Q & A
Each month, MusicBizAdvice.com answers your questions about the music industry.
American Federation of Musicians Union
Regulations for Demos and Master Recordings: How to Stay Legal with the AFM,
and What to Do if a Publisher Requests You Re-record to Comply with the
Union
Q.
Hi! A publisher is interested in two of my songs, but he is concerned
because the demos were not recorded by union musicians. He advises that he
can only use a union demo. I have several other song contracts signed with
other publishers, and this issue has never come up. He said that he would
have to re-demo the songs before he could send them out.
The original demos are fully orchestrated and we cannot afford to foot any
bill for re-recording. In the meantime, he has asked to have the song put
"on hold" to see if he can spark interest by a major label in hopes that
they will re-record with union musicians. My question: Does any of this make
sense?
Thanks, Karen B.
A.
Your letter spurred much discussion, as well as raised a potential red flag,
so we took your question to songwriter David Paul Bryant, who's had songs
placed with Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and many others, to get his
views. We also checked with Don Acosta at the American Federation of
Musicians Local 47, who gave us great info as well.
Songwriter David Paul Bryant says: "This is a very interesting question,
depending on the publisher's affiliations and past history with the
musicians union. What people do every day and what's required by the union
are sometimes two different things, with many producers and songwriters
being so self-contained. However, master recordings are another
story--especially when certain types of live musicians are involved, such as
orchestras with strings, brass, etc."
"Most people don't realize this, but there is a minimum "demo session scale"
pay rate that AFM (American Federation of Musicians) union musicians are
technically supposed to receive when they're hired to play on someone's
demo. Plus, there are benefits that are supposed to be paid by the employer
as well.
"Many times musicians and the people who hire them for demo work arrange a
fair price for the musician's services, bypassing these union agreements.
But in many cases, especially with musicians at a certain level of
musicianship, status, or prestige, they abide by the union agreements,
charging an employer double, or even triple scale regardless of whether it
is a demo or master recording session.
The scale rates and the benefits schedule are part of each union's wage
agreements with potential employers. And there are different local unions
and pay rates across the USA that are all part of the AFM."
"Now, remember these wages apply to union members only. Non-union members
are on their own to negotiate their price to play on a demo, or any other
type of session or live performance. But if the employer is associated with
the union, they can get in big trouble if they try to bypass the union by
hiring union or non union members and get caught not paying them the union
scale and benefits. This can include not only musicians, but producers,
production companies, publishing companies, record companies, venues, etc. .
The employers that have agreed to abide by union guidelines are called
"Signatories" which means they have signed an agreement with the union to
hire union members and abide by union agreements.
Bottom line for the union... THEY WANT THE PENSION MONEY! Bottom line for
the employer... THEY DON'T WANT TO PAY IT!
Now, whether the publisher's reason for redoing the demo is union related or
not, I don't know, because he said he was going to put it on hold and spark
interest from some major labels to see if they would re-record it, so that
is a bit confusing.
Here are the contact links for the AFM and the page with the Local 47 demo
scale rates:
Demo Scale Page at
AFM Local 47 web site (Hollywood, CA; for Los Angeles Musicians):
AFM Local 47 Homepage (Hollywood, CA;
for Los Angeles musicians):
National AFM web site (All other musicians
go here to find your local):
Hope that helps!
David Paul Bryant"
Don Acosta, Assistant to the President in the Sound Recording/Music
Preparation department of AFM Local 47 in Hollywood, CA confirmed David's
information and adds:
"Union musicians are required as part of their membership to charge at least
minimum scale, file a contract and receive benefits for their work from a
live performance, broadcast or recording.
Companies signed up to do business with the Union, aka Signatories, are also
required to file contracts, pay at least minimum scale, and engage only
union musicians with an exception: musicians hired by signatories may work
under the Taft Hartley labor law within a 30 day period without joining.
Having said all of this, there are ways to legalize recordings made
non-union by paying the correct scale or difference in scale (rate), paying
benefits and filing the proper report form and contract."
MusicBizAdvice.com's Two Cents: When asked to re-record anything, be it demo
or tracks for a CD, an artist or songwriter should always proceed with
caution, as you're doing here. Most changes are legitimate, but continually
sending a songwriter or artist into the studio can be a great way for a
publishing company or label to prevent paying future royalties and use you
as a tax write-off by purposely sending you overbudget on recording. (Not
always, or even most of the time--just something to be aware of in the back
of your mind.) Ask a lot of questions and try hard to get the company to be
clear about what they want. It's not always easy to get an answer, but the
best can at least point you in a concrete direction.
If a publisher (or label, producer, production company, or other music
company) says union regulations force the necessity of a new recording,
always check with the AFM to see if the company is a signatory. Then stand
tall, look the company representative dead in the eye, and see how he/she
reacts when you say, "The AFM said we can legalize it by paying the
difference in scale and filing the report or by invoking the Taft-Hartley
labor law."
Further information on song holds can be read
here:
Good luck!
Randi Reed
Editor-in-Chief / Founder
MusicBizAdvice.com
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