Spring 2011
I wonder if a time will come when we have an economy with more managers than employees... we seem to be heading in that direction. In the late 20th century, people were fired in the name of Progress. In the 21st century, employees are eliminated under the name of Consumer Convenience and Consumer Choice. In all cases, by sheer coincidence, lower wage payouts, suppression of collective bargaining, and increased profits occurred, and the euphemism “shareholder value” is often heard. Not that long ago, there were bank tellers, gas jockeys and grocery stuffers. Now we poke at ATM machines, pump our own gas, and even bag our own groceries. In the music business, larger ensembles for special events are now rare, and one hears, “There were only two of them, they sounded like a whole orchestra!” And worst of all… “There is no music copying budget.” One is expected to write music within a computer and spit the parts out at no extra cost beyond arranging and composing fees —thus eliminating another skilled front-line job.
Now we all know that the days of going to play a gig with a few lead sheets, cardboard stands, a dismal excuse for a tux, a clip-on bow tie and a mail-order joke book under your arm… well, are long over. But eliminating copyist as a profession is a sad bit of business to those of us who prefer pencil and score paper.
But technology taketh, and technology giveth. This new era has created new opportunities for music and with it, our potential to make a living — though not in any way most of us could have predicted.
Sales of a recent video game release, Call of Duty: Black Ops, were over $1 billion worldwide just 42 days after its launch in September 2010, and over $650 million in the first five days of release! Fortunately for the musicians involved, the AFM has a very strong video game agreement. Recent recording sessions in L.A. for a Japanese video game used a 120-piece orchestra, and large ensembles seem to be the norm for the larger, more popular games. iPads, digital book readers, smart phones and the like are also a game-changer, creating new revenue streams for musicians which were hard to foresee a few years ago. Who would have thought back in 2005 that sales of mobile phone ring-tones would exceed $600 million? In the future, Neighbouring Rights payments will be essential for musicians, as will new agreements between the AFM and the entertainment industry. The AFM will be just as essential in dealing with these new uses of music, as it was at one time with lounges and clubs, and continues to be in the orchestral and theatre world.
Is anybody else sick of acronyms? Take “AA” for instance:
Alcoholics Anonymous, battery size, Automobile Association, “as above,” Asian American, American Airlines, Anal Aneurysm, Air Ambulance, Air-to-Air, Alzheimer’s Association, Archie Alleyne, Adult Accompaniment, Aggravated Assault and on it goes. Just a few of the 200 or so I immediately found. Don’t even think about adding a third “A” or visiting medical, governmental or military terminology or you will get hundreds more. Enter CFM in a web search and the first things you get are Certified Floodplain Manager, CFM aircraft engines, Computing & Financial Management, Christian Federation of Malaysia... I say spell it out in long form! ...LOL Now I am not for a second comparing a bad tenor sax solo to radiation poisoning, but imagine if you would that after a questionable performance on sax, an expert comes on stage and presents charts and diagrams as to how leather pads can stick on a saxophone, the rate that leather degenerates, the complexities of the reed… or the dangers of a slipping neck strap! I use this as an analogy to the media coverage of the recent nuclear disaster in Japan. These continued explanations and charts analyzing nuclear fission and spent fuel rods do little to comfort. NGL… for me, it has the opposite effect.
FYI:
• Antarctica is the only continent without reptiles or snakes.
• The
youngest pope was eleven years old.
• It is possible to lead a cow upstairs
but not downstairs.
• A quarter has 119 grooves on its edge; a dime has
one fewer.
• Every time you lick a stamp, you are consuming 1/10 of a
calorie.
• One in every four Americans has appeared on television.
•
The first Fords had engines made by Dodge.
• Slugs have four noses.
•
Owls are the only birds that can see the color blue.
• The most common
name in the world is Mohammed.
• The praying mantis is the only insect
that can turn its head.
• In Tokyo… they sell toupees for dogs.
