Mixed forms of employment often occur throughout a professional career. These hybrid forms of employment must be taken into account in the planned reform of the status determination procedure.
The independent arts scene is dominated by project funding, which focuses on short-term, clearly defined, and new initiatives. As the sole funding option, this model is not suitable for the sector’s structures and goals. A paradigm shift is needed toward a three-pillar model consisting of institutional funding, structural funding, and project funding.
The „MiKADO-Musik“ study uses qualitative and quantitative surveys to examine the reasons behind the dramatic shortage of new teachers at music schools. The results show that unless immediate steps are taken to improve working conditions for music school teachers, there is a risk of a widespread erosion of music education in Germany.
As in 2025, the Künstlersozialkasse (KSK) reported 53,370 insured individuals in the music sector. The number of people insured by the KSK in the music sector thus declined once again compared to previous years.
The study, commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and conducted by the analysis and consulting firm Prognos, examines the social and economic situation of solo self-employed and hybrid-employment cultural and creative professionals in Germany. Based on the findings, the study offers recommendations for improving the economic situation and social security of solo self-employed individuals and hybrid workers in the cultural and creative industries.
Topic Portal Eduation and Career dof the German Music Information Center (miz)
In the topic portal, you'll find numerous expert articles, statistics, overviews, and documents related to the professional music world.
Deutsches Musikinformationszentrum/ Allensbach-Institut: Studie Professionelles Musizieren in Deutschland (2023)
The representative survey, based on approximately 650 in-person interviews, was conducted by the Allensbach Institute on behalf of the German Music Information Center in November and December 2022. For the first time, it provides a cross-genre, nationwide overview of the activities, incomes, and educational backgrounds of professional musicians. The survey takes into account types of employment, insurance status, and gender.
We support the next generation of professionals!
The programs Forum Dirigieren, Podium Gegenwart and PopCamp guide innovative young talents on their path to professional music careers. The Deutscher Musikwettbewerb brings together the top young talents in classical music. Prize winners and scholarship recipients are placed in up to 250 chamber music concerts per year throughout Germany as part of the Konzertförderung Deutscher Musikwettbewerb.
© Sandra Ludewig
© Christian Palm
© Kai Bienert
Our Committees to this Topic:
Contact
Finn Löw
Speaker
On Mininum Fees:
Immanuel Beyreuther
Speaker
E-Mail: generalsekretariat@musikrat.de