State of the Local - Dave Pomeroy

Change is inevitable. The evolution of the music business is tied to technology, as are the changing ways that music is created and consumed. To state the obvious, just as some things have gotten simpler, some things are more complicated. Big media companies have become distributors more than creators, and independent artists can achieve big successes without needing a label to run, or ruin, their careers for them. It can be a wild goose chase at times, trying to figure out who really is the responsible party for paying musicians for a session or a New Use. We have been concentrating on closing as many loopholes in the process as we can, and we are making significant progress. As the “rules” of the music business, both formal and informal, have shifted over time, it can be easy to lose track of the initial reason we became musicians – to create, enjoy and share the experience of music.

As Local 257 celebrates its 120th anniversary as the only organization looking out for Nashville’s professional musicians, our mission is clearer than ever before. Respect for musicians and creators is at the heart of what we stand for, and by working together for the greater good, we have been able to accomplish far more than any one of us could do alone. Our numbers for 2022 show that we are back and slightly ahead of our pre-pandemic numbers. Nashville became Music City because of the organic ecosystem of mutual respect between employers and creators. We owe it to ourselves and each other to keep this tradition of cooperation and honesty going. This is the Nashville Way, and it is our strength.

We are active in our music community near and far in many ways. Our engagement with organizations like Leadership Music and the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, our advocacy with various branches of Metro Nashville government, our Tennessee state legislators, and AFM support of national legislation in D.C. all make an impact. We are lobbying in support of the American Music Fairness Act, which has just been re-introduced in Congress. This important legislation would finally give artists, backup musicians and singers the AM/FM terrestrial radio performance rights they have all over the world except for few countries — Iran, North Korea, China, and, believe it or not, the U.S. We need to get off that short list and correct this more than 70-year injustice. This will free up hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign royalties currently being withheld from American musicians.

We recently completed (SRLA) Sound Recording Labor Agreement negotiations in New York City with the record labels. The pandemic lengthened the process, and the contract had been in a mutually agreed upon extension. Because of the delays and the drastic changes in process and economics of the music industry brought on by the pandemic, we were able to negotiate a six percent raise in the first year of the threeyear contract followed by two three percent raises in the second and third year. We also gained H&W increases in years two and three. The new contract will go into effect the Monday after ratification by those who made at least $3400 total under the SRLA from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022. We also codified an increase in rates for streaming performances, and made the point consistently that we need the cooperation of the labels and payroll services to make sure that musicians are paid properly AND promptly.

The Music Performance Trust Fund provides invaluable financial support for musicians to perform free events in schools, nursing homes and community centers. We help to find co-funding sponsors and venues, and were able to create $160,000 of work for musicians in the past two years despite the challenges of the pandemic. These performances connect us to our community, and provides invaluable artistic inspiration and encouragement to the musicians of the future in our schools. It also provides work for musicians who may not be as active as they once were. The MPTF program has been in place for decades, and has always been funded by the record labels. As physical sales declined, so did the funding for MPTF and the Special Payments Fund. In our previous SRLA Agreement, we negotiated a tiny percentage of worldwide record label streaming revenue which is not tied to any specific intellectual property to help rebuild these important funds. This revenue also helps bolster the AFM Pension Fund, which we should all feel good about.

We are seeing a steady influx of new members, getting a lot of work on the card coming in, and increasing our efforts to collect outstanding payments. However, there are still those musicians who haven’t gotten the memo that we are the only organization here to help them get paid in increasingly challenging times. These nonmember musicians don’t realize that the scale wages, benefits, and more, all come from of the negotiating power of the AFM. This year, we are going to be working hard on recruitment, and will be asking for your help to reach out to those who are working under our contracts but haven’t gotten around to joining us yet. Tell your nonmember peers that the stronger Local 257 is —the more of us who “get it” — and the more we work together, rather than just looking out for ourselves, the more power we have to change the direction of the future in a positive way. There is no other place like Nashville on earth, but let’s not forget how we got here — by looking out for each other.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge Ron Keller’s decades of service to Local 257. R.I.P. Ron, and thanks for everything you gave to all of us.