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Songwriters of North America (SONA), a songwriter advocacy organization, has launched a New York chapter. Along with the new branch, the organization has also announced new developments in its leadership.
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News of a New York chapter follows months of planning by SONA to successfully create an East Coast hub. The organization held a meeting in September in Manhattan with local songwriters and publishers to talk about the possibility of establishing a New York SONA chapter and to find new board members. At that meeting, the group also discussed BMI’s then-potential sale to New Mountain Capital for a reported $1.7 billion and how that might affect its membership.
According to today’s announcement, Camus Celli has been tapped to oversee the New York chapter. Additionally, Kellie Brown has been named SONA’s new COO. Erin McAnally has been appointed to Executive Director. In this role McAnally will oversee SONA’s advocacy, membership and education initiatives. Linda Bloss-Baum has been added to the board.
Michelle Lewis will continue to serve as SONA’s CEO, but she will now oversee both SONA and the SONA Foundation, which are sister organizations with separate boards and missions.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with and build upon the strong foundation laid by such formidable advocates who work to protect and lift up songwriting as a profession,” says McAnally, executive director, SONA. “SONA provides a powerful nexus where advocacy, education, and songwriting meet, and the organization wholly aligns with so many of my life’s passions.”
“SONA’s original co-founders and I believe, as we grow from a friend-group of songwriters and composers advocating for our rights to an established, sustainable trade association and advocacy group, our most important, defining characteristic is that we remain creator-led,” adds Lewis, CEO of SONA and The SONA Foundation. “So, in selecting my successor, we looked for someone with a policy brain and a creator heart. I’m so happy and grateful to have found that unique combination in Erin McAnally. In addition, we have always imagined our growth would lead us to having a presence in DC and NY. It took eight years of hard work and growing pains to get here, but we are so excited to reach this goal! Welcome to the SONA-verse Camus and Linda!”
Share of streaming among the top 10,000 tracks measured by Luminate in its recently-released 2023 Year End Music Report went down by 3.8 percentage points since 2021. Which begs the question: Where did that 3.8% go?
It went fully into the streaming share of Spanish language tracks, which went up by 3.8%.
Indeed, today, Spanish is the second most consumed language in music, both in the U.S. and globally.
In the United States, the top three languages in music consumption by percentage of the total are, of course, English (88.8%), followed by Spanish (8.1%) and Korean in a distant third (0.7%).
The most recent numbers show Spanish language music’s market share among the country’s most popular songs almost doubled over the past two years — jumping from 4.2% of the top 10,000 tracks in 2021 to 8.1% in 2023. Overall, consumption of Latin music in the U.S grew by 19.4 billion on-demand audio streams in 2023, a 24.1% jump. In total number of streams, it was second in growth only to country, which grew by 20.4 billion streams.
Worldwide, English-language music consumption among the 10,000 most listened to tracks fell substantially in 2023, from 67% in 2021 to 54.9% in 2023. Spanish-language music consumption also dipped, from 12.4% in 2021 to 10.1% in 2023, while consumption of music in Hindi grew from 6.1% to 7.8%, and in Japanese from 1.3% to 2.1%. However, all told, Spanish is still the second most listened to music language in the world, according to the study.
In the U.S., Spanish-language music’s growth has been a very gradual process that’s come with the growth of streaming, a bigger Latin population, and with a major cultural shift that accepts that there are more cultures and languages that can coexist. Chief among them is Spanish, which benefits from being the lingua franca of an entire continent, plus Spain. While Latins are not monolithic, as many have long pointed out, they are all (with the exception of Brazilians) united by language; go to any Latin music concert in the U.S., and you’ll find a plethora of nations gathered under the same roof enjoying the same music, regardless of its origin.
The shift in consumption has been noticed by mainstream labels; 25 years ago, Latin acts like Shakira and Ricky Martin, had to record in English to garner widespread promotion. Spanish, the language which has long defined “Latin” music, was conversely, widely seen as stepping stone on the path to international superstardom but not as the goal.
