Tag Archives: recent news

International Musician, Recent News

More Workers Financially Stressed

According to the 2017 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey released in late November by Willis Towers Watson, only about a third of all US employees are satisfied with their financial situation. The results demonstrate a reversal from improvements in employee attitudes since 2009.

Of the 4,983 participants surveyed in July and August, 59% say they worry about their future financial state, compared to 49% just two years ago.

A growing proportion, 34%, say current financial concerns—stagnate wages, health care costs, and the erosion of pension plan coverage—are negatively affecting their lives and ability to do their best work.

Seven out of 10 report high or above average stress levels and 30% describe their health as poor. In contract, those who have no money problems were in very good health (55%) or good health (35%), with just 5% reporting high stress.

International Musician, Recent News

FCC Chair Pushes to End Net Neutrality

At the Federal Communications Commission meeting being held on December 14th, FCC Chair Ajit Pai is expected to seek the repeal of almost all of the agency’s net neutrality regulations.

Current net neutrality regulations ensure that all web traffic is treated equally, effectively preventing Internet providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon from blocking or throttling traffic. Public interest groups and Democratic lawmakers are sounding the alarm. Fight for Future is planning a protest at Verizon stores on December 7.

Support net neutrality by signing this petition.

International Musician, Recent News

College Instructors Suspended Following Strike

Four instructors from La Cité Collégiale’s respiratory therapy program were suspended for “insubordination” after asserting that they would be unable to squeeze the remaining year’s material into the condensed school calendar following the five-week strike.

The francophone instructors were asked to sign a document guaranteeing the students would complete the necessary competencies to finish school by the end of April. The instructors refused to sign the contract worrying about the ethical parameters of licensing possibly unprepared respiratory therapists who could be faced with life-or-death situations.

Even with adjustments to the school calendar, the 77 students would be missing three full weeks of instruction. Following the suspensions, the school brought in two respiratory therapy clinicians and a consultant as instructors.

International Musician, Recent News

CISAC Global Royalty Collections Top $10 billion

In November, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) has announced annual royalty collections of €9.2 billion ($10.1 billion).

This represents a 6% increase for the organization that represents 239 creators’ societies in 121 countries. There was a 52% increase in digital revenues. However, CISAC President Jean-Michel Jarre said that, even with this growth, collections are nowhere near the level where they should be. “Large industries that use creative content are driving down the value of our works. A simple illustration of this is the ‘transfer of value’ in the digital market where platforms such as YouTube are paying mere crumbs to authors,” he says.

International Musician, Recent News

Cabaret Law Abolished After 91 Years

At the end of November, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio signed legislation that will repeal the 91-year-old “cabaret” law that nightclub owners, performers, and the AFM have tried to eliminate since its inception.

The antiquated law prohibited dancing in bars and restaurants that did not possess a cabaret license and were originally created to curb speakeasies during Prohibition.

The law had long faced challenges and complaints about its uneven and discriminatory enforcement. All aspects of the law were repealed except for two safety requirements. Establishments must install and maintain security cameras, and if they employ security guards, they must be licensed.

“We want to be a city where people can work hard, and enjoy the city’s nightlife without arcane bans on dancing,” says de Blasio.

Jeff Coffin
Recent News

Jeff Coffin Returns to High School to Support Music Education

Jeff CoffinSaxophonist and Local 257 (Nashville, TN) member Jeff Coffin of the Dave Matthews Band paid a surprise visit to music students and their teacher at Spaulding High School in Rochester, New Hampshire. Coffin performed with the school’s concert band, spoke to students, and together with Yamaha, presented them with a new Yamaha YX-500F xylophone valued at more than $4,000. Coffin, who attended Spaulding High School, recalled his friendships and lessons learned from his time spent in Rochester.

The event was a joint effort by Yamaha in conjunction with DonorsChoose.org—a nonprofit that accepts donations large and small from individuals and institutions providing aid so far to 659 public school programs all over the country. Yamaha has matched 3,000 citizen donations, contributing $250,000 to $500,000 worth of instruments, affecting the lives of about 163,000 music students and nearly 700 teachers.

According to Lisa MacDonald, director of marketing for Yamaha Corporation of America, awareness and inspiration are just as important as equipment. “We hope music lovers everywhere will follow his lead and investigate how they can help a music teacher in their area,” she says. “Supporting a music program is an investment in the success of our children as well-rounded human beings.”

