 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2004-02-09 15:04
Local 802 Pulls Plug on Virtual Orchestra Machine
On February 9th, 2004, Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians
(AFM) announced an historic joint agreement with the Opera Company of
Brooklyn (OCB) banning the use of the virtual orchestra machine in all
future productions.
On February 6th, Local 802 protested the company’s opening performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, that replaced musicians with a virtual
orchestra machine called RealTime Symphonia. This is the same machine that is currently being used to threaten the replacement of musicians in the Les Miserables production in London’s West End.
According to the terms of the Memorandum of Agreement, the employer agrees to use only live musicians for all of its productions, performances and
rehearsals and shall not employ a virtual orchestra, or any other mechanical
synthetic or technological means to reproduce music, except upon the express written consent of the union.
“This is the first agreement that we know of that bans the use of the
virtual orchestra machine. I want to thank the Opera Company of Brooklyn for their commitment to live music and their cooperation in severing their
partnership with RealTime Symphonia. Local 802’s main priority is to keep
music live and will continue to aggressively fight the displacement of live
musicians with the virtual orchestra machine. Local 802 has great
appreciation for the courage and foresight of the musicians that stood up to
OCB’s use of the virtual orchestra machine,” said Local 802 AFM President
David Lennon.
The agreement also gives union recognition to OCB musicians and requires the employer to negotiate for a collective bargaining agreement by March 1st.
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-02-09 16:28
and Bravissimo, Congrats to negotiators and opera company[ies] involved. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: msloss
Date: 2004-02-09 18:11
And to quote a song from the realm of musical theatre and cinema:
"Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead..."
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-02-09 19:29
"The day . . . the [virtual] music . . . died . . ." - Don McLean
US Army Japan Band
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-02-09 20:32
This is certainly good news for all musicians. I do wonder what it portends for the future,however, considering that movies per se and much television represent virtual performances. In the end all costs are passed on to the customer.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2004-02-09 23:21
I believe rebroadcasting is covered under the RIAA rules.
It's more compelling when the arguement covers live performance.
Of course, we could go back to silent movies with an organist at the pedals.
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2004-02-10 00:04
Perhaps our friend from a few posts ago should look this situation over, and understand that joining the Union is an important first step.
With all its faults, the AF of M has done a lot of good for working musicians. The Union, in all its small locals, has helped professional musicians, and protected their rights and conditions on the job. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it's a glorious thing!
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-02-10 00:07
John J. Moses ... this is, indeed, good news. Good to see that "food's still going to be fresh in the Big Apple" ... not synthetic!
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Author: msloss
Date: 2004-02-10 13:24
The AFM (and all the other performing arts guilds for that matter) have an interesting challenge in that they have the dual responsibility for protecting labor interests and protecting art at the same time. The dual moral imperative certainly helps the case.
Throwing my union card in the drawer for the moment, I was nauseated as a music listener at the prospect of a VO "performing" Mozart. It is an affront to a work of art. It would be no different than hanging a poster of the Mona Lisa and putting the original in a closet because the cost of security and maintenance would be so much less. We diminish ourselves as a culture by allowing this to happen.
Now, movies are not performances, nor are records -- they are media. They are a means of conveying a performance by mechanical means. The media would be worthless without the human performance it memorializes.
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Author: JessKateDD
Date: 2004-02-10 16:50
Congrats to Local 802, but I doubt this victory means a permanent end to this issue. Also, if you have a product you are trying to sell, and you are losing money (which I believe applies to nearly every classical music organization in America), you can not be in debt forever and continue to exist. Either you must cut costs, or you must increase the price of your product and hope the consumer does not choose to spend her dollars elsewhere. This win for the musicians means higher prices to the consumer. If they decide to spend their money elsewhere, then this victory would be Pyrrhic.
There seem to be labor disputes over and over again between AFM musicians and organizations that are in the red. And yet, these musicians are continually insisting on higher pay and greater benefits. In essence, they are demanding larger and larger portions of a shrinking pie. Is it any surprise that some of these organizations end up folding?
Post Edited (2004-02-10 16:54)
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2004-02-10 18:12
More information from AP on the VO settlement in NYC:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040210/ap_on_en_mu/music_virtual_orchestra_1
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-02-11 05:43
JessKate makes an important point regarding AFM. Many of us in the Richmond area work far more than the union could provide for and have seen it destroy venue after venue trying for too big a piece of shrinking pie.
Contrast this with Actors Equity, which has actually gained a bigger piece of the pie. AFM would do well to study them.
Allen Cole
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Author: msloss
Date: 2004-02-11 12:43
Equity has its own issues which we don't need to get into here.
In the case of for-profit enterprises, I have rarely if ever seen the AFM take the position that musicians are entitled to a greater slice of the proverbial pie if it is going to bankrupt the production. Obviously that serves nobody's purpose. But, at the same time they do stand up for the musicians' right to fair compensation for the skill they provide.
Classical organizations are a whole other kettle of fish, though. They are not-for-profit for good reason. The economics simply don't add up without the patronage of big donors, corporate sponsors, foundation grants, etc. The ticket price doesn't even begin to cover the real costs of operating one of those outfits. The average so-called consumer gets tremendous value for his ticket dollar being able to hear 75 of the world's finest musicians perform live for the cost of a week's worth of Starbucks trips.
If we, as a culture, are going to maintain classical music as an art form at the level we now enjoy, we need the best trained and most experienced musicians to be there for us. It is an all-consuming lifetime commitment to get to that level, and to expect to make a living wage is only reasonable. Save for the best-recognized performing organizations, the wages and benefits for musicians are laughable. Even the biggest orchestras pay their section leaders less than half of what some schmoe with an associate's degree in turf management makes wholesaling mutual funds.
Communities need to step up. These organizations are assets, and more specifically, the performers are assets. This is about what makes us better as a society. The AFM, for all its faults, is out there trying to maintain professional standards so the artform doesn't die.
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2004-02-11 12:58
BRAVO! msloss:
"Communities need to step up. These organizations are assets, and more specifically, the performers are assets. This is about what makes us better as a society. The AFM, for all its faults, is out there trying to maintain professional standards so the artform doesn't die."
This needs to be remembered by the younger players, "we, the musicians and our groups, are an asset to the community." The standards and conditions must be maintained to provide us with a decent living wage. The Union has, in most cases, provided this protection and furthered our job possibilities and growth. Being out there as a talented young player is not enough, the stability of a career in music depends on support and protection from many sources; one of them being the Union.
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2004-02-13 20:59
Congratulations to Local 802 from the Recording Musicians Association:
"Congratulations to Local 802 !
RMA extends its congratulations to Local 802 President David Lennon,
Local 802 and all of the musicians who were successful in stopping the Virtual Orchestra in its tracks, on its home turf.
This victory is a wonderful demonstration of smart and skilled leadership working in full partnership with rank and file musicians."
For further information, see the Local 802 website.
http://www.local802afm.org/
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
Post Edited (2004-02-13 21:06)
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