Tag Archives: Coronavirus

Symphonic Electronic Media During the COVID-19 Crisis

March 30, 2020 IM

by Deborah Newmark, AFM Symphonic Electronic Media Director

As we all know by now, it has become impossible for orchestras to continue to perform concerts for their beloved audiences during the COVID-19 crisis. Music provides great comfort during challenging times, so it is extremely painful to our musicians not to be able to provide some solace as we move through this crisis. While this has been and will continue to be a rapidly evolving situation, the Symphonic Services Division (SSD) of the AFM jumped in early to negotiate a side letter to the Integrated Media Agreement (IMA) with the Employer’s Electronic Media Association (EMA) to cover electronic media that could be distributed to our audiences in place of live performances.

I, together with Rochelle Skolnick, SSD Director, had phone conferences with the EMA leadership and arrived at agreement on a side letter to cover streaming of either live performance taping without an audience present or use of archival material in case it was no longer possible for musicians to gather in their concert halls. When we first reached agreement, a few orchestras were still able to come into their workplaces and present a concert to an empty hall, but as days passed that option became impossible. As a result, orchestras who are EMA members or those signed to the IMA as an Individual Employer signatory, will be looking to their archives to stream performances to their ticket buying audience, their donors, and subscribers as well as those who provide contact information that will be useful for future ticket sales. Individual musicians or small ensembles from the orchestra’s roster will also be able to post material under the volunteer promotional language of the IMA (Article VIII.D) of material (expanded in this extreme case from a limit of 15 to up to 45 minutes in length) via their employers on the institution’s website or its social media pages.

The goal of the IMA side letter is to ensure musicians will be paid during this painful time. The agreement guarantees 30 days of wages from the date of the first posting. There are orchestras that would prefer to use some of the promotional opportunities available to them under the IMA or to release material for a media payment. Those options will always be available to IMA signatories.

If you have any questions about the COVID-19 side letter or use of any of the provisions of the IMA, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at dnewmark@afm.org or via cell phone at 646-269-1823.

International Musician

ICSOM Provides Legal Guidance Regarding the Application of Force Majeure Due to Coronavirus Threat

March 30, 2020 IM

By Kevin Case, ICSOM Counsel and Member of Local 10-208 (Chicago, IL)

Editor’s note: This article was a memo sent to International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) delegates and committee chairs, and a version of this is appearing in the ICSOM newsletter Senza Sordino. It is being reprinted with permission.

Dear Delegates:

As you know, the COVID-19 situation is developing rapidly and has begun to impact our orchestras. Several have canceled or are planning to cancel concerts and upcoming tours, sometimes voluntarily and sometimes in response to orders from a municipal government or other controlling authority. Musicians have concerns about the legal implications of this on their employment—particularly the application of force majeure or “Act of God” clauses—and about how to work with management in this uncertain time.

This message is intended to provide (1) legal guidance regarding the application of force majeure and (2) practical guidance as to steps you may want to take in dealing with management. As always, however, it is crucial that your orchestra committee work closely with your local, and, where possible, solicit advice from your local’s attorney regarding the interpretation of your particular Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Force Majeure

Whether an outbreak of a disease like COVID-19 triggers a force majeure clause in a CBA requires an individualized analysis of the language. The answer may vary significantly from employer to employer.

A CBA is a binding obligation. An employer is bound by the promises it has made in the CBA and cannot be relieved of those obligations absent agreement by the union, or bankruptcy. However, the CBA itself may contain provisions that permit the employer to suspend all or part of its obligations upon the occurrence of certain contingencies (which is the written manifestation of “agreement by the union”). That is where force majeure clauses come in. A force majeure provision in a contract (otherwise called an “Act of God” clause) may relieve a party from performing its contractual obligations when circumstances beyond the party’s control arise which make the party’s performance of those obligations impossible.

Force majeure is a creature of the contract. It is not an overriding principle of contract law. That means there is typically no such thing as an “implied” force majeure provision; rather, the parties must have explicitly agreed that a force majeure event may excuse non-performance. Moreover, force majeure clauses are strictly construed by courts and arbitrators, which means that the party seeking to invoke a force majeure event will be held to the precise language the parties used in their contract.