 

 

International Musician, Recent News, Vice President from Canada

CFM Negotiates with the Media Giants

The General Production Agreement negotiated between the CFM and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has been ratified with an overwhelming majority. As a response to requests by the members, modifications were made to once again identify underscore and theme music that would require reuse payments outside of the one-year window. Fees increased by nearly 5% and the revenue sharing aspect of Distributor’s Gross now includes licensing as well as sales.

And of equal importance, ratification indicates that we now have an up-to-date template to use as we prepare to negotiate a similar deal with Rogers Communications, Bell Media, and Corus Entertainment. During conversations with all three to determine dates to begin bargaining, it became apparent that there is an appetite among the three media giants to bargain simultaneously. To that end, the tentative timeline is sometime in February 2018.

Commercial Announcements Agreement

In the mix as well is the Commercial Announcements Agreement, as the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) and the Institute of Communications Agencies (ICA) have returned to the table after a yearlong hiatus. Significant amendments are being considered with this contract since online advertising, once considered a small part of the industry, has become a significant part of productions. While fee increases and housekeeping are also on the table, major revisions are being contemplated because of massive shift in how jingles are now created. Fortunately, there is a desire on both sides to make the agreement more relative and user-friendly.

Consultations with independent producers have finally led to an upcoming meeting with the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). While still in the early stages, it’s my hope that the result will be a Canadian agreement for independent production. I will report more on this in the near future.

NAFTA & TPP Update

Recent meetings of the Canadian Labour Conference confirmed that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) remain very serious concerns for organized labour in Canada. As reported previously, the CFM has been appointed to a NAFTA committee to provide input on certain aspects of the cultural sector. We have also made presentations during public consultations on the TPP, as the subject matter has similar concerns for musicians, specifically regarding temporary entry into Canada and copyright. We continue to push for what is fair, although it would appear at this juncture, that both those agreements are in peril.

As you may have surmised, we have a busy schedule coming up, both in finishing 2017 work and with projects that will take us well into next year. Major, first-time negotiations are on deck, and with lots of hard work and a little luck, there will be a significant increase in contracted media work.

I would like to wish all our members, officers, and staff a very Merry Christmas, as well as a safe, healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year.

International Musician, Recent News

When It Comes to Freelancing, Know Your Worth

Freelancing

by Michael Manley, Director Organizing and Education Division

 

Everyone loves to get the call, text, email, or Facebook message offering them work—especially when gigs are scarce and times are lean. Employers know you love to make music, and the best employers value and fairly reward this. The worst, however, will exploit your passion for their own gain. Before you decide to take the job, ask yourself two questions: “What should this job pay?” and “What am I worth?” Then, follow the money.

In building a freelance career, sometimes the job you say “no” to can be just as crucial as the one that you say “yes” to. Of course, a union contract is the best guarantee that the job is paying appropriate wages and contains appropriate benefits. While it would be ideal if every musician only worked union jobs, currently that is not the reality. But it is not hard to spot those jobs that should be union and that is where musicians need to ask the right questions and say “no” when appropriate. Here are a few key points to look for and some factors to consider before taking a job.

What’s the gig? Separating for-profit from public service

We all know how it works: you get an offer, which includes the type of ensemble, genre, and repertoire, venue, and most importantly, what the pay and benefits are. Before deciding to accept or reject an offer, determine the context of the employment. Performing at a local church during the holiday season? With no tickets sold or meaningful profit being realized, this gig is really one of public service. You may or may not decide to take the work based on the pay offered, the people you are performing with, the repertoire, and the mission or cause being served by the concert.

But what if tickets are sold and the performance is in a large capacity venue? This is where you have to proceed with caution.

What is the job paying, and what should it pay?

How do you find out what a job should pay? Consult your AFM local’s website for scales, or give the local a call, if the scales are not published online. Union local scales may vary according to the type of engagement, type of music, and size of the venue. Remember:  local scales are minimums, not maximums—they should easily fit into the budgets of truly professional for-profit events and concert producers.

What is the size of the venue, and what are the ticket prices?

If the venue is more than 1,000 seats and tickets are being sold at top prices, a union contract should be a given and the absence of one is a huge red flag. If there is no union protection and the wages being offered for the job are lower than union scale, why?

Who is the artist/act?

