Music is work - and work needs fair framework conditions

How fair are working conditions in the Swiss music industry? The latest lunchtime event of the Parliamentary Group for Music (PGM) at the Federal Parliament was dedicated to this question. Under the leadership of Ueli Schmezer, National Councillor, musician and Co-President of the PGM, representatives from politics, associations, cultural promotion and music practice came together to discuss social security, minimum wages and professional risks for musicians.

The contributions made it clear that the discussion about fair fees is no longer just a cultural policy debate. It touches on central issues of labor market, social and economic policy. Professional music creation is work - and work needs reliable framework conditions.

Michael Kaufmann, President of SONART, showed how the association's fee recommendations have developed into an important instrument for fair negotiations. At the same time, the gap between aspiration and reality remains wide: many professional musicians continue to work under precarious conditions, while social security and pension provision remain patchy.

Diego Dahinden from PETZI made it clear that fair fees are not possible without fair funding. Clubs and festivals are under increasing economic pressure. Higher standards without additional funding would not eliminate the precariousness, but merely shift it within the system. The problem is less a lack of demand for live music than a structural funding gap.

Franziska Burkhardt, Cultural Affairs Officer of the City of Bern, presented the experiences of two years of funding practice with fee guidelines. The Bern model shows that linking funding with fair fees can work - provided that politicians and the public sector provide the necessary resources and actively support the change.

The presentation by Muriel Noble, Central Co-President of the Swiss Musicians' Association SMV, was particularly impressive. She shed light on the often overlooked consequences of illness, pregnancy or loss of earnings for freelance musicians. For intermittently working women in particular, the desire to have a family can be associated with considerable financial and professional risks. Noble argued that social security should not be seen as a side issue, but as a central prerequisite for a sustainable musical life.

An interactive survey among the participants confirmed this assessment. The greatest leverage for better framework conditions was seen in stronger cultural funding and improved social security for musicians. The linking of public funding with fair fees and the orientation towards binding minimum fees also met with broad approval.

The event made it clear that fair working conditions in the music industry are not the special concern of a single sector. They concern the future of a cultural ecosystem that is of social, economic and identity-forming importance for Switzerland. Anyone who wants to maintain quality and diversity in Switzerland as a music country must also address the conditions under which this music is created.

The Parliamentary Group for Music wants to continue this dialog between politics and musical life. The next lunchtime event will take place on September 16, 2026. The presentations and further documents on the event are available on the Swiss Music Council website.