There are a wide variety of approaches to force majeure in our orchestra CBAs. Some don’t have a force majeure clause at all. Others simply refer to an “Act of God” or permit the employer to suspend its obligation “by reason of force majeure” without further elaboration. Many list examples of natural force majeure events, such as “floods, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes,” etc. Some also include man-made events like “war” or “civil strife.” A few (unfortunately) refer to economic hardship, which on its own is not a force majeure event, but which will be enforced if the parties have agreed to put it in their agreement. Many contain a “catch-all” provision such as “other events beyond the control of the employer.”

For present purposes, I’ve identified three scenarios for discussion: (1) a CBA without a force majeure clause at all; (2) a force majeure clause that contains only the terms “force majeure” or “Act of God,” without further definition; and (3) a force majeure clause that lists specific events.

1. No Force Majeure Clause At All

Because a CBA is a contract that is enforced primarily through arbitration, the body of law that governs the interpretation of a CBA has been developed through arbitration decisions; those decisions, in turn, often incorporate common-law contract principles. Although contract law varies from state to state, courts will not imply a force majeure provision if it does not exist in the contract.

The same cannot always be said for arbitrators, who sometimes inject subjective considerations into their decisions. Consequently, one can find a few arbitration awards that excuse an employer’s performance in cases of, for example, extremely severe weather, even in the absence of a force majeure clause. Those cases are outliers, however, as they are inconsistent with contract law (and the well-settled principle that arbitrators are forbidden to add to or modify the terms of a CBA).

Therefore, if your CBA lacks a force majeure clause, then your management should not be able to suspend its obligations and cut off your pay and benefits in the event that COVID-19 forces some kind of shutdown. That doesn’t mean your management may not try to do so, in which case you may end up in arbitration. (Note that my analysis here applies primarily to full-time, salaried musicians; for per-service musicians, subs, and extras, management may have more flexibility to cancel services without payment, depending on the language in those orchestras’ CBAs.)

There is also a chance your management may cite “impossibility” as permitting suspension of its obligations in a shutdown. There is indeed an “impossibility doctrine” in contract law, but it is rarely applied to CBAs and should have no place here. When it comes to paying musicians their salary and maintaining benefits, nothing about COVID-19 has rendered that “impossible.” If the city shuts down your venue, it may be impossible for the orchestra to actually perform; but that doesn’t mean it is impossible to pay the musicians. Payroll can still operate.

Impossibility also applies only when the event was plainly unforeseeable, such that the parties would have been unable to provide for the risk of that event in their contract. Although pandemics may not have been specifically contemplated by the parties when your CBA was negotiated, the risk of an event that would preclude a concert from occurring was always known—indeed, that’s the whole reason for force majeure language: “fire, flood, earthquake,” etc. Management presumably had every opportunity to bargain for such force majeure language so as to mitigate its risk; and if management failed to do so, it can’t assert “impossibility” now.

2. Force Majeure Clause Simply Says “Force Majeure” or “Act of God”

There is no standard definition of the terms “force majeure” or “Act of God.” Rather, such terms have whatever meaning the parties chose to give them in the contract. That’s not helpful, though, if the parties declined to specify that meaning and simply used the terms in isolation. There are two schools of thought. One says a force majeure event must result solely from natural causes and not from any human action; so, even if the initial cause was wholly natural, it doesn’t count if the event involves human actions taken in response. Under that approach, concert cancellations as the result of a governmental order would not be deemed an “Act of God” because even though Covid-19 arose from natural forces, the decision to close venues was made by human beings. In other words, there would be a distinction between the pandemic itself and a government measure taken in response.

Different arbitrators come to different conclusions, though, and the second school of thought holds that even if the decision was made by management or others, it is nonetheless considered an “Act of God” if the “real reason” was the natural event. So, under that approach, a concert cancellation by municipal order might still be seen as an “Act of God,” even though a significant amount of human decision-making would be involved. On the other hand, if your management voluntarily canceled concerts without being directed to do so by the city or other controlling authority, it is less likely that would be deemed a force majeure event. A subjective judgment call by your executive director shouldn’t be considered an “Act of God.”