AFN CCG — Secretary
Winter 2011
Seated on a patio overlooking a small marina to the East of Toronto, it recently occurred to me that ducks and geese almost always quack in triplets. Of course there has to be a rhythmic reference point, but even so, they’re triplets all right. To me it followed that since triplets are a relatively sophisticated musical device, a simple alteration in membership criteria might do wonders for membership numbers at the TMA - by admitting geese. Easy now, let’s try to keep an open mind. Put aside for the moment the complicated logistics of collecting dues, pension contributions, and the filing of contracts. At a base level, I am sure that many readers will probably agree that these poultry members might give a few of our card carrying TMA members a run for their money musically (you know who you are). But then a honk is as good as a trill, and quality has never been judged as a prerequisite of AFM membership.
Of course this idea will never fly, as the usual naysayers will regard this as silly, opting to stay ‘well within the box’, as usual.
Another way to increase our numbers might be for the TMA to become relevant to upcoming younger musicians as they leave our musical institutions and begin their careers in music - by listening to them; by finding out what we can do for them in the real world. Otherwise the whole thing will eventually come to an end; it will be every man, and woman, for himself or herself. A situation as awkward as the previous sentence.
Most young musicians have no idea of what the AFM might do for them or even that we exist. They think it’s normal to pass the jar, play for the door or for a meal, or drinks, for promotion, or nothing. Many do not expect ever to make a living exclusively in music. At minimum, we at the union have done a miserable job of getting information out, and have not kept up with the times. We are currently addressing that.
Many of these younger players have teachers who are members of this Association, TMA Local 149. For many of our teachers at the College and University level, the musician’s union represents a past chapter in their musical journey. Many of these teachers worked back in the day: jingles, CBC Variety Shows, jazz clubs that paid decently, and many free-lance-contracted professional jobs. Many of my generation have had a healthy kick at the can, but now depend on teaching and other endeavours.
The business may be different now, but as with death, taxes, and the fact that you will hear ‘My Way,’ a few more times in your lifetime, the music business, and music itself isn’t going away. It will adapt and survive.
So aren’t we doing a disservice to these younger players if we don’t help them to hook into pensions, protection and other advantages of membership in a collective association? Young players need to know about the collective agreements that have created a descent wage at theatres and in our orchestras for a number of years. They need to know about the advice, the contract defence fund, the various legal protections, P2 Visas, and funds available for sickness or adversity.
Is it not a bit cynical of us to keep younger players in the dark, players who are serious and may go into music as a career, and who will, sooner or later, need to stick together if they are to make a living at this? After all, at that point, the Union will be theirs, and it will become what they choose it to be.
Or, on the other hand, we could recruit geese.
All for now.
Charlie Gray
Fall 2010 ~ Special Guest Rant
I have invited Eric Peterson, outstanding Canadian actor and a friend of 35 years or so, to write a guest rant. Eric is currently a Councillor at ACTRA.—Charlie
Inside Pissing Out
My name’s Eric Peterson and I am the jackass who played Oscar Leroy on the television series Corner Gas. I’m also a member of ACTRA, the actors’ union. I don’t suppose musicians are much different from actors, in the sense that musicians, like actors, bitch about how awful the work situation has been, and is, and looks to be. And like actors, I’m sure sooner or later the bitching gets around to “the union.” “Why isn’t the union doing something?” “Right now!” “I pay a lot of damn dues!”
In all unions, most members aren’t activists. Most members pursue their own careers, read the literature, maybe march in the odd Labour Day Parade, pay their dues—and bitch. This is okay when times are good, perhaps, but these aren’t good times. We’ve got an environment in which it is increasingly difficult to make a living at music or acting, and a technological revolution which may be providing new “platforms” for our work, but which is also providing a new, unregulated jurisdiction where powerful industry and government entities must be challenged if we are to reap any benefits at all. No, times are bad, and standing around bitching won’t help. It won’t help you, it won’t help the union, and the union is our only hope.