Today, for the first time, mainstream labels are signing and developing artists who record solely, or almost solely in Spanish, such as Yahrtiza y su Esencia to Columbia Records and Xavi to Interscope.
There is strength in numbers, and those numbers opened the door for Latin artists to scale the charts by singing only in Spanish, as well as for predominantly Spanish-language series –like “Narcos” and the new “Griselda”—to score big viewing numbers despite what many would have perceived as a language barrier years ago.
But clearly, today there is a growing number of non-Spanish speakers who also listen to music in Spanish. According to recent consumer research insights from Luminate, for example, 25% of U.S. music listeners (ages 13+) said they engage with Spanish-language music, even though Hispanics account for 19% of the population.
People may not speak Spanish, but they’re definitely listening to the music.
Country superstars Morgan Wallen and Eric Church are pairing for a different kind of collaboration: The two avid outdoorsmen have purchased outdoor lifestyle brand Field & Stream.
The duo are part of an ownership group that has bought the retail side of the trademark from Dick’s Sporting Goods and the media platform from Recurrent for an undisclosed sum. The move brings the brand under the same ownership for the first time in its 150-year history.
Plans call for expanding the brand to include the Field & Stream Music Festival, a new fall outdoor music event co-produced by Southern Entertainment; relaunching the print magazine, which ceased publishing in 2015; a refreshed digital platform; and a limited edition apparel collection inspired by Church and Wallen.
“I can remember my grandfather kept a few of his favorite Field & Stream magazines on the dash of his truck,” said Church in a statement. “That truck took us on hundreds of outdoor adventures and I all but memorized every story and every picture on every page. They were my Bible. It is the honor of my life to make sure that legacy carries on. It is both this responsibility to an American icon and also to a young boy in his papaw’s truck that will be the compass that guides our steps.”
“There’s nothin’ I love more than being with friends around a campfire, on a boat or in a deer stand — and Field & Stream represents all of those to me,” said Wallen. “Being part of its future is incredible and we want to keep bringing people together outdoors, makin’ memories, for generations to come.”
As Wallen told Billboard in December, he’s actively looking to expand into businesses outside of music, including his recent affiliation as an investor and brand ambassador with upstart Ryl Tea and moving into real estate. This falls into that plan. “I like having a bunch of different things for me to focus on. [Otherwise], I’ll get bored,” he said at the time. “I have a lot of opportunities, so I’ve been trying to take them.”
The new owners are also bringing back the Field and Stream 1871 Club, whose members will have exclusive access to the bi-annual print magazine and other benefits including priority ticket access to the music festival and VIP entry into outdoor experiences. Ten percent of net profits from the 1871 Club will go to non-profit organizations that support outdoor causes.
Doug McNamee, former president of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia brand, will lead the Field & Stream brand. Colin Kearns, editor-in-chief of Field & Stream’s online site, will remain in his position.
“We are committed to reinforcing Field and Stream’s legendary status as the authoritative voice of the American outdoors,” said McNamee in a statement. “We look forward to unifying our passionate enthusiasts under a single canopy as we steward this trusted brand toward a thoughtful and expansive revival. As the latest in the lineage of caretakers, we aim to restore and amplify Field & Stream’s authentic voice with our extended storytelling family.”
Madonna’s management team and Live Nation responded Wednesday to a high-profile lawsuit claiming the music legend harmed her fans by starting New York City concerts later than scheduled, disputing some allegations and saying they plan to “defend this case vigorously.”
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The response statement came after days of silence regarding the proposed class action lawsuit, in which two fans claim the star and the concert giant breached their contract with concertgoers and violated New York state laws by starting three December shows in Brooklyn more than two hours later than the scheduled.
In their joint statement, Madonna’s reps and Live Nation said that the just-completed European leg of her Celebration Tour had “received rave reviews” and vowed the fight back against the lawsuit’s allegations.
“The shows opened in North America at Barclays in Brooklyn as planned, with the exception of a technical issue December 13th during soundcheck,” Madonna’s reps and Live Nation said. “This caused a delay that was well documented in press reports at the time. We intend to defend this case vigorously.”
