Tag Archives: traveling

Canadian Office of the American Federation of Musicians Announces Major Breakthrough Affecting Travelling Musicians

July 1, 2019 IM

Pour voir cet article en français, cliquez ici.

The Canadian Office of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) has announced a successful outcome in its efforts to affect much-needed changes to Canada’s Air Policy with regard to the transportation of musical instruments on Canadian air carriers.

Effective July 15, Air Passenger Protection Regulations within the Canadian Transportation Act will include language that ensures that all air carriers must accept musical instruments unless security or safety is an issue. These amendments will include clear and predictable terms and conditions with regard to musical instruments, as well as the obligation to carry and accept an instrument. Airlines also will be required to offer an alternative to musicians travelling with instruments should a change in aircraft cause an instrument not to fit.

“Over the years, we’ve seen far too many professional musicians have very expensive, and often irreplaceable, tools of their trade broken or destroyed during air travel,” says Alan Willaert, AFM vice president from Canada. “We have worked closely with the government of Canada and all Canadian air carriers on this issue since 2014 and are delighted to see these demands become regulation. We are grateful to The Honourable Minister Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, who has been supportive from the very beginning; the officials at Transport Canada, who have worked tirelessly with us; and the Canadian Transportation Agency.”

The Canadian Office of the AFM will issue a Canadian Flying Guide over the coming weeks to further assist musicians flying with instruments. Each airline also will have clear guidelines published as part of their tariff. Under the Obligation to Carry amendments, all commercial airline carriers must accept musical instruments as checked or carry-on baggage, unless it is contrary to general terms and conditions in the carrier’s tariff with respect to the weight or dimension of baggage or because of safety or security.

Health, Resources

Eating Healthy on the Fly: Don’t Let Fast Food Slow You Down

December 28, 2017 IM

For musicians on the road, eating healthy food can be hard. Restaurants and mini-mart offerings can add unwanted calories quickly, but they are often the only option.

Choose beverages with no added sugar or with few calories. Most stores stock fat-free or low-fat yogurt, fruit packs, and trail mix. Keep in mind that some prepackaged foods look like single servings, but actually contain multiple servings. Avoid obvious bad choices: fried food, high-fat meat, and milk shakes. Instead, choose sandwiches with fewer toppings and no cheese. Opt for salads with low-fat or fat-free dressing, replace French fries with sliced fruit, and swap out fried meats for grilled options or fish.

The good news about health halos is a bit more complicated. Fast food chains use the symbol to indicate a healthier option. This claim, however, usually overestimates the healthfulness of an item. Researchers note that consumers frequently confuse low fat with low calorie, resulting in overconsumption. Some veggie dishes pack nearly 1,000 calories, while a burger may have as few as 250.

According to the Food and Brand lab at Cornell University, “Consumers chose beverages, side dishes, and desserts containing up to 131% more calories when the main dish was positioned as ‘healthy,’ even though the main dish contained more calories than the ‘unhealthy option.’” The rule of thumb is always read the nutrition facts before ordering. (Now that restaurants are adding calorie counts to menus, it’s becoming easier to riddle out how much you will be taking in.)

Other recent studies done by the Food and Brand Lab found that “low-fat” labels on snack foods encouraged people to eat up to 50% more than those who saw labels without the low-fat claim. “Simply seeing the words low-fat encouraged people in these studies to consume 84 extra calories! This happens because when consumers see the low-fat label on a product, they automatically assume it has fewer calories.”

Got a smart phone? Get an app to count calories. The Fast Food Calorie Counter app ($1, for iPhone or Android) lists more than 9,000 menu items. Also, eat small with pint-size portions. The kids’ menu can save you calories. If it’s unavoidable to eat unhealthy at one meal, make sure the next choice is a healthy one.

Dehydration can cause sweet and salty food cravings. Stay hydrated and you will be less likely to snack. Fruits can add to overall hydration: lettuce and some vegetables have high water content, as do watermelon, peaches, strawberries, oranges, pineapple, and blueberries.

Banana, beans, greens

Maximize protein and plant-based foods. Plant-based foods plus plenty of protein keep energy levels up. Generally, avoid refined grains, sugary snacks, and fried foods. Called a super fruit, bananas are high in B vitamins, calcium, and other minerals, such as magnesium and iron. Dark leafy greens, quinoa, nuts, seeds, and fruits, and foods high in probiotics (fermented foods) all boost energy. High-fiber and nutrient-heavy plant foods that will burn for hours. Low-fiber and nutrient-light foods—simple carbohydrates—burn quickly. When you’re eating plant-strong, you won’t have the energy highs and lows.

Kale, mustard greens, collard greens, cabbage, and broccoli are high in nutrients and contain glucosinolates, which inhibit the growth of certain cancers. Swiss chard and spinach have similar nutritional value. What’s more, they are available throughout the year, and both are rich in iron, which carries oxygen to the blood.

Egg, salmon, almonds

Nuts are satisfying proteins that fill you up, although try to find the “no salt” option. They have heart-healthy unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and fiber.

Eggs pack a punch, too. More than half the protein is found in the egg white, along with vitamin B2, and whites are lower in fat and cholesterol than the yolk. Egg whites are also rich sources of selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12, and minerals, like zinc, iron, and copper.

If you like it, fish is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Like nuts, it is plentiful in omega-3 fatty acids and the vitamin D, a nutrient that most people are deficient in. It functions like a steroid hormone in the body. (Of the many unhealthy options at a McDonalds, the Filet-O-Fish contains a rather modest 380 calories.)

