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Musician's retirement home faces closure
The Musician's Benevolent Fund has announced plans to close Ivor Newton House, the only residential care home for musicians in the UK. It means that residents, some nearing 100, are going to be forced to move out of their current home.
The Musicians Union is organising a petition calling on the MBF to overturn the plans to shutter the building; the MBF claim it isn't "viable" to not turf out octogenarians and nonagenarians and sell the lucrative property in Bromley.
But here's a thought: if the MBF can't see a way of making it viable, why don't all those richer, older celebrities like Cliff Richard dig into their pockets and keep the place afloat? After all, Cliff and his chums are always stressing that they've been seeking to get mechanical copyright extended not to line their own pockets, but to help out less-well-off musicians. Why, here's a chance for them to demonstrate that in action. They could even pledge to sign over any earnings from copyright being extended past fifty years straight to the MBF, on the proviso that services like Ivor Norman House remain being offered. Wouldn't that make everyone happy?
2 comments:
Definitely a good idea. And 'The Wired for Sound Wing' has got a certain ring to it, don't you think?
It would definitely be preferable to find a way to keep the home open until all the current occupants have passed away - but the MBF is quite right to shut it down if, as they argue, no-one wants to use the facility any more (it's operating at 2/3 capacity and they can't fill the spare beds). The fund still spends plenty of money keeping musicians in care homes with better facilities near their families, rather than insisting they move to a house with a Steinway in south-east London's attractive Bromley.
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