3. Force Majeure Clause Lists Specific Events

Where a force majeure provision lists examples of qualifying events, courts construe the language narrowly to apply force majeure to only the events specifically identified. Cleary, then, a force majeure clause that refers to “epidemic,” “plague,” “quarantine,” or even “public health emergency” would encompass a COVID-19 shutdown. Similarly, if the clause specifies governmental action, then a venue shutdown by municipal order would likely qualify. But if the list of events is confined to specified natural disasters, war, or civil disturbance, then a COVID-19 shutdown should properly be considered outside the scope of that force majeure clause. Similarly, if your force majeure clause lists “work stoppages,” that will be deemed to mean a strike or lockout—not just any stoppage of work for any reason.

Note that if the list ends with the clause “other similar act, event, or occurrence,” that doesn’t necessarily expand the scope of the provision. The principle of contract interpretation for such clauses is that “other” means events of the same kind or nature as the specific events mentioned. However, the same may not be true if the force majeure provision ends with a catch-all clause like “other causes beyond the control of the employer.” The “beyond the control of the employer” clause is often deemed to encompass any event that is, well, beyond the control of the employer. If your CBA has that language, then it is more likely that a COVID-19-related shutdown would be considered a force majeure event.

Practical Steps

There should be no doubt whatsoever as to ICSOM’s position: In the event of any cancellations or shutdowns in our orchestras, whether voluntary or involuntary, orchestra managements should maintain salary and benefits for their musicians, including subs and extras (or other per-service musicians) that have been engaged for canceled services. In other words, regardless of whether your management can legally invoke a force majeure clause, it should not do so.

It is in everyone’s best interests to come to an understanding on this issue. Clearly, your managements need flexibility to deal with this crisis: schedules will need to be revamped; locations may need to change; and some orchestras may find it viable to stream concerts rather than perform before a full audience. Just as clearly, you need assurances that you will continue to be paid and your health insurance and other benefits will continue.

Working collaboratively with your management to provide such flexibility in exchange for the assurances you need would thus be a positive outcome. At the local/OC level, that means a willingness to provide waivers where management makes a compelling case that a waiver is necessary. With respect to media, Debbie Newmark and Rochelle Skolnick at the AFM’s Symphonic Services Division can handle discussions with your managements regarding streaming and similar media options. (You can expect to hear from Rochelle and Debbie on this topic shortly.)

Again, however, any such flexibility should be provided only if you get the assurances you need from management (including with respect to subs and extras). Further, you should hold management to a burden of demonstrating that any requested changes are truly necessary. That means management must come up with an actual plan for dealing with COVID-19 going well into the future—not simply an ad hoc, short-term reaction. You should also insist on total transparency from management, including with respect to the financial impact of any cancellations and efforts to replace lost revenue.

To that end, you should consider making an information request to management regarding any business interruption insurance policy maintained by the orchestra. Granted, many such policies specifically exclude from coverage interruptions caused by epidemics, or limit coverage to physical damage. But if there is a chance that the organization may be insured in whole or in part for financial losses caused by a shutdown, then you need to know about it.

There are sound reasons why your managements should decline to inoke force majeure during this crisis. For one thing, any management that cites COVID-19 to cut off pay and benefits would essentially be declaring war on its musicians. However difficult CBA negotiations may have been in the past, or however tense the relationship has been, that would be nothing compared to the fallout resulting from any such decision. The damage would be far-reaching and permanent.

It is also a simple matter of fairness. It comes down to a question of who is best able to withstand the pain of a COVID-19 shutdown. The answer is obvious. Yes, the employer will lose money and its financial condition may ultimately become precarious. But if the musicians lose their pay and benefits, then they won’t be able to buy food, go to the doctor, or pay their mortgage. Even if the orchestra is forced to dip into emergency reserves or its endowment, and even if that means future CBA negotiations will be more challenging because of it, that would be a far better outcome than one in which the very lives of musicians and their families are put at risk.

ICSOM will provide further guidance as circumstances require.

