Fwd: Protest nightclubs not paying musicians: Tu 5/1
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gregory...@aol.com
Apr 27, 2012, 2:56:06 PM4/27/12
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-----Original Message-----
From: Todd Eaton NYPROTEST <todd...@optonline.net>
To: *NYPROTEST EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT LISTSERV* <NYPR...@LISTS.RISEUP.NET>
Sent: Fri, Apr 27, 2012 2:51 pm
Subject: Protest nightclubs not paying musicians: Tu 5/1
From: Todd Eaton NYPROTEST <todd...@optonline.net>
To: *NYPROTEST EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT LISTSERV* <NYPR...@LISTS.RISEUP.NET>
Sent: Fri, Apr 27, 2012 2:51 pm
Subject: Protest nightclubs not paying musicians: Tu 5/1
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:26:13 -0400 From: Matt Plummer
<plumme...@gmail.com>
Subject: Fw: On May Day, Musicians Push Back Against Nonpayment in NYC Nightclubs
< http://groups.google.com/group/ows-arts-and-labor/subscribe?hl=en_US >,
< mailto:ows-arts-and-l...@googlegroups.com>
For Immediate Release
April 27, 2012
From: Musicians Solidarity Council
Press contact: musicians.soli...@gmail.com
On May Day, Musicians Push Back Against Nonpayment in NYC Nightclubs
On May 1st, a historic day for Occupy Wall Street, labor and immigrant rights movements, OWS activists from the Musicians Solidarity Council (MSC) will hold actions in several nightclubs in Manhattan's Lower East Side, highlighting the venues' practice of not paying musicians – in effect, asking performers to volunteer their talent and services to a for-profit business.
Musicians and supporters will convene at 9:30pm, in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, at the SE corner of Chrystie Street and Houston Street.
New York City is known for its rich cultural heritage, and many popular clubs derive their success from live music. However, they rarely pay the musicians that bring draw in their customers. Instead, the bands typically "pass the hat," asking the crowd for donations; talented performers often end the night with $5-10 a person. Musicians may also be required to spend their own resources on promotion, and guarantee a minimum number of paying customers.
Musicians are not covered by New York State regulations that protect other nightclub workers like bartenders and waiters. In fact, they are explicitly excluded. The 2011 NYS Department of Labor "Hospitality Wage Order" (Part 146) that sets a minimum wage and other rules for tipped employees leaves out individuals whose work is "original and creative in character in a recognized field of artistic endeavor... the result of which depends primarily on the invention, imagination or talent of the employee."
As rents reached record heights in the 1990s and 2000s, clubs that did compensate musicians fairly (such as Tonic in the Lower East Side) were squeezed out. A growing number of venues adopted these exploitative practices – including Rockwood Music Hall, the Living Room, Pianos, 169 Bar, and Zebulon Cafe Concert – and nonpayment of performers has since become conventional wisdom in the NYC music scene.
MSC's May Day action is another step in line with efforts from the Noise Action Coalition, Take It to the Bridge, and Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, fighting against the unacceptable working conditions of club musicians. The campaign is part of Occupy Wall Street's “99 Picket Lines,” joining a broad coalition of unions, immigrants rights groups, worker centers, community- and faith-based organizations in a May 1 mass mobilization against the economic, social, and political injustice wrought by the one percent.
More information is available at the MSC website, http://www.mussc.org .
For last minute updates, follow @MusscNYC on Twitter.
The Musicians Solidarity Council is an autonomous group in affinity with Occupy Wall Street and the labor movement at large. We are musicians: instrumentalists, singers, DJs, audio engineers, producers, composers, performers and teachers. We are the 99%. Like many other workers, we are integral to city life, but often live in precarious conditions.
Through education, protest, performance, legal remedies and direct action, we are resolved to fight economic problems confronting musicians in New York City, ensure that music remains a living and accessible part of our city, and work towards economic justice for every member of the 99%.
Subject: Fw: On May Day, Musicians Push Back Against Nonpayment in NYC Nightclubs
< http://groups.google.com/group/ows-arts-and-labor/subscribe?hl=en_US >,
< mailto:ows-arts-and-l...@googlegroups.com>
For Immediate Release
April 27, 2012
From: Musicians Solidarity Council
Press contact: musicians.soli...@gmail.com
On May Day, Musicians Push Back Against Nonpayment in NYC Nightclubs
On May 1st, a historic day for Occupy Wall Street, labor and immigrant rights movements, OWS activists from the Musicians Solidarity Council (MSC) will hold actions in several nightclubs in Manhattan's Lower East Side, highlighting the venues' practice of not paying musicians – in effect, asking performers to volunteer their talent and services to a for-profit business.
Musicians and supporters will convene at 9:30pm, in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, at the SE corner of Chrystie Street and Houston Street.
New York City is known for its rich cultural heritage, and many popular clubs derive their success from live music. However, they rarely pay the musicians that bring draw in their customers. Instead, the bands typically "pass the hat," asking the crowd for donations; talented performers often end the night with $5-10 a person. Musicians may also be required to spend their own resources on promotion, and guarantee a minimum number of paying customers.
Musicians are not covered by New York State regulations that protect other nightclub workers like bartenders and waiters. In fact, they are explicitly excluded. The 2011 NYS Department of Labor "Hospitality Wage Order" (Part 146) that sets a minimum wage and other rules for tipped employees leaves out individuals whose work is "original and creative in character in a recognized field of artistic endeavor... the result of which depends primarily on the invention, imagination or talent of the employee."
As rents reached record heights in the 1990s and 2000s, clubs that did compensate musicians fairly (such as Tonic in the Lower East Side) were squeezed out. A growing number of venues adopted these exploitative practices – including Rockwood Music Hall, the Living Room, Pianos, 169 Bar, and Zebulon Cafe Concert – and nonpayment of performers has since become conventional wisdom in the NYC music scene.
MSC's May Day action is another step in line with efforts from the Noise Action Coalition, Take It to the Bridge, and Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, fighting against the unacceptable working conditions of club musicians. The campaign is part of Occupy Wall Street's “99 Picket Lines,” joining a broad coalition of unions, immigrants rights groups, worker centers, community- and faith-based organizations in a May 1 mass mobilization against the economic, social, and political injustice wrought by the one percent.
More information is available at the MSC website, http://www.mussc.org .
For last minute updates, follow @MusscNYC on Twitter.
The Musicians Solidarity Council is an autonomous group in affinity with Occupy Wall Street and the labor movement at large. We are musicians: instrumentalists, singers, DJs, audio engineers, producers, composers, performers and teachers. We are the 99%. Like many other workers, we are integral to city life, but often live in precarious conditions.
Through education, protest, performance, legal remedies and direct action, we are resolved to fight economic problems confronting musicians in New York City, ensure that music remains a living and accessible part of our city, and work towards economic justice for every member of the 99%.
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rights and against sx work, are welcome. Events both for and
against Zimbabwe, Tibet or Darfur are similarly ok. Occasionally I
post the rare Holocaust event that doesn't seem Rightist or like some
Brand Israel front group. Call me any hour with sincere questions
about using this list.
See msg. archive at
http://snipurl.com/nyprotest .
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sustainable and collective system for communicating event announcements
between NYC left factions and groups. Please help figure out how to
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