The AFM Sues French Company for Failure to Pay Bands

September 22, 2015

The AFM has filed suit against the French company KIDAM, and to date the AFM has not received any payments for more than 20 bands that were recorded at the Winter Jazzfest for commercial broadcast on French television. It has been more than seven months since KIDAM entered into an agreement to pay wages and benefits for music recorded at Winter Jazzfest, and yet these musicians have not received payment by the Paris company.

“These folks should not feel they can get away with filming, recording, and widely broadcasting our work without meeting the terms they agreed to with Local 802 and the American Federation of Musicians,” said pianist, composer and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill in a press release. “We walk a tightrope as musicians, trying to survive, and musicians should never be treated as KIDAM has treated us.”

“The musicians of Winter Jazzfest do not deserve to wait indefinitely for payment as this company profits from their work,” adds Local 802 President Tino Gagliardi. “We must hold KIDAM accountable and ensure that these extraordinarily talented musicians get paid for their work.”

The lawsuit states that KIDAM signed a “Single Project Letter of Agreement” January 7, 2015 in adherence to the AFM Television Videotape Agreement. The agreement details wages and benefits for musicians for future broadcast on the commercial French television station Mezzo, which reaches approximately 16 million subscribers in 39 countries.