...OK think back.
I have a player interested in picking up the Adept Metamagic technique of Virtuoso (SOTA 2064). In the rules it mentions this can be applied to either a performance or creation of a piece of artwork. Now it seems pretty straightforward in the case of a live performance that the background count adjustment would be in effect for only as long as duration of the performance. Furthermore the adept would be devoting all his/her concentration to the performance and therefore would be unable to take any other actions.
However, I am having difficulty interpreting how this would this work in the case of "permanent"creation like a sculpture or fine handmade piece of jewelry. Would it always have a background count whether or not the creator was present? This makes it seem like a cheap backdoor way for an adept to create what amounts to a "protection vs magic" device.
As background count affects all magic related tests (including drain) on both the physical and astral plane, it could have an impact on game balance. Particularly so as the artisan adept can invest additional Karma into the item during its creation to increase its rating (up to his/her performance skill rating) thus increasing its background count effect. As the the item is automatically attuned to the adept the background count has no effect on its creator.