The MU is keen to hear personal perspectives on your work as concert music composers (exclusive of media and theatre music) and the contracts and fees you may be offered. Image credit: Shutterstock.
The Musicians' Union has launched a new Concert Music Commissioning Rates Survey to collect experiences from composers about fees, contracts and how the landscape for concert music has changed.
All composers are encouraged to take part, regardless of whether concert music composing is your main income or part of your wider music career.
Inform our work to support the composer community
The landscape for composers is constantly changing, and we’re keen to hear personal perspectives on your work as concert music composers (exclusive of media and theatre music) and the contracts and fees you may be offered.
You’ll also have the opportunity to tell us about the commissions you’ve received and your experiences of the commissioning process.
Your responses will help us:
- Review and update our Concert Music Commissioning rates, making sure the minimum guidelines for negotiating fees reflect the reality of your work
- Develop resources to support composers in negotiating commissioning contracts.
Helping composers understand the value of their music and secure fair deals
Kelly Wood, MU National Organiser for Live, Theatre & Music Writers says:
"The MU's recommended minimum rates can be integral to helping composers understand the value of their music and secure fair deals. Even established composers sometimes need help in terms of establishing what they want as part of a deal, and being able to reference union rates and guidance can really aid the negotiation process.
"By completing this survey, composers - whether emerging or more established - can play a part in helping us create fair, realistic rates that will be applicable to the diverse landscape of concert music commissions in the UK, from grassroots to major events.
"We're grateful to all composers who take part and share their knowledge, experience and thoughts with us. Keep Music Live!"
How to take part
All composers are encouraged to take part in the survey and share your responses.
All responses will be put into a prize draw, with one lucky winner receiving a £200 Rough Trade e-Gift card.
The survey takes approximately 20 minutes to complete, and closes on Wednesday 24 June 2026 at 5pm.
We take your privacy seriously. Responses will be analysed and data will be shared with stakeholders only after any direct identifiers have been removed. This means your data will be pseudonymised and, where possible, anonymised.
You will be asked to provide your membership ID if you are a member. This is for internal use only, so that we can verify membership status and evidence member engagement. Providing your membership ID is voluntary and you can skip this question.
Prize draw contact details are used solely for prize administration and are deleted when no longer required. For more information about the prize draw terms and how we will use your data, please read the prize draw terms.
All data will be held by the MU in line with our Privacy Policy and destroyed after 12 months. For any queries or concerns please email writers@themu.org.