ESM4140 | Particular occupations: entertainment industry: musicians: orchestral players

Within this manual the term musician or orchestral player includes singers. The main guidance for musicians is found at ESM4121, actors and other performers. Within ESM4121 the term “performer” is used, and this encompasses musicians. This guidance sets out some of the common contracting arrangements found in the industry.

Most orchestral musicians are self-employed:

The status of orchestral musicians can give rise to problems because of the variety of contracts and circumstances under which they are engaged. The approach set out in ESM4121, actors and other performers should be followed.

Musicians who are members of or are engaged by an orchestra, where they are paid separately for each performance and are able to choose whether to accept the engagement, are normally self-employed for tax and NICs purposes.

Musicians engaged under ‘first call’ or ‘guarantee’ contracts are normally self-employed for tax and NICs purposes. These are contracts which give the orchestra the right to call on their services but limit this demand so that they may undertake other work, and they are paid separately for each performance.

Some orchestras (for example London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Philharmonia and Royal Philharmonic) are owned by their players and self-governing. Musicians engaged by such orchestras are normally self-employed.

There are exceptions:

Some orchestras engage musicians who are not hired by the performance but are paid a regular fee or salary. These musicians are likely to be employees under a contract of service and are chargeable to tax under the employment income rules with Class 1 NICs liability. An exception to this is if the historical provisions described in ESM4145 and ESM4122A apply. In these circumstances the musician has a reserved right to be treated as self-employed regardless of their actual status for tax and NICs.

See also ESM4148 for the NICs treatment that applied to entertainers (performers), including musicians, between 1998-2003 and 2003-2014.