Ticket buyers Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden filed their case last week, claiming that the delays — starting at 10:30 pm rather than the scheduled 8:30 pm — caused real legal harm to ticket buyers who, among other things, “had to get up early to go to work” the next day.
“Defendants’ actions constitute not just a breach of their contracts … but also a wanton exercise in false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices,” attorneys for the two men wrote in their complaint, filed in Brooklyn federal court.
The three concerts at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, stops on Madonna’s Celebration Tour, were originally scheduled for July but rescheduled to December due to the singer’s illness. Fellows and Hadden said they expected their show (Dec. 13) to start on time, and “would not have paid for their tickets had they known that the concerts would start after 10:30 p.m.”
“Defendants failed to provide any notice to the ticketholders that the concerts would start much later than the start time printed on the ticket and as advertised,” attorneys for the two men wrote.
Leaving Barclays Center after 1:00 a.m., the two men claimed ticket buyers were “left stranded in the middle of the night,” some “confronted with limited public transportation” options and others with increased prices for ride-share services. They also pointed out that the concert took place “on a weeknight,” meaning they “had to get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day.”
Can fans really sue over that? When they formally respond in court, Madonna and Live Nation will probably challenge many of the lawsuit’s claims by arguing that concert fans are on notice that live events sometimes start a little later than scheduled. They could also point to contractual provisions in ticket contracts that could give performers some leeway for unexpected delays.
In addition to Madonna herself, the lawsuit also named Live Nation and Barclays Center as defendants. In technical terms, the complaint alleged breach of contract; violation of New York’s business practices and false advertising laws; and several other forms of wrongdoing, including unjust enrichment.
The lawsuit also included a claim of so-called negligent misrepresentation, saying the concert organizers “knew or should have known” that the concerts would not start at 8:30 because of alleged past instances of Madonna taking the stage late — and should have warned fans.
“Madonna has a long history of arriving and starting her concerts late, sometimes several hours late,” attorneys for Fellows and Hadden wrote. “This history occurred throughout her 2016 Rebel Heart Tour, her 2019-2020 Madame X Tour, and prior tours, where Madonna continuously started her concerts over two hours late.”
Attorneys for Fellows and Hadden did not return a request for comment on Wednesday’s response statement.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s board of directors levied two complaints at its investment advisor, the Merck Mercuriadis-led Hipgnosis Song Management, on Tuesday (Jan. 23) that call into question the company’s ability to field competitive bids for its assets. Shareholders have told Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s newly constituted board they believe the investment advisor’s call option — a […]
Did a celebrity tattoo artist violate copyright law when she inked a photographer’s portrait of jazz legend Miles Davis onto the arm of a friend? A jury is set to the decide that question in a trial set to kick off Tuesday.
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Photographer Jeffrey B. Sedlik filed his lawsuit back in 2021 against Katherine Von Drachenberg – better known as Kat Von D, a celebrity tattoo artist who rose to prominence in the 2000s on her TLC reality show “fLA Ink.” He claimed she infringed his 1989 image of Davis by using it as the basis for a tattoo.
After years of litigation – and a U.S. Supreme Court case over Andy Warhol that changed the legal landscape midway through – attorneys for Sedlik and Von D will head to a Los Angeles federal courthouse Tuesday for a jury trial that will settle the dispute once and for all.
Sedlik, who calls his photo “world-famous,” has argued that Von D clearly broke the law when she chose to “precisely replicate every aspect of the iconic Miles Davis portrait in the form of a tattoo.” Von D, meanwhile, says she only used the image as a reference and that her tattoo is protected by copyright law’s so-called fair use doctrine, which allows people to re-use protected works in certain situations.
Initially, Judge Dale S. Fischer seemed inclined to side with Von D on a key question: Whether she had “transformed” the photo into something new. In a May 2022 ruling, the judge said Von D had “changed its appearance to create what she characterizes as adding movement and a more melancholy aesthetic.”