If you are being asked to play for a band, artist, or act that is a “household name,” you should never work without a union contract. The act/artist can afford union rates. If the job is being offered as nonunion and at substandard wages, it means the money the artist is paying for back-up musicians is not trickling down to you. Where is it going?

Who are you working for?
Follow the money

Who called you for the job? Is it a trusted high-profile union contractor who has booked similar jobs in the past? If not, why? A common trend now: peers who act as contractors for a job, with these musicians being offered a bump in pay to make job offers to their colleagues. They act as proxy employers—but they are not really employers. Will you receive a 1099 for the work, or will you receive a W-2? Or worse, is someone going to try and pay you with PayPal or Venmo? And who is your peer working for? This is the hallmark of a sketchy gig—one where you have no protections or recourse if there are problems. And why is a section violin player being asked to contract your work anyway? Consider what would happen if you were underpaid or never got paid. Who would you go after for the money?

Remember, if you do not have the protections of a union agreement, then you do not have any protections at all.

What about the extras?

Are you being asked to drive more than an hour to do the job? If so, mileage should be paid or professional chartered transportation should be provided. If there is a soundcheck in the late afternoon and an evening concert, you should be provided a hot meal or appropriate meal per diem between calls. The absence of both of these is a red flag. In a major venue, it is likely that union stagehands, carpenters, and electricians are working for fair union wages and benefits. If the crew member plugging in the amp is receiving a union wage, why not you?

No one is impressed by
underpaid work

It’s great to play in a large venue with “stars.” We all love to post backstage photos with artists when we get to share the stage with them. But the people who matter to your career—the top-tier players and contractors—will know when a job is undermining the basic standards and conditions that they have worked hard to achieve and maintain in their own careers. They are not impressed when you work for substandard wages. And working for substandard wages does not lead to working for appropriate wages, nor does it lead to working with the influential first-call musicians with whom you hope to share the stage as your career develops.

The bottom line

We all love to make music, and saying “no” can be hard. Emerging professionals sometimes take nonunion work because it is all they feel they can get. But a truly nonprofit, nonunion church or community theater gig is a far cry from playing with a well-known artist in a huge arena. There is some work that absolutely should be “union”—make sure you know what it is. If you are being offered substandard wages and conditions, with no union protections, don’t be afraid to say “no,” warn your colleagues, and alert your union local. You and your career will be better for it in the long run.

What can you do about sketchy gigs? Organize them! Call the AFM Organizing and Education Division at (917)229-0267 or email Director Michael Manley at mmanley@afm.org. 

International Musician, Recent News

Understanding Your Film Musician Secondary Markets Fund

Secondary Markets Fund

by Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, Executive Director Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund

 

In 2017, the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund (FMSMF) celebrated 45 years of serving the film and television music community. Created in 1972 by the motion picture and television producers and the AFM, the FMSMF’s primary purpose was to act as the agent of the producers to collect and distribute residual payments to film musicians. Today, we continue this mission, while also serving as a resource for motion picture professionals in addressing various challenges to the industry.

For some musicians and filmmakers, the FMSMF remains a bit of a mystery. Because FMSMF distributes a significant source of income to working musicians, all musicians working in film, television, new media, as well as sound recordings should be familiar with how it works.

FMSMF provides a unique service to the film and TV music community. For producers, it shoulders the responsibility of calculating and issuing individual musicians’ residual payments and paying required taxes and withholdings. For musicians, FMSMF sends a detailed listing with a breakdown for each title that accompanies the musician’s annual payment. This provides a “one-stop shop” to make residual tracking, personal record keeping, and annual tax accounting easier and more efficient for the working musician.

FMSMF is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization operating under the supervision of an oversight committee appointed by the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP), and AFM liaisons appointed by the AFM International President who consult with the oversight committee. FMSMF does not engage in collective bargaining on behalf of either producers or the AFM.

How FMSMF Works 

FMSMF collects residuals (contributions) if a film, TV program, or new media project has moved from its primary market into a secondary market, and that secondary market use generates revenue, as described in Chart 1.

