MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl gave a well-received speech on the growing impact of AI on musicians. Photo: ©The MU.
The 157th annual Trade Unions Congress (TUC) took place in Brighton from 7–10 September, bringing together 48 affiliated unions — including the MU. The event plays a key role in shaping the TUC’s priorities for the year ahead.
On Tuesday 9 September, MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl addressed delegates during a debate on AI and the Creative Industries, seconding a composite motion originally moved by Equity. Her well-received speech highlighted the growing impact of AI on musicians.
She told Congress: “The vast majority of money we pay to streaming platforms ends up with major corporations and their shareholders. And session musicians get no streaming royalties at all.
“The Government has promised an AI Bill which will cover music and other copyright materials being used to train AI systems. AI generated music will not only devalue MU members’ work, it could also replace it.
“We need an AI Bill which reforms copyright and ensures our members are paid royalties for all uses of their performances. This can cover music streaming as well as AI.”
Read more about the motion via TUC here.
Barriers facing musicians touring Europe
MU Executive Committee (EC) member and TUC General Council member Alice Angliss seconded a composite motion on Europe Matters, speaking authoritatively about the challenges MU members have faced when touring in the EU since Brexit.
She addressed the loss of vital cultural exchange between the UK and EU, as well as the increasing administrative and financial barriers for musicians wishing to tour in Europe.
She told delegates: "Rather than a patchwork of agreements and constantly-changing limits and charges, we are calling on the Government to negotiate a cultural accord; a side agreement to the EU-UK trade agreement, which facilitates the vital cultural exchange between the two markets. Otherwise, rather than the world being my oyster, my whole working world will only be that which can be navigated with my oyster card."
Both composite motions (Europe Matters and Touring Artists) — including those put forward by the MU — were passed unanimously by Congress.
Self-employed rights and cultural spaces in social housing
EC member and MU delegate Mary Gilbert spoke to a motion on self-employed rights, highlighting the impact of arts funding cuts on freelance musicians and emphasizing the need for the Government to improve workers’ rights across the board.
She also called for cultural spaces to be included in new housing developments—particularly in social housing—building on a motion passed at this year’s MU Delegate Conference.
The cost of higher education courses and audition fees
Andy Gleadhill, also an EC member and MU delegate, spoke to a motion about the hidden costs of applying for higher education courses, including audition fees.
In his speech, he said: “There is already a heavy financial burden on music students who need to buy instruments, strings, reads, sticks, sheet music, the list is endless. Some music students from low income households are now opting to take a single audition at just one institution, rather than the usual multiple auditions due to the cost involved. Without working musicians from all socioeconomic backgrounds, our musical culture is less rich and diverse.'
All carried motions at TUC Congress become TUC policy, with the General Council responsible for progressing them.
View all MU related motions via the TUC here.