ACTRA went on strike and I was asked to help communicate the union’s message to the membership and the public. It’s embarrassing now to admit how scared I was. “Why me? Why now? I’m working! I’ve got a lot to lose!” At the same time I was pissed off at the continual attacks on my wages and working conditions. I was pissed off and frightened, which is how not being involved can feel. But as I listened to the strategy for the negotiations and the tactics for the strike I began to realize what an incredible resource this union was. Here was my organization, whose research and analysis expertise was making it possible to go head to head not only with television and film producers in this country, but also with the big American studios, and the provincial and federal governments as well. Here, also, were my peers, actors with just as much to lose as me, standing up and doing something. If they could, so could I. Confidence began to temper my anger and my fear disappeared.
Involvement has given me a much clearer understanding of the realities of my industry, and though these realities are complex and hostile, the union provides me with the expertise, resources and power to navigate them. Involvement has also given me a community that’s inspiring in its generosity and commitment and courage. It’s amazing how smart a bunch of dumb artists can be. But to get, you got to give.
These are troubling and volatile times, and we need powerful organizations capable of protecting and making progress for musicians and actors in this country. But these organizations are only as strong as the level of involvement of their members. No matter if you’re a long-time member, or in the middle of your career, or just starting out, your union needs your ideas, your passion, your time, and yes… your dues. You can still bitch. I still do, but now, it’s informed bitching. I’m not outside the tent pissing in anymore; I’m in the tent pissing out.
I highly recommend it.
Eric Peterson
Spring 2010
“A truth is a truth until you organize it, and then it becomes a lie. Why? Because the purposes of an organization begin to take precedence over that which it first attempted to keep in order.” – Lao-Tzu, interpreted by Dr. Wayne Dyer
I recently attended my first AFM convention in Las Vegas, where bets were laid at the Survive/Don’t Survive AFM roulette wheel. All choices were either Red or Black… ink, that is.
Frankly, it wasn’t all that much fun. Vegas is a global crossroads where you can catch every virus on earth, sometimes all at once. There are five productions of Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas right now, mostly non-union musicians (5 union players in 5 shows) or done with recordings. Nevada is one of 22 “Right to Work” states. There are great deals in Vegas, though, which is why conventions go there. Nevertheless, Las Vegas is going through tough times. There are many abandoned building projects and high-rise hotels, unfinished skeletons of concrete and rebar. Ironically, Las Vegas has the highest union presence in the U.S.
As for the convention itself, it was what you might call a glass is half-empty/half-full situation. Many attitudes and tactics that traditionally gave unions a bad name were apparent — mostly arising from a sense of entitlement, marching under the banner “Forever Incumbent!” Plus, it seems some people will do or say literally anything to get elected. On the other hand, also present were plenty of thoughtful, intelligent individuals who truly kept the interests of musicians and the well being of the AFM at heart.
But politics, including union politics, are not for the squeamish. You can’t assume altruistic intentions on everyone’s part, and certain selfish political machinations became unwholesomely in evidence — or so it seemed to me. Any positive news had executives clambering over each other to take credit. Bad news resulted in gazing at the ceiling or the floor.
As it is with the humans who occupy it, an organization sometimes needs a near-death experience in order to change and ultimately survive.
Well, we’re going through one now.
The U.S. membership of the AFM is less than a third of what it was a few years ago. Debt, litigation, technology, and an aging demographic mean something has to happen fairly soon or the organization itself is in peril. At the convention, understandably, we never got beyond generalities: about being relevant to the next generation of musicians, maintaining and creating income sources in the future, replacing MPF, other affiliations and Visas… that sort of thing. The convention achieved significant change in the top positions of the New York AFM Office, and many new faces adorn the International Executive Board. Let’s hope they can reverse the pattern of increasing debt and decreasing membership numbers. The newly elected executives are impressive in their ideals and commitment to change, but of course everyone in politics speaks of “change” — the political equivalent of “Peace” or “Coke is it.”