But the case got a legal shakeup a year later, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major ruling on fair use. In that decision, the justices said that the late Andy Warhol had violated a photographer’s copyrights years earlier when he used her images of Prince to create one of his distinctive screen prints – a decision that was widely interpreted as making it harder to prove fair use.
After the Warhol ruling came out, Judge Fischer ruled against Von D on that same key question of “transformative.” Citing the new Supreme Court precedent, the judge ruled that simply putting the same image in a new context and claiming new aesthetics was not enough to count as a fair use.
But even after that ruling, the overall question of fair use must still be decided by the jury at the trial set to kick off Tuesday. Jurors will be tasked with deciding whether Von D made “commercial” use of Sedlik’s image – a tough question, since she inked her friend free-of-charge but also promoted the work on her social media accounts. They must also decide whether her use of the image hurt Sedlik’s ability to license the image himself, another key question in any fair use case.
Union members who work at Condé Nast brands including Vanity Fair, Vogue and GQ will be walking off the job on Tuesday to protest negotiations conduct that they claim violates labor law.
More than 400 Condé Nast Union members at those three publications as well as Allure, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Epicurious, Glamour, Self, Teen Vogue and Condé Nast Entertainment are set to strike for 24 hours on Tuesday and hold a rally in front of the company’s offices in New York. The action stems from labor negotiations that have turned sour since Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch announced the company’s intentions to cut 5 percent of its workforce on Nov. 1.
The one-day walkout “is really about the company engaging in regressive bargaining and breaking the law in bargaining by rescinding an offer that they had previously made around layoffs,” the union’s Condé Nast Entertainment unit vice chair Ben Dewey, a videographer, told The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s so much solidarity that everybody is really looking out for their coworkers and willing to go on strike for this unfair way that the company is engaging in bargaining.” According to Dewey, Tuesday’s action is the first Condé Nast-wide strike in the company’s history.
THR has reached out to Condé Nast for comment. I’m a Virgo director Boots Riley tweeted out the news on Monday.
The walkout is timed to coincide with the announcement of nominations for the 96th Academy Awards, which is an important news day for select Condé Nast brands, such as Vanity Fair. To amplify the specificity of the choice, the union is planning on staging an Oscars-themed picket line starting at 10 a.m. ET in front of Condé Nast’s One World Trade Center offices that will feature a red carpet and a “step-and-repeat” area for photography, while a rally starting at 1 p.m. ET will include an “awards ceremony,” per the union.
“We just really want to show how much Condé relies on union members to cover big events like the Oscar nominations,” explained Dewey.
The NewsGuild of New York, the umbrella labor group of which the Condé Nast Union is one part, has filed two unfair labor practices charges against Condé Nast with the National Labor Relations Board since the Nov. 1 layoffs announcement. In December the union claimed that the company surveilled and intimidated members while they were trying to gain clarity about layoffs “in at least three instances.” At the time, Condé Nast said in a statement that its security team “followed standard building security protocol and did not engage with any union member.”
And this month the organization alleged that the company had engaged in “regressive bargaining” by downsizing a severance offer. According to the union, Condé Nast originally proposed cutting 94 union jobs, or 20 percent of the union, and providing laid-off workers a severance package it was offering other staffers in the company. After a union counter-offer, the company allegedly proposed still cutting 94 union jobs and cutting its previous severance offer in half.
The move was made “to remind management of their worth and urge company reps to bargain in good faith. We demand nothing less,” said NewsGuild of New York president Susan DeCarava in a statement.
Aside from their ongoing negotiations over layoffs, the Condé Nast Union and management also remain locked in negotiations over a first contract. Management voluntarily recognized the union after a card check in September 2022, and the two parties have been bargaining over the agreement ever since.
Tuesday’s work stoppage follows a similar action on Jan. 19 at the Los Angeles Times, whose newsroom is represented by the West Coast sister union to the NewsGuild of New York, the Media Guild of the West. The Times union, whose current labor contract expired months ago, initiated a 24-hour strike in response to a dispute with the paper’s management over what the labor group says is a “significant” number of layoffs that are coming.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Rock band Shinedown has expanded its deal with WME by signing a global deal with the agency, which previously represented the band in the United States and Canada only.