Music Performance Trust Fund

MPTF Announces New and Increased Grant Budgets, Urges Grant Use Discretion During COVID-19 Outbreak

March 30, 2020 Dan Beck

The recording industry’s Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF) is preparing to launch its 2020-21 grant initiative with the largest increase in local allocations in recent history, nearly doubling the 2019-20 allocation budget of $700,000. However, even as it announces new and increased budgets, the MPTF is urging current grant recipients to use caution and discretion in implementation of their current grant commitments for free, live music performances.

While we will continue to honor our current grant commitments, we also want to assure our many community co-sponsors, as well as the members of the AFM who so ably and artistically implement our free live music initiatives, that we will make every effort to support any events postponed, re-scheduled, or in replacement of events, once the coronavirus outbreak has passed. We urge all of our participants to follow the leadership of their local health and governmental officials in providing the safest environment for the people in their communities.

The COVID-19 health event is happening just as the MPTF is preparing to announce new grant budgets for the fiscal 2020-21 year beginning May 1. The Trust Fund expects to support over 3,000 free live music events in communities throughout North America. The grant budget will feature the largest increase in decades, expanding from $1.2 million to $1.7 million in the year ahead. This substantial expansion of the trust fund’s grant allocations presents a positive challenge for union locals to engage community partners in the development of free live music events for their locality. In anticipation of this growth, the MPTF previously changed its policy from 30% matching funds to 50% matching funds for community grants.

The MPTF-sponsored events include free performances at senior centers and assisted living facilities, music education programs in hundreds of school districts, as well as in parks and other gathering places across the U.S. and Canada.

As we prepare for even greater community impact with our initiatives, we also recognize that this momentum coincides with a current widespread health concern and we urge patience and discretion in scheduling these live events. Live music will be a source of celebration if we act intelligently in the short term. We will be here for the musicians who receive supplemental income from our grants, once the virus subsides, and to proactively re-engage as local health officials deem public events safe.

Organizing

Crises Show Why We Organize

March 30, 2020 IM

by Michael Manley, AFM Organizing and Education Division Director

Times of crisis are a stark reminder of why our union matters, and the ever-changing impact of COVID-19 on our lives brings challenges none of us expected. Alone we beg for what we need, but together we achieve it.

Here are some examples of how our collective power can make a difference for musicians:

Strong contracts mean services cannot be arbitrarily canceled with no pay, or benefits cut. A union agreement means we have a say in what happens, even in extraordinary circumstances.
Because we’ve fought for—and secured—employee status in many workplaces, unemployment benefits are available to many musicians.
Freelance musicians throughout the US and Canada have been achieving better working conditions by joining together in Fair Trade Music chapters.
Several AFM locals are building relief funds to aid freelance musicians whose gigs are being canceled.
Musicians in the symphony/opera/ballet fields are being paid for virtual performances and streamed concerts, through the strong media agreements we have bargained.
AFM members are joining our other union brothers and sisters in advocating for aid to all workers affected by COVID-19.
Having strong contracts in media work means that many musicians are being paid for the airing of reruns and can count on residual checks arriving on schedule.

Take Action

Below is a list of current AFM advocacy efforts related to COVID-19. Take action now to ensure all musicians get what they need as we weather this
unique crisis:

www.afm.org/covid-19/

www.afm.org
Petrillo Memorial Fund

www.savelivearts.ca
Save Live Arts in Canada initiative

Please consult your local union’s website for available local resources.

Electronic Media Services

Coronavirus Impact on Electronic Media Projects – Special Agreements

March 30, 2020 Pat Varriale

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Electronic Media Services Division (EMSD) has received a number of requests to waive the streaming costs of certain non-symphonic live projects. Our colleagues in the Symphonic Services Division have established conditions for orchestras with collective bargaining agreements.

In an effort to address the impact of COVID-19 for non-symphonic situations, we have established guidelines for potential waivers, which are broken down in the following two scenarios:

1. Password Protected Stream—If the stream of the performance is password protected and viewable only by ticketholders, the AFM costs that would ordinarily apply under the Internet Streaming Agreement (wages, health and welfare, and pension) will be waived. In cases of performances from houses of worship, the password protection can apply to parishioners. This is provided that the musicians are properly compensated at the appropriate live performance fee established by the AFM local having jurisdiction over the performance for any call.