For the working musician, the way to connect and contribute to all this is through the Board of Directors at the local level. The Board of Directors reflects on members’ concerns, constantly debating what is best for their membership — not as generalities but as specific applications. At least, that is what I have experienced at Local 149.
Always good to end on a positive note, and one thing did impress me: Most of the voting was done by yelling (yea or nay), which turned out to be surprisingly efficient. When too close to call, a standing head count took place (not so efficient). Leaving Las Vegas was also very positive
Charlie Gray—Secretary
Winter 2010
I stopped to hear a fiddler the other day outside an LCBO. When he gestured for me to contribute to his violin case, I indicated that I didn’t have any change, which was the truth. (These fellows don’t take major credit cards.) He responded by taking a swipe at me with his bow. I was able to avoid the full impact, but the end of the bow caught me on the shin. I yelped something like, “Steady on, you! This truly is a first... one might expect this sort of thing in a professional orchestra, but not on a public street!” Later the very same day, a young player asked me about instrument insurance, and what the TMA might do for him. He had graduated after four years from one of our major music colleges and has been playing all the major jazz venues in the city, as well as teaching privately. I was surprised to learn that he had never played in this context for a set fee, only for the door or the passing of the hat. He also found the concept of a contract and a set fee for performance beyond imagining. This is obviously the new norm at the club level, and in some way I couldn’t help thinking that he was one step away from the chap who took a swipe at me at the LCBO.
Although we probably have few buskers in the TMA, the disparities within our membership are wide-ranging. So what is it that brings us together as an Association? A fundamental love of music and empathy for our fellow musician? Perhaps not.
When one looks at other Labour Unions and Associations, it is hard to find anything similar to the TMA — ACTRA and the Writer’s Guild might be the closest. So what unites us? All suggestions are welcome, but for me, it is a concerted effort by musicians to maintain a professional standard and achieve some of the benefits that other professions enjoy...
• an acceptable workplace
environment
• protection from unjust dismissal and someone to take up
the battle when we are wronged
• strong collective agreements with our
orchestras and theatres
• profit-sharing when a product is successful
• a secure, well-funded pension plan
• agreements and influence with
broadcasters
• an evolving plan for the extreme changes in the recording
industry
• a basic Tariff with a minimum pay scale
• strength in numbers
to withstand pressure from employers (some of whom insist that music
pay its own way entirely)
• a future in music for the amazing up-and-coming
talent
...and the list goes on
Musical Graffiti should be an artistic category in itself: compelling sounds that emit from the many machines we must listen to every day. I’m not talking about a favourite song serving as a ring tone; I’m talking about the Lotto techno, the telephone pole raga, the laptop rhumba or streetcar aria. They are logos of a sort, with no residuals to pay or composer to credit.
The mother ship of this musical armada would be the main floor of a casino, where a great major triad emanates from just about everything in the room, intersecting in every conceivable way, creating a terrifying wash of major chord. The purpose is, obviously, to inculcate a sense of well-being and resolution — as long as one keeps gambling. A heavenly sound, in its own way, but torturous to any musician on his way to the cafeteria.
Maybe that’s what “Association” really means: a shared interest in the sound of things.
All for now.
Charlie Gray—Secretary
Fall 2009
“Just because something is old does not mean it is good, and just because something is new does not mean it is better.” – some guy
I am writing this from the Maritimes where I go annually to brush up on the latest in Pipe Band attire and repertoire... nothing new to report.
In the Maritimes they say that Canadians do not need a lid on the pot when boiling lobsters, because if one rises to the top, the others will pull him right back in. That is to say, once again, that we still do not support our own or celebrate Canadian successes — in fact, successful artists become pawns in yet another round of corporate game-playing.
