Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration

Subject: RE: Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration
From: GUEST,Folk Radio UK
Date: 02 Sep 08 - 07:20 AM

The following petition is in circulation and I hope you can support it:

This is taken from the TMSA (Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland) website:

In light of recent funding cuts by the Scottish Arts Council, the TMSA feels it is time for all of us to stand up for what we stand for! So we're starting a campaign and we hope you will all help us to get our point across to the 'powers that be'.

We all enjoy going along to concerts and listening to some of the wonderfully talented musicians and singers who bring our many and varied traditions alive. However, the TMSA believes that traditional music and song is about more than that. It's about a shared inheritance and an unspoken need for everyone and anyone to participate in our own diverse Scottish cultures.

The TMSA believes that grassroots participation in traditional music and song is fundamental to the culture of Scotland. The few traditional music stars would not have arisen without the core foundation of the many taking part for the love of the genre.

Step 1: Petition
The first step of our campaign is a petition. This is a long term and wide-ranging declaration about our belief in the value of Scotland's traditional arts. In partnership with other traditional arts organisations we are campaigning to have the intrinsic value of Scottish Traditional Art forms recognised and to secure current and future funding for them.

We intend that this declaration will always be available for people to sign up to. However, we are aiming to achieve as many signatures as possible within the next month with a view to influencing any future developments of the Creative Scotland Bill.

Go here to view and sign the petition, or contact the TSMA office if you would like us to send you a paper copy to complete.

Sign the Petition Here

Step 2: Parliament Protest
We will be joining with the Scots Music Group in a musical protest outside the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood on Thursday the 4th of September at 1pm. ALL WELCOME!!!!!!!!

Bring your instruments, your voices, your placards and as many of your friends as you can. Spread the word!!!!!!

Further Information

E-mail: [e-mail]

Web Site: www.tmsa.org.uk

Subject: RE: Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 02 Sep 08 - 07:22 AM

Is there any English equivalent?

Subject: RE: Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration
From: Zen
Date: 02 Sep 08 - 07:25 AM

Website links fixed:

TMSA website

These cuts to the TMSA are a disgrace and I for one will sign the petition.

Zen

Subject: RE: Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Sep 08 - 08:46 AM

As an 'Englander' i can appreciate what it's like to have a media that starves us of one of our treditinal arts i.e. our traditinoal musical heritage apart from a few isolated (local radio) slots, the odd special on beeb 4 or Mike Harding's programme. It's got a little better over the years but it's sad when poeple i work with have never heard of Martin Carthy & family or Fairport or Bert Jansch or Copper/McPeake families or Vin Garbutt or Nic Jones or Tom Paxton (it's true) &c, &c.

So i've signed the petition with the attached statement...

Music and art belongs to the people of all nations. Music and art is the greatest 'bringer together' of people of all natiions and cultures within a nation. Monies raised by governments comes from the people and therefor those people should not be denied the necessary funding required from 'their' funds in the treasury to sustain and maximise the growth and spreading of their art and music

Subject: RE: Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration
From: Vin2
Date: 02 Sep 08 - 08:51 AM

Sorry had probs with my membership there for a mo so the last 'GUEST' entry was from meeeeee

Subject: RE: Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration
From: An Buachaill Caol Dubh
Date: 02 Sep 08 - 02:11 PM

Does anyone have the figures for the official/governmental financial support given to (Scots) traditional music, to Classical music, and to Scottish Opera?

Subject: RE: Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration
From: GUEST,AT
Date: 02 Sep 08 - 04:29 PM

Figures I have heard are Traditional Music and Song Association(TMSA) got thirty three thousand pounds per annum which will be cut to zero for 2009 with the chance to re apply again for funding in 2010.

Scottish opera £8.2 MILLION per annum ongoing

It says it all !!!!!!!

Subject: RE: Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration
From: folk_radio_uk
Date: 03 Sep 08 - 02:53 AM

Refresh

Subject: RE: Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration
From: GUEST,drumshanty
Date: 03 Sep 08 - 05:01 AM

The figures for 2006-07 are:

Traditional: £1,018,560
Contemporary Popular: £544,663
Classical (incl Opera): £11,068,571
All other contemporary: £16,469,162

This is money from the Scottish Arts Council, but also includes grant-in-aid and big lottery funding.

Subject: RE: Sign the Petition: TMSA's Declaration
From: GUEST,Egg Sample
Date: 04 Sep 08 - 11:03 AM

I can see why Opera COSTS more; in addition to the singers' fees, there's a big orchestra and conductor, and then there's all the sets and costumes and the big venue itself, typically a theatre-like thing, and all the rehearsal-time to make sure the whole thing hangs together for half a dozen performances. Whereas traditional music typically has only one or two singers performing at any one time, and maybe a group of a dozen instrumentalists, and sometimes they are all participating for free anyway. But what's the justification for Scottish taxpayers' money being used to PAY for all this elaborate stuff to a much greater amount than traditional music and song gets? After all, with few exceptions, the stuff that's put on in Glasgow and Edinburgh is Italian, French or German, and "Maria Stuarda" or "Lucia di Lammermoor" is the closest any of the material gets to Scotland. Who decides that all the frippery is so essential that it deserves to be supported to this grossly inflated extent?