Economics of the Creative Artists: The Case of the Composer (1974)

Investigator: Marianne Victorius Felton

Population: Composers

Identification method: Population list compiled from four main sources: American Music Center (a composer organization) membership file, College Music Society directory of composition teachers at U.S. colleges and conservatories, Schwann record catalogue, Eagon’s Catalog of Published Concert Music by American Composers.

Sampling procedure: No sampling performed. Questionnaire sent to all composers with available address compiled from four source documents.

N and Response rate: 36.2 percent (494 of 1,363). The evidence indicates that the respondent group and the non-respondent group were not significantly different based on the characteristics of "fame" or number of compositions published.

Publication: Felton, M.V. 1978. "The Economics of the Creative Arts: The Case of the Composer." Journal of Cultural Economics, 2(1): 41-61.

Summary: The objectives of this study were to obtain information about the professional activities of composers, to use the information to identify major problems facing composers, and to try to formulate policy suggestions.