Take CBC Radio for instance; this was a great success. As I listen to endless repeat summer programming (now called “encore presentations,” the way used cars are now “pre-owned”), I realize how vital non-commercial radio has always been to rural Canada, and over the long driving distances between one place and another. Whether it was listening to a late-night radio drama, new music composed by Canadians, or Canadian jazz musicians, it was a unique and vital service.
CBC Radio now seems to want to sound like commercial radio, and to compete for the same over-served audience. Perhaps making it redundant is the first step in getting rid of it altogether.
Only a year ago, CBC Radio was being touted as a great success and worth every penny. But as the CBC has had to deal with more government budget cuts, radio has had to “pay its share” — in amounts that were relatively small to the television service, but disastrous for radio. There have been huge cuts in the recording of live performances. Even the radio drama department has been cut; and of course the last radio orchestra in North America... gone. A neat corporate trick: Support the weakest, most expensive division (television) by pulling down a product Canadians really want (non-commercial radio). Or perhaps it’s a form of corporate blackmail — “If you cut our budget, we’ll kill the puppy.”
Times of great change, and the internal politics that follow, put more pressure on organizations such as the TMA. As with the CBC, the temptation to pit one member against the other to gain an advantage increases, and an individual’s welfare may seem to take precedence over the structure that supports it. As with CBC radio, I believe the reasons for having an association (union) such as ours are stronger than ever, and that both will ultimately survive — for the reasons they were originally formed.
Either that, or we’ll all end up at the bottom of the pot, served as Management lunch.
All for now.
Charlie Gray—Secretary
Winter 2009
Commerce & Music
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”
This popular misquotation of Hunter S. Thompson could well be describing today’s economy. These days we are learning how the behaviour of some people can be far worse than one could ever have imagined! Mismanagement, dishonesty, and yes, greed; stories of single investors duping their clients out of billions, more billions taken from charities and pension funds, and the worst financial crises since 1929.
And the thieves and pimps run free. Shocking as it may seem, greed has existed in the music business too.
Musicians and composers often see efforts from employers to pay less, simply because employers want to keep more for themselves. Some large and profitable record companies won’t acknowledge our contracts and agreements, and others try to evade payment down the road for new uses. Composers’ copyright is often threatened, and jazz clubs seem to pay about the same as they did in the late sixties. And the list goes on.
The antidote? Well, there is no antidote, but there is hope if we stick together.
Formats
Insiders feel that greed played a role in the CD format losing out, as companies kept the retail price artificially high (around $22 and higher) for far too long, allowing other media and new formats such as MP3s to gain a foothold. An evolution perhaps, but not one based on quality of sound. Most of these formats involve compression which results in lost information and detail.
With higher bandwidth and new formats, however, this too is changing. With the development of higher resolution “no loss” compression schemes, we are beginning to experience decent sound with relatively small file sizes. Many felt the original 16-bit CD standard was too coarse, but at the time, this resolution was agreed upon in order to accommodate longer classical works — 72 minutes per disc was then possible with 16-bit/44.1 kHz.
Formats are constantly changing, and one has to even wonder about the future of the new Blu-ray audio discs. The new John Mellencamp CD/DVD combo package attempts to deliver high resolution audio in a format that nearly everyone in North America can play. The included DVD will hold tracks allegedly with twice the sonic detail heard on most CDs. Anyone with a standard DVD player can reap the benefits of the high resolution 24-bit version. To close, I should mention that many still prefer the sound of vinyl records. The number of records being produced has remained unchanged since the late 80s, and the numbers are now increasing every year, with some large retailers beginning to carry vinyl again!
Play us a Tune, Would Ya?
I can’t help but wonder if the public in general hasn’t matured in relation to music, much as the electorate in the United States seems to have matured in this past election.
For instance, while shopping at Canadian Tire in early November, with tinkling generic Christmas music overhead, are most shoppers transported into a happy, seasonal, spending frame of mind? Or do many flee the store, nauseous, and vowing not to return until spring? Are people really more relaxed when they hear a Bossa Nova in an elevator, or have these marketing concepts outlived their usefulness?
