On July 14, Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship released a study focused on how to promote fairness and transparency in the music industry. The report, titled Fair Music: Transparency and Money Flows in the Music Industry, was developed by Berklee College of Music faculty and students in collaboration with other music industry organizations, companies, artists, and experts. Among the ideas discussed in the document is a “Creator’s Bill of Rights” comprised of standards for ethical treatment of musicians, artists, and creators, based on the principal that all musicians deserve fair compensation for their art and every creator deserves to have insight into the entire payment system. You can download a free copy of the full Fair Music report at: https://www.berklee.edu/news/fair_music_report.
Tag Archives: news
Postal Workers’ Union Alleges Canada Post Union-Bustin
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has alleged that Canada Post is union-busting, having dropped its contract with the unionized temp agency that had been staffing its parcel intake plants. When a unionized company is sold or transferred, union-busting is prevented by the labor code under “successor rights provisions,” which ensure that a collective agreement remains in tact and workers keep their jobs during the transition. But when a unionized subcontractor loses a contract, as with the aforementioned situation, these protections do not apply. So, the union is forced to weigh their options, which may include filing an unfair labour practice complaint with the Industrial Relations Board against Canada Post.
Conservatives Force Anti-union Bill into Law in Canada
An unconstitutional, anti-union bill (Bill C-377) has been forced through the Canadian Senate. Seven provinces oppose the bill, stating that it intrudes into provincial jurisdiction. Experts agree that the bill is unconstitutional for several other reasons as well, and when challenged in courts, will not survive. The bill attempts to force unions to disclose all of their financial information employers and to the general public. Unions and individuals across the board oppose the bill, from the NHL Players Association to the AFM to Conservative and Liberal senators to constitutional experts. The best opportunity for the public to oppose Bill C-377 is in the upcoming federal election.
Kickstarter Wins Crowdfunding Battle
Kickstarter, a popular crowdfunding forum, has long had to defend itself and its practices in a four-year fight for a patent. Finally, judges have ruled in the company’s favor. In 2011, Kickstarter has been engaged with its competitor ArtistShare in patent infringement suit. Artist share claimed that Kickstarter (the inarguably more successful of the two) has infringed their patent. The sitting judge, however, states that “crowd-funding” is an abstract concept, and one that is “beyond question of ancient lineage” and that there is nothing about the patent that overcomes that ineligible concept. So, Kickstarter is essentially free and clear.
David Byrne Talks Performance Rights
Local 802 (New York City) member David Byrne, who became a board member of SoundExchange in May, visited Capitol Hill last week to speak with Representative Jerrold Nadler about the Fair Play, Fair Pay Act of 2015, which would create a performance right for sound recordings used on terrestrial radio and mandate royalty payments to record labels. Nadler has been a strong advocate for issues dear to artists and music companies and is co-sponsor of the bill.
Strong Streaming in SoundScan’s Half-Year Report
In the first half of 2015, streaming nearly doubled in popularity, generating 135.2 billion streams, up from 70.3 billion in the same period of 2014. Even with all that growth, album sales still declined 4%, though that’s the smallest decline since 2012. However, track sales saw a lager 10.4% drop. Streaming equivalent albums (SEA) is the biggest driver of consumer consumption. Physical album sales fell to 62.41 from 67.3 million in the previous six-month period. CD sales were down 10% and vinyl grew by 38.4%.
Taylor Swift of Local 257 (Nashville, TN) topped many sales categories. Her 1989 was the best selling album in the first half of 2015, scanning 1.33 million units so far. (It topped in 2014 as well.) She also led in vinyl sales (34,000 units), and in a combined tally of album sales, track downloads, and streams (2.011 million album and album equivalent units).
Members Object to Having Their Songs Politicized
When Neil Young of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) rejected Donald Trump’s use of his song for political purposes he was in good company. Rollingstone published a list of 34 artists who objected to the use of their tunes in political campaigns, among them were Bruce Springsteen of Local 399 (Asbury Park, NJ) and 47 regarding Ronald Regan’s use of “Born in the USA”; Dave Grohl of Local 47 over John McCain’s use of “My Hero”; Nancy Wilson of Local 76-493 (Seattle, WA) over Sarah Palin’s use of “Barracuda”; Eddie Van Halen over John McCain’s use of “Right Now”; John Mellencamp of Local 11-637 (Louisville, KY) over John McCain, George Bush, and Ronald Regan’s uses of “Our Country,” “Pink Houses,” “ROCK in the USA,” and “Pink Houses”; Joe Walsh of Local 4 (Cleveland, OH) over Congressman Joe Walsh’s use of “Walk Away”; Neil Peart of Local 298 (Niagara Region, ON) over Rand Paul’s use of “The Spirit of Radio” and “Tom Sawyer”; and David Byrne 802 (New York City) over Charlie Crist’s use of “Road to Nowhere.”
Rosanne Cash Selected as Artist-in-Residence
Local 802 (New York City) member Rosanne Cash has been selected as the 2015 Artist-in-Residence at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. As artist-in-residence, the Grammy-winning singer songwriter will perform three intimate concerts at the Hall of Fame September 2, 3, and 24—each with a different theme and guest line-up. “Rosanne Cash, this year’s artist-in-residence, comes to us at the top of her game. On her latest release, The River and the Thread, Rosanne explores her deep roots in the South and delivers some of her best work in an already illustrious career,” says museum CEO Kyle Young.
To read more about Cash’s latest album and her career click here.
AFM Sues Sony Over Numerous Contract Violations
The AFM has filed a lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. for collective bargaining agreement violations regarding the Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA). The SRLA covers wages, benefits, and other conditions of employment for professional musicians in the creation of sound recordings. Among multiple violations named in the suit was recording work on the 2009 docomentary Michael Jackson’s This Is It, made just before Jackson’s death. Sony called the musicians for a recording session, which it claimed was for a “record” (defined as CDs, records, tapes, music videos, or concert DVDs), when the actual purpose was the recording of a film score. The SRLA Sony signed only covered recording for records, and prohibited recording for film scores. While Sony could have signed a letter that would allow them to use the AFM Motion Picture Agreement for this recording session, the company refused. As a result musicians are unable to collect residuals on the film.
This discrepancy may seem small to the public, but it makes a huge difference in terms of fair compensation to musicians trying to earn a living, explains AFM President Ray Hair. “Musicians have joined together to create industry standards and it is simply unacceptable for greedy corporations to knowingly violate those standards and deny residuals,” he says.
The suit also charges Sony with failure to make “new use” payments to musicians as required under the SRLA for the incorporation of covered sound recordings into new sound recordings and electronic media. Among other projects named in the lawsuit were: Pitbull’s 2012 version of Michael Jackson’s “Bad”; use of the Earth, Wind & Fire song “Boogie Woogie Wonderland” in the 2012 movie The Untouchables; use of the 17 songs from Tony Bennett: Duets II in a 2012 program broadcast on National Public Television; and use of recorded live televised performances of Whitney Houston accompanied by instrumental musicians (covered by the AFM Television Videotape Agreement) to produce a CD and CD/DVD set called Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances.
“We did not want to go to court,” says Hair, “but Sony repeatedly refused to do the right thing and pay the musicians fairly.
New Tent Lets Richmond Symphony Take Its show on the Road
The Richmond Symphony has purchased a 70-foot outdoor performance tent after successfully completing its $500,000 Big Tent Initiative and winning a $500,000 challenge grant from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation. The new tent will be in place by mid-August, allowing the organization to bring its 70-piece orchestra and 150-member chorus outside the walls of the Carpenter Theatre, in order to cultivate a greater, more personal connection with its surrounding community.