Choosing the freelance path in music – A deliberate decision?!
How can I make a living from what I’ve learned after finishing my studies? Many fields within music do not offer regular employment – for example, Early and Contemporary Music, Jazz, Pop, and Musical Theatre. Even ensembles such as string quartets, trombone choirs, or piano trios are typically performed in a freelance context. This opens the door to a path of self-employment and independent artistic work.
The Interest Group for Freelance Musicians (IGFM) provides young students with essential information about life as a freelance musician. Valuable tips from many years of professional experience are shared, reflected upon together, and strategies are developed collaboratively on how to build a viable freelance career.
Part one covers essential topics such as taxes, insurance, contracts, and collecting societies – all the basics that aspiring freelance musicians should be aware of, presented as a concise guide. Broader cultural policy issues and the IGFM’s role as a professional association are also addressed.
In the second part of the webinar, students are invited to explore the question: What does it take to succeed as a musician? Now it's the students' turn – their perspectives matter. What do they think? What issues are important to them? Our goal is to help young colleagues recognize that being a freelance musician is a legitimate and full-fledged profession – one that deserves a conscious decision.
Objectives
- Develop a practical guide for freelance work
- Raise awareness of the advantages and challenges of self-employment
- Encourage active participation in cultural policy and introduce IGFM as a professional advocacy group
Course lecturer Martina Reiter
Course lecturer Barbara Fischer
Barbara Fischer attended the music high school in Innsbruck and then studied double bass with Walter Rumer at the Tyrolean State Conservatory and with Frank Reinecke at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She became interested in historical performance practice while still at school.
Today she lives as a freelance musician and plays regularly with a wide variety of historically informed orchestras in Austria and abroad, such as Barruco, Ensemble Castor, La Banda, Europa Galante, Les Passions de l'Ame, Concentus Musicus Wien, Ensemble Pallidor, Paluselli-Consort, and many more.
Her work has taken her to major festivals such as the Chopin Festival Warsaw, Festwochen der Alten Musik Innsbruck, Styriarte, Carinthischer Sommer, Trigonale, Opera Festival in Aix-en-Provence, and many more.
Since 2020, she has been a member of the core team of IGFM Austria and is committed to the interests of freelance musicians. Since 2024, she has been a member of the advisory team at mica Tirol.
In addition to her work as a freelance musician, she is also a certified mental trainer and coach specializing in resilience and personality development.
Workshop
Date
TU, 11.11.2025
10 a.m. - 1 p.m. + 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Location
spiel|mach|t|raum, S 02 25, mdw-Campus, Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1, 1030 Wien
ECTS
The webinar, including preparation and follow-up, counts as 9h of 60 minutes each for the Career Center elective
Registration
Starting September 2025 at careercenter@mdw.ac.at