Got the diploma! What now? - Overview

By Astrid Meixner, Georg Vlaschits (ÖMR), and Helge Hinteregger (mica)

After successfully completing their studies at a university of music, a lot of students wonder where to go from there. Because people who want to make money as professional musicians are forced to confront challenges and questions that they rarely had to deal with while still students.

“Where can I find a suitable job?” “How do I have to insure myself?” Or: “Am I now officially a freelancer or an entrepreneur?” These are just a few of the questions that arise.

Money: Insurance, Taxes, Scholarships/Grants

If your income from freelance work exceeds certain limits, you are required to participate in the insurance scheme for the self-employed run by the Sozialversicherungsanstalt der gewerblichen Wirtschaft [Austrian Social Insurance Authority for Business] (SVA). The SVA and the Austrian Economic Chambers (WKO) offer consultations regarding such income limits and other important points to which freelance artists need to pay attention. Subsidies for insurance expense can be obtained by applying to the Künstler-Sozialversicherungsfonds [Artists’ Social Insurance Fund] (KSVF).

Financial support for young artists in Austria is also available through a large number of grants offered by the Office of the Federal Chancellery. These are six-month grants worth EUR 1,100 per month (further information at www.kunstkultur.bka.gv.at). And one needs to remember that all income earned from freelance activities must be declared to the tax authority. Artists who draw income from a large number of different sources should call on a tax adviser.
 

International Students

Citizens of so-called “third states” who wish to continue living and working in Austria as artists upon graduation need either a temporary or a permanent visa. In addition to renewing this visa annually, they need to make sure that they can live from the artistic work that they obtain while they’re here. In the City of Vienna, the authority responsible for handling such immigration-related issues is the MA 35 (www.wien.gv.at/kontakte/ma35).
 

So Many Questions

As diverse and individual as the questions that arise post-graduation may be, there exists an equally comprehensive range of sources for advice that graduates can turn to. In addition to mica, which offers personal advising on a large number of topics, there are also things such as the free initial advising sessions offered to members of the Musicians’ Guild.

 

Praxiswissen: mica - music austria

Auf der mica Website unter Praxiswissen findest du zu vielen Themen ausführlichere Artikel, Hintergrundwissen und Links zu nützlichen Websites.