Beethoven Academie on eBay
Orchestra Auction shut down due to ownership and patronage issues.
Jul 7, 2006
Last week's story at Classical Music noted the rather novel attempts a chamber orchestra from Belgium took in order to obtain financial support after the Flemish ministry of culture cut their funding.
Bids had already climbed over $100,000 when eBay stepped in and shut things down. The legal ramifications involved in selling human beings on its site as well as the complicated responsibilities involved in owning an orchestra were the reasons the company made the decision to halt the auction.
Now the Beethoven Academie will have to find other means of preserving the group. However, their unusual fundraising methods have attracted much publicity, earning them attention on media networks throughout Europe and America. Quite possibly a wealthy patron might come to the group's aid after all.
However, the scenario does raise interesting questions about the legal status of an orchestra. Is an orchestra a group of persons or a group of musicians? If the later, then perhaps selling an orchestra means the buyer would only have rights to the group members' labor and not to their lives, much like hiring independent contractors to perform specific jobs.
Yet would the buyer also be responsible for upkeep of the orchestra? Would this include providing a sufficient wage to allow the musicians ample time to practice? Would the musicians be able to walk away, or would their labor be owned indefinitely? As mentioned in last week's article, private patronage is not a new phenomenon in the music world. But in an era that values individual human rights, these questions must be re-examined.
What is the opinion of our readers? Do you think eBay made the right decision? Is selling an orchestra (a collection of musicians) the same thing as selling human beings?
