Should Composers' Forum Continue?

[Gavin Brown]

Hello Colleagues,

Composers' Forum has been around about 12 years and it's now time to consider if it should continue. There are many boards and web sites out there, plus reddit, plus facebook, so there are plenty of places composers can go to to have discussions with each other. Many of these sites offer free membership, as does Composers' Forum. But Composers' Forum is not free to the admins who run it - it costs $599 a year to keep going. Admins have been paying this cost since the site began, out of a love for music composition. We've asked the members to voluntarily contribute each year to help pay for the site, with limited success, amounting to at best about 10% of this cost. So this year is a decision year - it's now up to you, the members, to decide if this site has had its time and should close down or continue if you would be willing to help pay to keep it going. I'm hosting this discussion so you can share any thoughts you have on this. The site license is up for renewal at the end of October, I will make a decision whether or not to renew it sometime in September, in part, based on anything that comes from this discussion - 

Gav Brown
Composers' Forum
Site Administrator

[Gavin Brown]

Another donation has come in, the running total is now $245!

[David A/ Dolatowski, Ph.D.]

Greetings,

I just donated $10 via paypal.

[Gavin Brown]

Thanks David! Running total is now $255!

[Graeme Helliwell]

Just back from annual leave to find the fundraising is making progress. There's 30 from me in the pot, and very happily given as well. This is a great site and deserves so much more support.

Thinking about it, I wouldn't mind if we had to go down a two tier system where visitors can look, listen and browse with some more intensive activity behind a pay wall. Just a thought. Best wishes, etc...

[Gavin Brown]

Thanks so much Graeme, a paywall is indeed under consideration!

Gav

[Bob Morabito]

I also just contributed and feel very strongly that the forum should continue. Its a GREAT forum, and ALL should contribute something--ANYTHING--to keep it going.

Gav does an EXCELLENT job here and deserves our thanks and gratitude, and our support to keep the forum alive--

So please DONATE!!!

Thanks Bob

https://soundcloud.com/bob-morabito

[Bob Porter]

Paywall.

I'm probably one of the few still here that remembers when Chris used to ask for money to keep the site going..

I no longer feel the need to post music here any more. I do comment on works by others. But I don't feel strong enough about it to pay for it. Just my two cents.

[Gavin Brown]

Thanks Bob! Running total is now $310.00

Bob Morabito said:

I also just contributed and feel very strongly that the forum should continue. Its a GREAT forum, and ALL should contribute something--ANYTHING--to keep it going.

[Tillerich]

What a coincidence: I received a small but nice amount via PayPal today. This came from ScoreExchange, for an arrangement that I had put on the (then free) SibeliusMusic.com website many years ago and forgotten about. When I recently realised that ScoreExchange had taken over the website and charges for all pieces, I took the piece off and closed my account...and suddenly they apparently remembered, that they owed me some money!!

A great and perfectly fitting opportunity to pass this on to this forum. I am still quite new to CF, but it has helped me already, thank you.

[Gavin Brown]

Thanks Tillerich and congrats on the sale! Running total is now 331.00