A piano tuner in Shropshire, England, discovered a hoard of gold coins concealed in a piano that had been donated to a local community group. The Broadwood upright was originally sold in 1906 by a musical instrument shop in Saffron Walden, Essex, but ownership after that is unknown until it was purchased by a local family 1983. The Shropshire Coroner’s Office has launched an investigation and is looking for potential claimants to determine if the gold falls under the 1996 Treasures Act. To be declared “treasure” and property of the Crown, it would have had to have been deliberately concealed and for the original owner to remain untraced. If declared treasure, a museum would be able to buy the coins, with a reward payable to both the piano’s current owner and the finder.
Tag Archives: recent news
End of Era as Record Stores Close
The bankruptcy and closing of Canada’s last big record store chain, HMV, marks the end of an era. The 130 remaining stores are liquidating inventory and will close for good by April 30. HMV stands for His Master’s Voice, the title of a painting by Francis Barraud of the dog Nipper listening to a cylinder phonograph, which was bought by the Gramophone Company in 1899.[5]
British Singer Demands Unpaid Wages
English tenor Jonathan Ansell says that he and fellow performers were never paid for a 26-date 2016 tour of UK and Ireland, peforming A Night in Venice, produced by Stephen Leatherland. Noting another Leatherland production, A Viennese Strauss Gala, was being performed at Baths Hall in Scunthorpe, UK, Ansell snapped into action and made a guest appearance. Before the show began, he climbed on-stage and addressed the audience, informing them of the owed money.
“We absolutely love what we do but I think you’ll agree that this is totally unacceptable,” said Answell, who is personally owed around £10,000 ($12,500). “It’s extremely unfortunate that I’ve had to take this drastic action here tonight but I hope it goes some way to stopping this happening to anybody else ever again.”
Ansell explains that Leatherland, who runs the production company World on Stage, left performers in “such a dreadful position” that they had not been able to pay rents and mortgages.
Cello Destroyed by Airlines
Sadly, another instrument has been destroyed by the airlines. Florida State University student Carrie Miller’s cello was smashed during a United Airlines flight from California and Tallahassee, while returning from Christmas break. On previous trips, Miller had been allowed to gate check the cello, but this time she was told she would have to go through the regular checked baggage process. She did not have the option of purchasing an extra seat as the flight was completely full. Miller says she does not have the money to replace her cello, but has set up a Go Fund Me page [https://www.gofundme.com/carrie-millers-cello] in hopes of raising enough to purchase a cello before her final graduate performance in April.
MTV News Votes to Organize
The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced in a press release, that the editorial staff at MTV News today announced plans to unionize. More than 80% of MTV News’ editorial staff have signed cards electing the WGAE as their representative in collective bargaining.
“In an age when independent voices are more essential than ever, we are heartened that these digital news creators recognize collective bargaining is the most effective way to protect those voices and to address critical issues like transparency in compensation and other policies, reasonable benefits for all, and an inclusive workplace,” says Lowell Peterson, executive director for WGAE.
Animation Workers Reach $100 million Settlement over Wage-Fixing
Animation and visual effects workers have reached a $100 million settlement with Walt Disney Company, Pixar, and Lucasfilm resulting from a class action lawsuit claiming the defendants violated antitrust laws by conspiring to set animation wages via non-poaching agreements. The workers content the agreements go back to the mid-1990s when George Lucas and then Pixar President Ed Catmull agreed to not raid each other’s employees. Other companies joined the conspiracy later, creating agreements on cold calling and notifying each other when making an offer to someone in the other company.
Equal Pay Is Top Issue for Working Women
A poll conducted by the website InHerSight.com showed that, for the majority of women in the workplace, correcting the gender pay gap is their number one priority. Among concerns listed by the 500 respondents 31.5% deemed correcting the pay gap as their top priority. Other concerns included establishing more flexible work hours (28%), promoting more women to senior leadership (14%), increased parental leave benefits (11%), and better training and responsiveness related to sexual harassment (4.5%).
Minnesota Co-Op Votes to Unionize Despite Threats
The majority of Whole Foods Co-Op workers in Duluth, Minnesota, voted to join United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1189. “The organizing committee worked really hard even though management was working every day to make people afraid,” says Diana Tastad, the lead organizer. “I am so proud of them for sticking together, despite the fear tactics.”
Whole Foods Co-Op is the second Minnesota co-op to organize.
New Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA) Reached
As this issue went to print, AFM’s negotiating team, comprised of recording musicians and our union’s leadership, had reached a new Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA) with the major recording companies including Hollywood (Disney), Sony, Universal, and Warner. The tentative three-year contract is a huge win for musicians who record under the SRLA, which sets minimum wage scales and working conditions for audio recordings—both studio sessions and live performances. When ratified, musicians will see improved pension and health care contributions, and 3% wage increases in each year of the contract.
“With music consumption transitioning away from CDs and downloads, we fought hard to connect our residual and pension funding to streaming. For the first time, the SRLA obligates the companies to contribute a portion of interactive streaming revenue to our Sound Recording Special Payments Fund (SPF) and the Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF). New provisions also require the companies to make substantial guaranteed annual payments to the AFM & Employers’ Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) from streaming,” says AFM President Ray Hair. “Negotiations are not always an easy or quick process, but when musicians stand together—we have the power to do anything!”
In the coming weeks, musicians who work under the SRLA will receive a ratification letter and voting information about this new and improved contract. Look for additional details of the new Sound Recording Labor Agreement in Hair’s March column.
USCIS Announces Visa Fee Increase for Foreign Musicians Performing in the US
Pour la version française cliquez ici.
In October, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the fees for O and P visa applications would increase by 42%, from $325 US to $460 per petition, effective December 20. The AFM, along with its long-standing coalition of (US-based) nonprofit arts organizations, spoke out in one strong voice against the increase during the comment period after the USCIS proposed the increase this past spring.
The AFM of course recognizes that this increase adds a significant burden to its Canadian members and to other musicians worldwide. In a November 2 teleconference initiated by USCIS, the AFM urged the USCIS to respond to its current lack of quality in service and to press for vast improvements and consistency in processing times—especially now that it has increased the fee. Unfortunately, the response by USCIS officials was noncommittal, and in general, stated that all increases recently imposed (which were not only on artist/athlete visas) were necessary to maintain overall operations.
To avoid paying the new fee, at least at
the outset, completed P-2 visa applications from AFM Canadian members must be received by the AFM no later than Monday, December 19, 2016 (with the current fee of $325 USD). Applications received on or after December 20 will need to have the new fee ($460 USD) included.
Also, be reminded that the AFM is recommending 120 calendar days (four months) processing time (unless filing premium processing, requiring 30 calendar days). While these processing time recommendations are fairly accurate, this timeline is an estimate, subject to increase or decrease by USCIS. The USCIS is not required to provide advance notice of changes to processing times. AFM’s P-2 administrative team monitors USCIS processing times weekly, in an effort to provide as solid a timeline as possible to membership.
At the very least, the AFM coalition had hoped to receive news that processing times would vastly improve, as had happened immediately after the last USCIS increase in the summer of 2010. While it may be hard to believe, especially considering the processing times and fees for Canadians, the USCIS artist visa process is more simplified and less costly than it is for all other musicians across the globe who enter the US under the same permits.
“The AFM does everything possible to make the process easier on members and will work with each case to try and maximize the cost and permit length so members can get the most out of their time and money,” says CFM Executive Director Liana White.
For additional information and questions on the AFM’s lobbying initiatives to improve access to the US, or the AFM’s role as a petitioner of artist permits, please email Liana White (lwhite@afm.org).