READ ROBERT SUTTMANN’S OP-ED, PUBLISHED WITH CITY COUNCILMEMBER ERIK BOTTCHER: “Support NYC’s working musicians — our cultural backbone is at risk“

Musicians continue to find hope amidst the storm of uncertainty that is howling through our country. 

First the good news. In a lift for music jobs in New York, scoring work for TV and film will now be considered a “qualified cost” for the first time ever under the New York State Film Production Tax Credit program. Producers will be eligible for an extra 10 percent tax credit when 5 or more musicians are hired to score projects. This means that producers are financially incentivized to do their scoring in New York – which could result in more jobs for musicians. The scoring tax credit is a new addition to New York’s other production incentives.

While modest, this new provision – which was just finalized in the New York State budget – was a result of major legwork by Local 802 Chief of Staff Dan Point and union officers (including myself, AFM President Tino Gagliardi, Financial Vice President Karen Fisher and Executive Board Member Sara Cutler) who traveled in person to Albany to lobby state legislators and build meaningful relationships.

I thank Gov. Hochul and all of our allies who delivered this tax credit that will help musicians. This new provision has the potential to bring more scoring work to New York, including New York City. It means that more audiences will hear the work of the best musicians in the world. This is a win for musicians, and it also represents Local 802’s growing strength in state politics.

For more, see Chief of Staff Dan Point’s column in this issue. (This story was also excerpted in the June issue of the AFM’s International Musician magazine, with our permission.)

In more challenging news, thousands of arts and music organizations saw their NEA grants canceled in May. In public remarks, I said that this is a dark day for the independence of the arts and musicians across the country – and it is an attack on American excellence and creativity. NEA grants have been crucial in establishing the American artistic sector as the premier in the world, providing predictable funding for employers in a world of unpredictability. Communities across our nation will be worse off with dwindling resources for musicals, plays, and other performances that were made possible with NEA funding. Importantly, the elimination of these grants is going to hurt arts workers the most, and ultimately, it’s going to mean fewer shows, jobs, and economic activity. 

Our most vulnerable members are hurt most by these cuts. Members who rely on shoestring orchestras and productions to piece together something of an existence while working and networking toward the top shelf work this cultural capital offers. We cannot afford to lose these members. They are our future. The arts at their best can heal and bring people together; hurting them only creates more hate and division. We call on our national leaders to guarantee funding of the NEA at $1 per capita, and to ensure stability for our arts organizations by keeping politics out of their funding.

More bad news: the Trump administration fired Shira Perlmutter, the U.S. registrar of copyrights, who had recently been taking a tougher stand against the exploitation of artists by generative A.I. corporations. I endorse the AFM’s statement: “Shira Perlmutter has served the American people with unrivaled expertise for decades. Her unlawful firing will gravely harm the entire copyright community. She understood what we all know to be true: human creativity and authorship are the foundation of copyright law — and for that, it appears, she lost her job. On behalf of musicians across the United States and Canada, we thank Registrar Perlmutter for her service.”

Yet there is still hope. The way out of darkness is light – and knowledge. Local 802 will keep up its efforts to educate our members about A.I. and what we can do to protect musicians against exploitation. To date, Allegro has published 18 articles from our A.I. Committee (including two new stories in this issue here and here, making 20). Here’s what we are encouraging our members to do: 

• Join the 50,000 creative-artist signers of Ed Newton-Rex’s Statement on AI Training: “The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative A.I. is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of people behind those works, and must not be permitted.”
• Join the Recording Musicians Association NY, to make sure that when the major labels do license our work for training AI companies, the AFM makes sure that every musician who performed on them is justly compensated.
• Join Local 802’s Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee to work with the union to ensure a strong AFM legislative response. For information, reach out to Jerome Harris at jeromeharr@aol.com and Local 802 Recording Vice President Harvey Mars at hmars@local802afm.org.

LOCAL 802 UPDATE

This issue of Allegro contains the audited financial statements for Local 802 for the period Jan. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2024. Please read Financial Vice President Karen Fisher’s report to interpret our current financial situation, which thankfully appears to be stable for the present. However, our outlook for the future is completely influenced by our building. We are having major discussions about how best to proceed. I encourage all members to attend our next membership meeting on June 18 to learn more and ask us questions in real time. For the moment, see Sara Cutler’s building update in this issue of Allegro.