“The touring industry is ever evolving, and live music and performance means everything to us. I have said it before, and I will say it again… Shinedown only has one boss, it just happens to be everyone in the audience,” said Shinedown vocalist Brent Smith in a statement. “We have been working with Ron Opaleski at WME in the United States and Canada for many years. We feel now is the time to take our partnership global. We are extremely honored and excited to be working with Lucy Dickins and her international team at WME. We are fully focused on the future and we are ready to go!!!”
Earlier this month, Shinedown extended its record for the most No. 1s in the history of Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart when it again hit the peak with “A Symptom of Being Human,” the band’s 19th leader on the tally. Its most recent album, Planet Zero (Atlantic Records), debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in July 2022, marking the group’s fifth top 10 album.
Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex G has signed with RCA Records. The announcement coincided with the unveiling of Alex G’s 2024 North American tour, which kicks off June 7 at New York’s Governors Ball; he’s also slated to support Foo Fighters on select dates of the band’s Everything or Nothing At All U.S. stadium tour. Alex G is managed by Tyler Richman at weekday and booked in North and South America by Greg Horbal at Wasserman Music; Matt Pickering-Copley at Primary Talent International books him for the rest of the world.
Sixpence None the Richer (“Kiss Me”) has signed with Deep South Entertainment for management after reuniting for the first time in 12 years. The news arrived with the announcement that the band’s hit 1997 self-titled album will be re-released on vinyl by Curb Records.
MNRK Music Group has signed Indian singer-songwriter Guru Randhawa for management in partnership with Randhawa’s Mumbai, India-based management firm Exceed Entertainment. Randhawa is represented by CAA for booking; his label is T-Series.
Canadian reggae-fusion band MAGIC! has signed with ONErpm, which will release all of the group’s future projects globally. The group’s first release on ONErpm is the track “Good Feeling About You,” which will appear on the band’s forthcoming album, Inner Love Energy, slated for release later this year. MAGIC! is booked by Seth Rappaport at Paladin Artists.
Norteño group Código FN has signed a management deal with Gorge Prajin‘s Prajin Parlay, the management company home to Peso Pluma, Santa Fe Klan and Jasiel Nuñez, among others. Prajin Parlay works in partnership with Peso Pluma’s record label, Double P Records. The five-member group — composed of Ernesto Tito León, Danny León, Ramiro Luna, Martín Parra and Manuel Villalpando — blends tumbado and bachata styles into the traditional accordion-powered norteño sound. – Griselda Flores
Verve Label Group has announced two new signings: indie singer-songwriter Phosphorescent (aka Matthew Huock) to Verve Records and experimental jazz-punk trio The Messthetics to Impulse! Records. Verve Records will release Phosphorescent’s upcoming album, Revelator, on Apr. 15, preceded by the title track on Jan. 24. Impulse! will release Messthetics’ new song, “Emergence,” on Jan. 24, and their upcoming album on Mar. 15. Phosphorescent is represented by manager Nick Stern and booked by CAA. The Messthetics is booked by Timmy Hefner at Ground Control Touring.
Regional Mexican newcomer Los Esquivel has signed a management deal with WK NXT, a division under WK Entertainment spearheaded by Chris Duque and Renato Francis. The new partnership includes co-management and worldwide bookings with Seitrack and an exclusive deal with Zamora Live for U.S. bookings. Most recently, Los Esquivel — composed of brothers Sebastian and Eugenio Esquivel — scored its first entry on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart with “Alucin,” a collaboration with Marca Registrada, which landed at No. 49 on the tally dated Jan. 27. – Griselda Flores
James Vincent McMorrow has signed a label deal with Nettwerk. The news arrived alongside the announcement of his forthcoming single, “Stay Cool,” which will be released on Friday (Jan. 26). McMorrow is managed by Ken Allen and Michael Roe at Faction Music.