It seems to me that for many people, this use of music evokes not a luxurious world of happy consumers, but the Madison Avenue era of the early 1960s, when every product had a jingle, and admen were rubbing their hands together at the concept of subliminal advertising.
What a strange commodity music has become — from church and court to concert hall, to shopping mall, telephone wait time, cell phone ring-tones, ski slopes... yes, ski slopes. While skiing down a mountain on top of the world, you get to listen to heavy metal or vintage rock.
Many like to think of music as a non-commodity, natural and free, like the air we breathe — a lovely thought really.
Recently, a rough and weathered fellow with black holes for eyes and breath that would kill a small animal, recognized the case I was carrying as an instrument and requested the inevitable: “Play us a tune, would ya?”
There was nothing intrinsically disrespectful in his request, but one had to consider: was this one human being reaching out to another in a primal need for music in the purest sense — tribal and organic? Or was this just a presumptuous and rude request, a disguised sneer at what a musician does?
In the end I decided to initiate commerce and I agreed to play him a tune if he would come to my house and clean the leaves out of my eaves troughs.
A Couple of Web Links
www.classical-composers.org (run by Joe Smeets) This is a very comprehensive site, with a great deal of information, including the original size and instrumentation of various works. I found it interesting that many of what we consider larger works, and have become used to hearing an entire village on stage playing, were originally written for much smaller instrumentation. www.blanksheetmusic.net
If you still use a pencil to write music and not a computer, this is an amazing resource and simple to use. You customize your own manuscript paper for scores or parts and print it yourself. Try the advanced settings — if you register, you can save your templates in your own file on their site, and it’s free!
If you have found any sites that you think beneficial to our membership. Please alert us and we will post them on the www.tma149.ca forum.
All for now.
Charlie Gray—Secretary
Fall 2008
The Internet & the Evolution of Audience Participation
The evolution of the Internet continues apace. A couple of years ago a web site was regarded as compulsory. Today, one can show their wares quite adequately on FaceBook and MySpace. A web site is now optional for many.
YouTube has become a tremendous resource for archival purposes, and for entertainment. As yet, however, writers and performers have not found a way to benefit, apart from its promotional value. This is true of much of the Internet although one can often have things removed where copyright has been infringed. iTunes, CD Baby and the like are growing continually with many choosing to pay for tracks they previously downloaded for free using peer to peer software. This is a welcome development.
Technology has always been double-edged for the musician, trying to distribute widely but not be robbed of intellectual property. This dilemma, has grown exponentially through the digital age, but has existed since recording began. Bootleg recordings, reel-to-reel tape followed by cassettes, were the first illegal downloads. For printed music it was the photocopier. Until sound recording, one had to perform in person—like minstrels roaming from village to village. We were pretty much safe as long as we didn’t play the same venue too often, and have our material copied. Ultimately, it has always come down to a moral issue as to what is of value and worth paying for, and who is to be paid.
At the same time, the fact that sound recording rendered live performance unnecessary for listening meant that the playing of an instrument became an abstraction, and not a semi-acrobatic feat of physical coordination and dexterity. This trend continued with the synthesizer and sampling, which allowed anyone with an elementary knowledge of the keyboard to make instrumental sounds, say, of a clarinet —no lips needed.
A recent development is the digital consumer’s growing expectation that he or she participate not only in music choices, but also in the music itself. We gradually approach a situation analogous to an art gallery in which patrons are invited to pick up a brush and change the image as they see fit, or a novel in which readers can change the ending to something they prefer. Radiohead, perhaps the most popular band on earth, releases songs in a format that allows the listener to download components from the Internet, and remix the songs or even add instruments... a contest.
