American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 5 President George Troia joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed a recent trend in the live performance industry to use recorded music in place of a live band, and its overall impact on the industry.
Local 5 represents about 800 musicians in Detroit.
Troia called the trend concerning because audiences still pay the same ticket price despite receiving a recorded performance. He noted recorded music in place of a band can be particularly prevalent among ballet troupes. AFM firmly opposes the practice because it not only cheats musicians out of their livelihood, but also deprives audiences of the complete artistry of a public performance, he added.
Troia also spoke about efforts to encourage younger musicians to join Local 5. He pointed out the Local maintains a Detroit musician fund, which provided relief during the pandemic for those waiting to qualify for unemployment or for those who were ill. He also spoke about the AFM Music Performance Trust Fund, which sponsors gigs for union jazz musicians.
Troia then discussed ongoing negotiations for contracts, which were extended during the pandemic. Since the contracts were extended, no raises were given to members since the beginning of the pandemic, he said. Troja expects there to be some amount of tug of war to the negotiations, as the new contracts will need to reflect raises covering the last few years, as well as address inflationary concerns.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.