2. Publicly Available Stream—For online availability to the public of a live stream, the payment for the stream will be an additional 10% of the appropriate local live performance fee plus fringe benefit payments.

Our agreements contain “alligator” clauses requiring payments to be made for any use of the stream beyond COVID-19 or in any other capacity.

We hope that the pandemic becomes a thing of the past as soon as possible so that we get back to our lives and business. In the meantime, we are implementing these guidelines to help address this adverse situation.

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Beth Blakey at 213-447-2259 or via email at mblakey@afm.org.

On the Cover

The AFM and its Members Respond to COVID-19 Effects on Musicians

March 30, 2020 IM

While our union officials have been monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and potential impacts on musicians since it first became a global health emergency in late January, once music events began being canceled and restrictions on large gatherings were announced by both US and Canadian officials in early March, that is when the impact on musicians and their livelihoods became stark.

On March 3-4, President Hair was in Washington visiting legislators on union-related legislation. Although the coronavirus was still in its infancy as far as its North American presence, Hair says the people in the nation’s capital were beginning to panic, and it immediately got him thinking about the AFM’s response.

On March 5 and 9, respectively, the AFM’s two largest locals—Local 47 (Los Angeles) and Local 802 (New York City), which cover Hollywood and Broadway musicians—began posting updates and information on their websites to offer their members guidance on health and emergency relief resources. The Local 802 Executive Board began working in conjunction with the 802 Emergency Relief Fund and Musicians Assistance Program to get musicians help as quickly as possible, while the Local 47 Executive Board established an Emergency Relief Fund for members who have lost revenue due to work stoppages, as has the Music Fund of Los Angeles.

Also on March 9, all employees at the AFM headquarters in Times Square who could do their work remotely were allowed to work from home, and any essential employees who needed to work at the office were given limited schedules to avoid being in rush-hour crowds. The office was also supplied with hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes, and gloves to help prevent contagion. (The New York office closed, with all employees working from home, starting March 19, as did the West Coast Office on March 20.)

On March 12, the day Broadway theaters closed their doors, President Hair issued a statement in response to limits being placed on public gatherings: “Union musicians in the United States and Canada are committed to doing everything possible to limit the spread of COVID-19, but this will have a disastrous impact on musicians and so many others who live gig to gig. It is critical that both national and local governments take immediate action to provide economic relief including expanding unemployment benefits and an immediate moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, and utility shut-offs.”

Actors’ Equity Executive Director Mary McColl also released a statement, in which she said the decision to limit public gatherings, “means tremendous uncertainty for thousands who work in the arts, including the prospect of lost income, health insurance, and retirement savings.” International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) International President Matthew D. Loeb also called on the federal government to take decisive action and issue a relief package to entertainment industry workers. “Entertainment workers shouldn’t be collateral damage in the fight against the COVID-19 virus,” he stated. “Film and television production alone injects $49 billion into local businesses per year, and the overall entertainment industry supports 1.2 million jobs in municipal and state economies.”

Helping Traveling Musicians

The cancellation of Broadway shows includes all the travelling shows, and many union members were left out on the road with employers offering only partial payment for their final week of work, says AFM Touring/Theatre/Booking Division Director Tino Gagliardi. Gagliardi has been in constant contact with all the AFM touring musicians to keep them informed of the situation.

He also has been meeting with other entertainment industry union officials and the Broadway League to sort out the issue of worker benefits and compensation. “Some companies have given notice to musicians they will only be paid a partial week for their last week. The union’s position is full payment of course,” he says. “The League’s got to do the right thing here. What we’re looking for is full compensation through the rest of the week that was canceled plus additional financial relief for the musicians through additional wages based on the type of production and health care benefit contributions until April 12, with a commitment to resume discussions on the possibility of additional health contributions the week of April 6.”

An agreement was reached on March 21.