Secondary Markets Fund

Residuals collected by the FMSMF represent a small percentage (below 1% net of deductions outlined in the AFM agreement) of distributors’ gross receipts from secondary market distribution of film, TV, or new media programs. Producers and/or distributors send residuals directly to the fund on a quarterly basis. Residuals collected during the FMSMF’s fiscal year (April 1-March 31) are distributed to musicians the following July 1. Administrative costs for operating the fund (legal and auditing fees, insurance, salaries, computers, rent, etc.), taxes, and other required withholdings, plus a small reserve for “omissions,” are deducted from the amounts collected. Each individual title’s contribution is allocated proportionally against the total contributions received for all titles during the year. (A title refers to an individual film or a season of a TV series). Each musician’s share within each title is determined by applying the percentage that his original wages represented of the total wages paid to all musicians for the score, against the residual payment collected for that title during the year.

A second, smaller “omissions distribution” is made each September to musicians who the fund discovers were erroneously omitted from a project’s list of musicians, or whose original wages were underreported to the fund. FMSMF conducts its own research, reviews, and audits, either directly by the Fund Compliance Department or by outside auditors engaged by the fund to ensure that signatory producers and distributors make the required residual payments. In addition, the fund’s Participant Services staff works to find musicians who may have unclaimed residuals waiting at the fund. Many of these “lost” musicians are musicians who performed on AFM-covered sound recordings that were used in AFM-covered films and programs, but do not have a valid current address registered with the fund.

Who Participates?

Participating musicians include, not just instrumentalists who played on the score (on or off screen), but also conductors, orchestrators, copyists, arrangers, contractors, and other AFM-covered positions. Further, musicians who worked on a union-covered sound recording used in an AFM signatory film, TV program, or new media project may be entitled to share in that title’s secondary market residuals. If a participant is deceased, his/her designated beneficiary is entitled to receive the participant’s share of residuals. The FMSMF staff researches, identifies, and contacts beneficiaries to effectuate the musician’s intent for them to benefit from their legacy.

Recent Activity

In the 2017 fiscal year, the FMSMF collected more than
$98.4 million in secondary market residuals. Participants received 15,676 payments in the July regular distribution and another 1,415 payments as part of the September omissions distribution. A list of films, TV programs, and new media programs that have paid into the fund over the years is located at www.fmsmf.org.

It can take several years after the first release or broadcast before a film, TV program, or new media program moves into a secondary market and revenues are generated. Resulting residuals for an individual title can vary from modest to significant, depending on its success. Overall, secondary market residuals have grown in recent years. Residuals from new media exhibition of film and television programs have become a more significant share of the totals, as illustrated in Chart 2.

Secondary Markets Fund

FMSMF also administers a smaller sub-fund that collects supplemental market residuals for secondary use of live and videotape programs such as the nightly talk shows, variety shows, and other programs produced under the AFM’s Live Television Videotape and Basic Cable Television agreements.

Whether you actively work in film and television scoring, on a new media project, or in sound recordings, the FMSMF and the residuals it collects can be relevant to you. Now, the fund has new relevance to all working musicians. As a result of the AFM’s negotiations for its 2015 Film and Television Basic agreements, a portion of the residuals collected by FMSMF will be sent to the AFM-EPF to help support the funding of musicians’ pensions.

We invite you to learn more about the FMSMF by visiting our website where we keep musicians and producers informed about FMSMF activities and offer online services for musicians and beneficiaries to securely access accounts, update information, sign up for easy direct deposit and paperless options, and locate unclaimed residuals.

Remember, if you’re a participant, please make sure your address, email, contact information, and beneficiary designations are current and remain up-to-date with the fund. And, please visit us on Facebook.

On behalf of the FMSMF staff, we look forward to our continued service to the professional musicians of the US and Canada and extend our best wishes for a happy and healthy 2018!

International Musician, Recent News

Study Shows Musicians Have Superior Memory Skills

A study led by University of Padua psychologist Francesca Talamini shows that musicians tend to have stronger short-term and working memory (the ability to retain information as you process it) than nonmusicians. Published in the online journal PLoS One, the research also found a slight advantage in terms of long-term memory. Scientists looked at 29 studies (between 1987 and 2016) of young adults performing long-term, short-term, and working memory tasks. The musicians performed best on working memory tasks involving tonal stimuli, but also had an advantage regarding verbal stimuli. On short-term memory tasks, the musicians showed superior skills, whether they were asked to recall musical tones, verbal instructions, or visual images.

Researchers offer a few hypotheses including the possibility that people with better memories choose to become musicians. But, they believe it is more likely that their memories were improved because of the multi-sensorial nature of music training.