Contests and the TV reality genre have turned audiences into critics, directors, judges and programming executives. The Idol shows, who should play the lead in a musical, or judging a contest to find a new hockey theme (with just under 15,000 entries). Recently the CBC has launched a contest on one of its radio channels where the winner will have a well-known Canadian singer perform in their living room; possibly he’ll serve drinks as well.
At one time, audience participation involved singing along with Mitch Miller where the lyrics scrolled across the bottom of the screen, or volunteering to be hypnotized by Reveen—The Impossibilist.
“How did we get here?” I asked myself. Then it dawned on me—KARAOKE! I remember the first time I encountered Karaoke, and it occurred to me then that something had suddenly changed in the public’s expectation; a sense of “Why should I sit and listen when I can be the performer?” Karaoke empowered everyone to be a performer, and music became a game in which everyone took turns.
If it were not for school bands, which function like amateur hockey in creating an appreciation of the skill that goes into playing, one can envisage an era when there will be no audience for virtuoso or “elite” musicians at all, when everyone is a musician, playing for him/herself.
Charlie Gray—Secretary
Summer 2008
Between a rock and a hard place...
...if you have ever dreamt of representing your fellow musicians by serving on the Board of Directors, 2008 is an election year... the time is right! I have been on the Board for the past three years. Prior to this, however, I have had precious little to do with the TMA office over the previous 30. Perhaps I attended three General Meetings (always when a controversial issue was at stake), I was called before the Board once or twice, I contacted the office for prices or when there was a problem, and that’s about it. I appreciated the Union when it chased down non-payments, and resented it when it ‘got in my face’ or fined me.
I have been on a first name basis with many of the staff; mostly from the old Thorncliffe days when we used to rehearse at the Union, but never knew much about what they did.
Being on the Board, however, is a different matter. Suddenly the anonymous They, the cause of trouble and inconvenience, became Me. In other words, if you run for the Board, be prepared to have your head shifted:
~ Most substantive decisions are met with mixed reviews from the membership, ranging from praise to disdain, to outright hostility. Whereas up until now you considered yourself more or less a normal human being, get used to the idea that some members may think of you as some sort of monster.
~ Many members who know little of what goes on at their Union office retain a deep suspicion of the organization; there is a small segment that regards the Association as being outright villainous; conspiracy theories are so much preferable to the prospect of ordinary people, struggling with complicated issues.
When the TMA hits street level, things get complicated. There is little doubt that our influence in clubs, coffee houses, festivals, etc. has been diminishing for years, and when we do get involved, many members see it as an intrusion. Many musicians want to play for fun or promotion, regardless of financial reward, in the pursuit of Art. New players coming up understandably want to get a foot in the door and be heard, and students need experience outside of school. Club owners and concert promoters know this works to their advantage, of course. No need to pay them—they do it for love.
I am not blaming anyone, but it creates a dilemma for the TMA if we are to represent members working in this segment. It is impractical, futile and downright unpleasant to fight our membership AND their employers. Music is part of our lives, and most musicians want to play, perhaps have to. It is highly doubtful that autoworkers are similarly motivated to assemble cars in their spare time. We are a very different type of Union. What is the same between all Unions is the old mantra: strength in numbers, which still holds true. Ultimately it will be our membership which decides our collective strength in any sector.
Recording is under similar threat at this point in time. A large Canadian recording company will not acknowledge our collective agreements and file contracts. The players receive a decent fee, but there is no pension contribution nor do the players receive their annual ‘piece of the pie’: The Sound Recording Special Payments Fund, which is substantial. Again we have the same dilemma of having to fight our membership and their employers. The problem is that others are now using this company as a business model and fewer contracts are being filed. What do we do? Nothing?
We recently had a Board of Arbitration hearing over an incident where a member was fired for not signing a waiver. The Board did not have an easy time with this one—striving for fairness, upholding the By-Laws of the Association while trying to look at the larger picture. From beginning to end this one took a year, created a lot of hard feelings, members were fined, and the matter is not totally resolved even now. No wonder some members wonder if they wouldn’t be better off going it alone.