Side Letter to Integrated Media Agreement

On March 13, the day President Trump officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency, the AFM announced it had signed an agreement with the Employers’ Electronic Media Association (EMA) to enable livestreaming of concert performances by a signatory employer that has been adversely affected by the spread of COVID-19. This side letter to the 2019-2022 Integrated Media Agreement guarantees no disruption in compensation or benefits for any musician for a 30-day period following the date of posting of the first streaming content.

“What the side letter does is to allow the employer to maintain an online presence when maintaining an in-person presence (for either audience or musicians) is either impossible or imprudent in the limited context of the COVID-19 pandemic,” explains SSD Director Rochelle Skolnick. “An employer must elect to use the side letter and the musicians of the orchestra must vote to approve its use. It is not automatically applied to any orchestra.” She says the use of the side letter also does not interfere with the ability of a local, orchestra committee, or musicians to make their own decisions about gathering together to rehearse or perform. “In short: agreeing to use the side letter does not create any new obligation for you to show up to work,” she explains.

Online Resources

This COVID-19 side letter was the first document to be placed in a newly created folder in the SSD section of the AFM.org website called “Corona Virus Resources.” The folder also contains legal guidance on force majeure (“Act of God”) aspects of collective bargaining agreements and a Q&A document regarding musician attendance and COVID-19 concerns; it will also be continuously updated and augmented as conditions change.

In addition to the new SSD digital resource, there is now a COVID-19 resource page with information and helpful links at www.afm.org/covid-19/.

Lester Petrillo Fund

Union officials also have announced reminders that any members who contract COVID-19 and lose work because of it can apply for limited emergency financial aid through the Lester Petrillo Memorial Fund. The Fund was established to assist members in good standing who become ill or disabled and are unable to accept work. A member would qualify for assistance if he/she is diagnosed with coronavirus and/or he/she tests positive for coronavirus and is quarantined.

Members and local officers may download Petrillo Fund applications from the AFM website. Go to www.afm.org and type “Petrillo Memorial Fund” into the search bar. Completed applications together with supportive medical documentation should be submitted by members to their local unions, which will then submit them to the Federation.

Across the northern border—which the Canadian government closed to foreign travelers on March 16—the Canadian office of the AFM, located in Toronto, started putting emergency office measures into place on March 13. These measures included allowing staff to work from home if possible, having reduced office hours to avoid peak travel times in transit, having a maximum of three staff members in the office at one time, offering hand sanitizer around the office, and practicing increased cleaning of common surfaces in the office, says Alan Willaert, Vice President from Canada. The Canadian office closed until further notice on March 24 after the Premier of Ontario and the Mayor of Toronto both declared a state of emergency and ordered all non-essential businesses to close for two weeks.

The Canadian Office of the AFM, in coordination with the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association and the Toronto Musicians’ Association, also started the Save Live Arts in Canada initiative (www.savelivearts.ca) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative encourages all who work in the live arts to sign a petition addressed to all elected officials in Canada, which urges certain health and financial actions be taken to help members of the entertainment sector in the face of unemployment.

Urging Federal Response

Also on March 13, Willaert sent an open letter to the Government of Canada, urging support for musicians due to an unprecedented loss of work caused by reaction to the Coronavirus. “The CFM is requesting that government adopt emergency measures in this exceptional situation, to provide security to counteract this critical loss of revenue, through whatever means necessary,” Willaert wrote. “These steps may include a waiver of the one-week waiting period for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits (in the case where the musicians are entitled), to expanding the benefit to include freelance workers who provide their services as self-employed contractors, to ensuring that compensation is made available for musicians who have had gigs or tours canceled for both lost revenue and other expenses, such as the hundreds of dollars, or thousands paid to USCIS as petition fees for P2 visas for US entry. Consideration must be made as well for proper funding to help musicians and symphony/theatre organizations recover, as well as assistance to stimulate and revitalize the industry once the virus has been contained and/or eradicated.”