EASTERN AFM CONFERENCE

I recently attended the Eastern Conference of AFM locals. The conferences of the AFM are valuable meeting places for our sisters and brothers across the country. The AFM has two types of conferences: geographical conferences and players conferences. Players conferences include ICSOM (International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians), OCSM (Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians), ROPA (Regional Orchestra Players’ Association), RMA (Recording Musicians Association), and, nearest to my heart, TMA (Theatre Musicians Association). Full disclosure: I served as vice president of TMA before being elected to the presidency of Local 802. 

Interestingly, this year we heard a presentation from west coast musicians about the possibility of forming a sixth AFM players conference, which would be known as the Freelance Musicians Association (FMA). I wish them well with their efforts.

The Eastern Conference was held in Atlantic City the first weekend of this past May. Officer training was given by AFM directors about aspects and services provided by the AFM. For example, John Painting (the AFM’s director of electronic media services) gave a fascinating presentation on the differentiations between types of recordings and how they are treated by the AFM. Wages Argott (the AFM’s director of freelance services and membership development) presented many offerings made to freelance musicians by the AFM including a comprehensive document on Freelance Member Benefits, an AFM international online booking service, and Venuology, a venue review platform. The AFM also has an in-house web hosting service for musicians, as well as Go Pro 2, a marketplace which allows musicians to sell their albums directly to the public.

Other notable reports came from Rochelle Skolnick (the AFM’s director of symphonic services, who also serves as special counsel and assistant to the president), a report of the status of Music Performance Trust Fund and an interesting presentation by AFM Local 4 (Cleveland) President Leonard DiCosimo on the structure and mobilization strategies of the AFL-CIO. He emphasized the importance of outreach to union members following recent election results.

As mentioned earlier, by far the best part of attending these conferences is the ability to rub elbows with fellow officers from up and down the East Coast, from places like Boston, Providence, Cleveland, Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, the Hudson Valley, North Jersey, Trenton, Allentown, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and elsewhere. Over the years, they all have become dear friends. Truthfully, I look forward to every opportunity to catch up with this important family.

NEW YORK CITY OPERA

I’m pleased to report that musicians of the New York City Opera recently ratified their new agreement. Maestro Constantine Orbelian has stepped forward to breathe new life into this iconic New York institute. I recall this passage from “Mad Scenes and Exit Arias,” by Heidi Waleson: “In October 2013, the arts world was rocked by the news that the New York City Opera — ‘The People’s Opera’ — had finally succumbed to financial hardship after 70 years in operation. The company had been a fixture on the national opera scene — as the populist antithesis of the grand Metropolitan Opera, a nurturing home for young American talent, and a place where new, lively ideas shook up a venerable art form.” Since 2013, others have certainly attempted taking up the baton. However, I am inspired by Maestro Orbelian’s passion, and am hopeful that passion is contagious within the world of opera angels as well.

Members won a one-year deal, with a guarantee of work offered to the full roster of orchestra members with some exceptions, including educational performances, “free to the public” performances, small pits and small orchestrations.

BROADWAY NEGOTIATIONS

As we continue to prepare for upcoming Broadway negotiations, we sent a survey to almost 2,000 Broadway musicians to learn more about their priorities. Our negotiating team is extremely well prepared. We’ll keep you posted on how you can help out! As Allegro went to press, Playbill reported that the current Broadway season had its highest attendance since pre-pandemic, with $1.89 billion in ticket sales and 14.7 million tickets sold.

IMPORTANT EVENTS IN JUNE

Lastly, please remember these important happenings this month:

• June 18 is the next Local 802 membership meeting. We’ll be giving important updates on the Local 802 building. Please register here.
• June is New York Music Month. I encourage you to attend live music shows (as always) and learn about how NYC is supporting live music. Start here: https://nymusicmonth.nyc/
• June is also Pride Month. Check out the events in NYC celebrating pride: https://www.nycpride.org/

BOWLING VICTORY FOR LOCAL 802 TEAM

CONGRATS TO THE LOCAL 802 BOWLING TEAM for winning first place in the Broadway Show Bowling League this year! For more information on playing on the team, contact Louis Crocco at lbcrocco@aol.com.