A similar crisis is currently hitting the computer software industry, one of the most union-resistant sectors in the economy. Programmers, who rode the Dot Com boom, confident that the amount of work out there gave them de facto job security as individuals, are now out of a job with nothing but a pile of worthless stock options. It’s like they fell off a cliff, and many are taking another look at unions and what they are designed to do.
We need to know how the members feel about these and other issues. Perhaps what is called for is a change of terminology—for example, we might replace the word “solidarity” with “enlightened self-interest.” To this end we have installed a suggestion box on the web site, in the members’ area. Anonymous, if that is your preference.
Charlie Gray—Secretary
Spring 2008
The Crane Operator
I recently had a conversation with a rugged galoot who turned out to be a construction crane operator, the one that sits on top of tall buildings. Somewhere along the line he mentioned that he was a member of a Union with strong American ties. Not wanting to remain silent, I replied that I too was a member of a Union with strong US roots. OK, an Association really.
Union or Association didn’t’ mean spit to him; we were brethren as far as he was concerned—he operated alone in a swaying tower a thousand feet up, and I stuck a trumpet to my face and somehow it was the same thing. He went on to deliver an impassioned (and unsolicited) history of Labour Unions—that the first one in Canada was around 1873. It came to me that the TMA, having been founded in 1887, puts us not far behind Printers, Carpenters, Shoemakers and Miners.
And we were well ahead of Crane Operators, which I plan to bring up next time.
The Torturer
I wonder if we’ll soon be seeing a Union for torturers —or an Association, at any rate. I mean, there seems to be so many of them fighting Terror, and working conditions and long hours must be an issue at the very least. In any case, a small specialized Local should surely be for those who put on the looped phone music whenever we are put on hold.
I called a Government office the other day, and was subjected to a skull-sucking eight bar tune doodled on an electric piano, tuned to sound like a doorbell, for 25 MINUTES!
Interrupted every 15 seconds by the usual I am sorry, you are in the order received, your call is important to us... It is well known that music is an abused and devalued commodity, but since when has it become an instrument of torture? I find myself wondering what tone-deaf sadist makes these decisions—who is behind this musical water boarding, and these demented playlists? I won’t get into cell phone ring tones at this time, but according to industry experts, about 10 percent of music industry revenues worldwide are now from ring tones.
Pay to Play
I congratulated a friend the other day on his son’s band having opened for a name act. “Thanks,” he said. “But we had to pay a lot of money for that spot.” He went on to say that it was an investment in the band’s future. Rock bands are familiar with the Pay to Play formula, which has filtered down the musical food chain. Many clubs now require the band to pay for a sound person and a ticket seller, and to bring in an audience (everyone they know) in order to break even.
How many times have we been offered gigs that are to give us great exposure and further our careers, although unfortunately, a touch short on dough? You wonder about the future of the “professional musician” when musicians become the buyers of their own product. To once again lapse into Maritime vernacular: if an ugly bugger in a trench coat tried to sell you your own watch, wouldn’t you at least try to bargain?
We may need a Union Tariff one day to establish how much we pay to play.
The Americans
Speaking of Pay to Play, the AFM is trying to make the P2 Visa a little less atrocious. As it stands, if a Canadian has an engagement in the USA, you’d better begin preparations —no kidding, three months in advance! Either that or pay a thousand dollars to expedite the file in three weeks. This, compared to an American’s expedited entry at three days.
This reminds me of the inequities and battles that Canadians experienced over softwood lumber. Much of the business community seems to regard music as a commodity like wheat or car parts, and if the American economy keeps on tanking we’re going to see more of it on other fronts. On the up side, I did hear two incredible solo piano concerts recently, Chick Corea and Yundi li. Sometimes it takes a great concert to separate business from the music, and remind us just how powerful and uplifting music can be... that music is also an art.
Charlie Gray—Secretary