North African and Middle Eastern artist Mohamed Ramadan has signed a partnership with Wassim “Sal” Slaiby‘s music management company SALXCO in a deal that includes booking representation. The signing coincides with the announcement of “Akwaba,” Ramadan’s official anthem (alongside Magic System and Yemi Alade) for the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations soccer competition. His label is Universal Arabic Music.
South African artist Maxwell Jardine, who performs as 9lives, has signed to PULSE Music Group, which released his latest single, “MULTIMILLIONAIRE” with Trippie Redd and Odetari, on Friday (Jan. 19). 9Lives is represented by manager Dan Woolston of Higher Ground MGMT and booking agents James Gosnell and Mitch Blackman at APA.
Singer-songwriter Michael Marcagi (“The Other Side.”) has signed with Warner Records, which released his latest single, “Scared to Start,” on Jan. 12. Marcagi is managed by Andrew Marcagi and Alex Brahl and represented by Joe Atamian and Geoff Meal at Wasserman for booking.
Grammy-nominated composer, songwriter and producer Stephan Moccio has signed with Decca/Republic Records under a joint agreement. On May 10, he will release a new album, Legends, Myths and Lavendar, with “The Wanderer” serving as its first single. In addition to his solo output, Moccio has collaborated with artists including Miley Cyrus, Céline Dion and The Weeknd.
Singer-songwriter Chase McDaniel signed to Big Machine Records, which will release his new EP, Blame It All on Country Music, on Friday (Jan. 26). McDaniel is represented by manager Kevin Spellman at Vector and booking agent Kevin Neal at WME.
R&B singer-songwriter Samaria signed to RCA Records, which released her new EP, Even Paradise Rains, on Jan. 12. She is represented by CAA for booking.
Country singer-songwriter Ashley Anne signed with WME for global booking representation. Her debut EP, dear dolly, was independently released on Friday (Jan. 19).
Former Google executive Jennifer Koester joins Sphere Entertainment as president, Sphere Business Operations, with effect from Feb. 5.
In this new position, Koester leads the strategy and execution of all business aspects of Sphere, the $2 billion next-generation entertainment space that opened last September in Las Vegas, with U2’s UV’s Achtung Baby Live At Sphere residency.
Announced today (Jan. 22), Koester will work closely with executive leadership to grow the Sphere businesses, including maximizing the calendar and ticket sales; driving strategic partnerships with artists, managers, promoters and others in the live entertainment space; and developing a corporate conference business for product launches and other events.
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Based in New York, Koester reports to James Dolan, executive chairman and CEO, Sphere Entertainment.
“We have seen a strong worldwide reaction to Sphere from customers, brands and artists since our September opening,” comments Dolan in a statement, “and we look forward to leveraging Jennifer’s extensive background driving growth at premier technology and entertainment brands as we continue to build our Sphere business.”
Koester joins the company having racked-up 25 years’ executive-level experience across sales, marketing, technology, digital business, legal counsel and more, most recently serving as managing director, Americas strategic alliances, global partnerships at Google Commercial Operations. Before that, she was director, telecommunications and video distributors, global partnerships at Google.
“Throughout my career, I have focused on pioneering and delivering growth strategies that bridge business needs and leverage new technologies,” she comments, “and I am excited to bring that experience to Sphere.”
The state-of-the-art venue on the Vegas Strip is massive — standing 366 feet tall by 516 feet wide, big enough to house the Statue of Liberty. But it’s the detail that matters.
Its 20,000 capacity main room is dominated by a 160,000-square-foot LED screen that curves and towers to an apex of 240 feet above. Footage from U2’s first run in the room went viral, and the shows were box-office gold.
According to Billboard Boxscore, U2‘s 17-show run beginning in September at Sphere generated nearly $110 million in ticket sales, with an SEC filing noting that those dates generated a total of $30.7 million in revenue for Sphere Entertainment through Nov. 30.