Pilot Rejects Violin

May 16, 2016 IM

On March 6 of last year, following nearly three years of lobbying and negotiation between music stakeholders (represented by the AFM) and DOT officials, details of the rules for bringing musical instruments onboard US airlines were announced. Though musicians are experiencing less problems since the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the regulation is only effective if the airline crew is ready and willing to abide by its rules. Among those guidelines, US carriers are required to allow passengers to board with small musical instruments, like a violin, provided it could be stored in an overhead compartment or under the seat in front of you.

On April 17 internationally acclaimed violinist and Local 20-208 (Chicago, IL) member Rachel Barton Pine was denied boarding with her violin—a 1742 Joseph Guarneri “del Gesu” violin. The instrument, insured for $20 million, is on lifetime loan from an anonymous benefactor. Pine was the first person down the jetway to her American Airlines flight, and her only other carry-on was her purse. It was the pilot who eyed her violin and stated he would not allow it on his plane. She tried to explain that it would fit (as it had many times before) in the overhead compartment and tried to restate American Airline’s own policy, in line with the FAA Modernization and Reform Act.

The pilot simply stated: “It is not going on because I say so.” Pine was forced to take another flight in the morning where her violin was easily accommodated in the overhead compartment.

“The Department of Transportation and the airlines have established important policies to protect musical instruments. However, those policies are meaningless if they are not enforced, or if the airline staff and crews are not properly educated and trained,” she says.

Traveling Musician

Central Withholding Agreements in the US

September 18, 2015 Robert Baird

If you are a nonresident alien (non US citizen) entertainer performing in the US, you are subject to 30% tax withholding from gross income. There are situations in which the withholding requirement does not apply (certain corporations, nonprofit organizations, and certain treaty provisions), but generally most artists should take advantage of central withholding agreements (CWA) with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to reduce this withholding amount.

A CWA is an agreement entered into by the entertainer, a designated withholding agent, and an authorized representative of the IRS. The agreement can cover one event or a tour and the withholding percentage required will be based on an income/expense budget provided by the artist, indicating net profit/loss. In order to access a CWA, your previous US income tax returns must be filed and US taxes paid (or you have arrangements to pay). You also must file a US tax return for the year in which the CWA is granted.

A designated withholding agent must be a completely independent third party (often, it is a venue, agent, manager, accountant, attorney, etc.). The agent is required to withhold and forward to the IRS withholding tax according to the terms of the CWA and provide a final accounting of the artist’s income and expenses.

The advantages of a CWA is that it allows for one withholding agent (rather than several, as on a tour) and the withholding percentage is based on the estimated ultimate tax liability, rather than the blanket 30% withholding required by law. Only individuals may apply for a CWA and for groups of artists in a band or other ensemble, each artist must apply separately.

Filing a CWA application should include:

Application form 13930
Itinerary of events to be covered by the CWA
Income/expense budget with contracts, deal memos, projected merchandise sales, etc.
Power of Attorney or Appointment of Representative form

The regulations for applying are extremely strict in regard to the application date. If the application is received less than 45 days prior to the first event on the CWA application, it will be rejected. The optimum time to apply for a CWA is 90 days before the first event. If you cannot meet these deadlines and the 30% is withheld, you can always apply for a refund (if one is applicable) by filing a US tax return for the year in which you had monies withheld.

When a CWA has been fully executed and signed by the entertainer, the designated withholding agent, and the representative of the IRS, the designated withholding agent assumes responsibility for withholding and reporting tax on the entire tour or event, relieving all other withholding agents from withholding, and eliminating the chances of over-withholding.

Sometimes a foreign entertainer will try to rely on the submission of W-9 or W-8BEN forms or assume that they can rely on a tax treaty provision that allows a certain level of tax-free income. Strictly speaking, the W-9 or W-8BEN form does not negate the withholding because the income is treated as flowing directly to the artist (unless an arm’s-length corporation is involved). Any treaty provisions cannot be considered since the amount of income earned will not be determined until the year’s end. There are, however, certain countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) with a treaty-based provision that exempts all US earned income from taxation.

A CWA is a something every foreign artist coming to perform in the US should consider.

—I welcome your questions and concerns.
Please write to me at: robert@bairdartists.com. While I cannot answer every question I receive in this column, I will feature as many as I can and I promise to answer every e-mail I receive.

Traveling Musician

Travel Advice From the AFM for Musicians Flying with Instruments

August 17, 2015 IM

Making your Reservation

Ask for priority boarding. Request (or purchase) “zone 1” boarding, which will allow you early access to overhead stowage.

Inform carrier representative(s) that you are transporting a musical instrument. Carriers are required to inform passengers about any plane limitations and restrictions.

Rules relating to on-board stowage will apply to any instrument that meets FAA carry-on size requirements.

Packing & Carrying Your Instrument

Remove any sharp tools, like reed knives and end pins, and liquids that do not comply with TSA’s three-ounce regulation.

In case your instrument is not allowed in the cabin with you, be sure to have a proper travel case to avoid damage.

Board early: Overhead and under seat stowage is on a first come, first serve basis. Once an instrument is stowed in-cabin, it cannot be removed or be replaced by other bags.

Deal Calmly with Problems

If you are stopped by a flight attendant, calmly and quickly explain the precautions you have taken to prepare your instrument to safely travel in-cabin.

Be accommodating. Suggest placing the instrument in the storage area designated by gate and flight attendants.
If necessary, immediately ask to de-plane so that you can resolve this matter with airline supervisors.
Be prepared for the possibility that you may not be able to travel with your instrument in the cabin.

Study and follow guidance outlined in federal and air carrier online policy statements.