Willaert also signed on to a letter from the seven Canadian entertainment unions to the Canadian minister of heritage and multiculturalism urging him to extend income support to workers not eligible for EI sickness benefits. Many workers in the Canadian entertainment industry are not classified as employees under Canadian laws, and therefore are not eligible for EI benefits for any loss of work due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are concerned the government may forget the importance of our industry and the need to also protect the workers who rely on it for their income,” the letter states. “We are already seeing cancellations of screen-based productions and live performances with more anticipated. Workers who are signed to productions rely on those contracts, which can range from several days to several months. The loss of that expected income will be devastating to these precarious workers. Production insurance is not covering cancelltions related to COVID-19.”

On March 14, President Hair issued a statement on the pandemic’s impact on musicians and other gig economy workers:

“As events related to the fast-moving coronavirus pandemic evolve, emergency declarations in many locations have banned all but small-sized public gatherings in an effort to protect families, save lives, and prevent the spread of the disease. These actions have led to the shuttering of large, medium, and small venues, sporting facilities, and the preemption of live media production involving studio audiences. This has prompted the widespread cancellation of concerts, shows, theatrical productions, festivals, and musical performances of every kind—all of which have inflicted disastrous economic effects upon performers who often live gig to gig and who bring joy to the world wherever groups are gathered.

“Tens of thousands of musicians and others have suddenly found themselves without income, without the means to feed and protect their families, and who may lose healthcare coverage during these shutdowns. Today, a state of national emergency has been declared which frees up $50 billion in federal funds for use in response to the accelerating surge of infections. When considering funding assistance and relief for working people, Congress and state and local lawmakers should pay particular attention to those who work and perform in the entertainment industry, whose gigs have gone dark, and who are bearing the financial brunt of these shutdowns the most.”

Like their Canadian counterparts, the major US entertainment industry union leaders are also coordinating to protect their members from the effects of the coronavirus and the governmental response to it. These leaders—part of the coalition comprising the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees—had a teleconference on March 16 during which they discussed all aspects of the situation, particularly how to ensure that our elected officials in Washington DC stand up for creative professionals.

They drafted a letter to government officials in which they advocated for emergency economic support for entertainment industry professionals. Specifically, they urged legislators to create a special Emergency Coronavirus Economic Support Benefit geared toward entertainment workers who have a bona fide, good faith work offer that gets canceled due to the coronavirus, as well as the creation of a benefit similar to the Emergency Paid Leave benefit included in the first Coronavirus Response Act legislation (signed into law on March 18) but available to those who cannot work due to production shutdown rather than due to illness, quarantine, or family caregiving needs.

“We are working closely with the Arts, Entertainment, and Media Industry (AEMI) unions through the AFL-CIO’s Department for Professional Employees (DPE) to speak with one voice urging Congress to include musicians and other arts and entertainment workers in any subsequent bill to help our members,” says AFM International Secretary-Treasurer Jay Blumenthal.

While President Hair and the rest of the AFM leadership and staff are working around the clock with other national entertainment unions to protect their members, they are encouraging members to stand up and speak out as well. “Musicians need to directly contact their congressperson and senators to urge them to protect entertainment workers during this unprecedented crisis,” President Hair says.

All AFM members are encouraged to visit www.afm.org/covid-19, scroll to the bottom, and fill out the “Emergency Action – Contact Congress” form to let Congress know that they need to protect entertainment workers, thousands of whom are unable to pay for rent or food and are finding their healthcare coverage in jeopardy.

Officer Columns, President's Message

Coronavirus Update

March 30, 2020 Ray Hair

As of the date of this writing, March 21, the entertainment industry throughout the world, with few exceptions, has been shut down. Today, emergency governmental stay-at-home orders have been issued in New York, Connecticut, Illinois, and California, affecting 75 million Americans. A national emergency declaration issued on March 13 placed severe restrictions on public and private gatherings, effectively eliminating audiences; canceling concerts and shows for every symphonic, opera, and ballet orchestra in the US and Canada; shutting down festival performances; and closing live venues of every size. Thousands of gigs that otherwise would have been performed were wiped out. TV networks ended all live television production except news. All other media production has been postponed.