Next up, Sphere Entertainment’s own content offering, Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard from Earth, generated approximately $44.5 million in total revenue from ticket sales from 111 showings.
Read more here.
The leader of the American Federation of Musicians proclaimed that Hollywood labor is “in a new era” as dozens of members of various entertainment unions came to the doorstep of studio labor negotiators in support of the start of his union’s contract negotiations on Monday.
As an early drizzle that morning turned into driving rain, members of the Writers Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and Teamsters Local 399 rallied in front of the Sherman Oaks offices of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers with picket signs, and a few umbrellas, in hand. To AFM‘s chief negotiator and international president Tino Gagliardi, this kind of unity for musicians was unlike anything he’d seen in his time in union leadership. “We’re in a new era, especially in the American labor movement, with regard to everyone coalescing and coming together and collaborating in order to get what we all need in this industry,” Gagliardi told The Hollywood Reporter. “Together we are the product, we are the ones that bring the audiences in, that controls the emotion, if you will.”
The program — which featured music performed by AFM brass musicians and speeches from labor leaders including Teamsters Local 399 secretary-treasurer Lindsay Dougherty, Writers Guild of America West vice president Michele Mulroney and L.A. County Federation of Labor president Yvonne Wheeler — took place hours before the AFM was scheduled to begin negotiations over new Basic Theatrical Motion Picture and Basic Television Motion Picture contracts with the AMPTP in an office just steps away.
The message that speakers drove home was sticking together in the wake of the actors’ and writers’ strikes that shut down much of entertainment for half a year the previous summer and fall. The 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes saw an unusual amount of teamwork occur between entertainment unions, which the AFM is clearly hoping to repeat in their contract talks. “We learned a hard, long lesson last year that we had to be together since day one. That’s going to be the difference going into this fight for the musicians, is that we’re all together in this industry,” Dougherty said in her speech.
The WGA West’s Mulroney addressed the musicians present, saying that her members “never took your support for granted” during the writers’ work stoppage. She added, “The WGA has your back just as you had our backs this past summer.” Though he wasn’t present at Monday’s event, SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland sent a message, delivered by his chief communications officer, that “the heat of the hot labor summer is as strong as ever.”
The AMPTP said in a statement on Monday that it looks forward to “productive” negotiations with the AFM, “with the goal of concluding an agreement that will ensure an active year ahead for the industry and recognize the value that musicians add to motion pictures and television.”
Though the AFM contracts under discussions initially expired in Nov. 2023, the writers’ and actors’ strikes that year prompted both sides to extend the pacts by six months. Top priorities for the musicians’ union in this round of talks include instituting AI protections, amplifying wages and greater streaming residuals.
For rank-and-file writers and actors who showed up at Monday’s rally, one recurring theme was repaying the AFM for its support during their work stoppages. SAG-AFTRA member Miki Yamashita (Cobra Kai), who is also a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists, explained that during the actors’ strike she organized an opera singers-themed picket at Paramount, which AFM members asked to take part in. “Because of them, we had orchestra players and a pianist to play for us during our picket, and I’ll never forget how much that meant to me, that show of solidarity,” she said. “I promised myself that if they ever needed my presence of my help, that I would rush to help them.”
Carlos Cisco and Eric Robbins, both writers on Star Trek: Discovery and WGA members, worked as lot coordinators at Disney during the writers’ strike. They recalled AFM members providing a morale boost during the work stoppage by occasionally playing music on the picket lines. “The struggles that labor faces in this [industry] are universal, whether it’s the hours, the residual payments as we’ve moved to streaming or the concern about AI coming into various spaces. We have far more in common than separates us,” said Robbins.
The AFM’s negotiations are set to continue through Jan. 31. Though the AMPTP offices don’t often see labor demonstrations, Gagliardi says that as a former president of New York-based AFM Local 802, he staged rallies in front of employer headquarters with some frequency. “I did this on a regular basis,” he said. “It was about bringing everyone together to fight for a common cause, and that’s what we’re doing today.”
This story was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.