Broadway, Las Vegas casinos, and every other showroom, right down to neighborhood restaurants and bars, are dark. Touring theatrical productions have either closed or shut down pending an all-clear signal for audience gatherings. The threat to the entertainment industry across North America and worldwide, to the business it creates and musicians it employs, could stretch beyond these immediate days and have disastrous consequences for months or years to come. As the disease began its spread here, your union took immediate action to safeguard our staff, provide advice and counsel to our locals and our members, while negotiating with signatory employers to preserve and protect employment, extend health benefits, and return touring musicians safely to their homes.

Federation offices—in New York, DC, Toronto, and Los Angeles—are located in the current epicenters of COVID-19 infections. We got ahead of the situation on March 12, implementing work-from-home plans for most staff, and staggering hours for essential staff in all Federation offices, which were eventually shuttered due to additional emergency orders.

Federation staff has risen to the occasion, working around the clock to design and implement new streaming provisions for use to keep live performances alive, to preserve employment. Legislative Director Alfonso Pollard and I have been in direct contact with Congress to push for immediate relief for members who have borne the brunt of these shutdowns. We will not rest until we achieve this goal.

I’m dedicating the balance of my column space this month to accommodate special coverage of the Federation’s response to the crisis. As the outbreak continues, I will communicate frequently via Federation-wide email blasts. Please stay safe. My prayers are with each of you.

To view the article on this month’s special coverage on COVID-19, click here.

United States Travel Ban Extended to Europe

March 28, 2020 IM

Travel bans have further affected orchestras’ performance schedules, both in terms of planned international tours and the ability of international guest artists and conductors to enter the US.

Beginning March 14, the US banned all travel from Europe for 30 days. The United Kingdom was at first excluded from the order, but the ban was then extended to Great Britain and Ireland effective March 16. Already, bans had been ordered to restrict any foreigners who have visited China or Iran within 14 days prior.

At the time of this writing, the US government advised reconsidering travel abroad and the Canadian government advised avoiding all non-essential travel outside of Canada until further notice and closed its border.

Orchestra News

Orchestras Rally to Put Digital Solutions in Place

March 27, 2020 IM

Orchestras are rapidly considering how they can continue to serve their communities, exploring streamed concerts and digital-learning capabilities for education programs. A side letter to the AFM’s International Media Agreement was quickly negotiated as the crisis unfolded, allowing orchestras to more easily offer audio or audio-visual streaming of certain performances to their audiences in exchange for commitments to continue compensation to all musicians even when live work cannot proceed. A similar special agreement was created to cover streaming by Canadian orchestras. Other orchestras are availing themselves of streaming rights that already exist within the IMA.

The Philadelphia Orchestra became the first US orchestra to livestream a concert in response to the coronavirus pandemic. On March 12, the orchestra announced the cancellation of its events through March 27, including a concert that had been scheduled for that evening. The same day, a plan was put into place to livestream that evening’s performance as well as record it for radio broadcast. More than 5,000 people tuned in to the Facebook Live broadcast—more the twice the seated capacity in the orchestra’s hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies were performed for the digital audience, as well as the world premiere of a new work by composer Iman Habibi, who was permitted to attend in person.

A Minnesota Orchestra livestream and one from the Toledo Symphony followed the next night. The Windsor Symphony on March 14 and the Vancouver Symphony on March 15 live-streamed concerts performed in empty halls. Among other efforts thus far, on March 16, the Metropolitan Opera began making available a free nightly stream of an encore presentation from its Live in HD series and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has made its “Replay” archive of past performances available free of charge for one month.

Orchestra News

Concerts Canceled and Postponed

March 27, 2020 IM

In the interest of public health and in compliance with local health advisories, orchestras across the United States and Canada have canceled, postponed, or curtailed performances, educational offerings, and other public events. Orchestras in the states of Washington and California were among the first impacted, with orchestras everywhere quickly following suit in mid-March. Where possible, many orchestras are working to reschedule affected performances.

Many organizations have expanded options for ticket exchanges or refunds, while also urging ticket holders to donate the price of their tickets back to the orchestra during this difficult time. Development staff are increasing fundraising efforts and launching dedicated campaigns.

Altered performance schedules will have a negative impact on the financial health of orchestras and other performing arts organizations; the unexpected loss of event-dependent income for musicians is coming into focus and will grow over time.