The Musicians’ Union is delighted to sponsor season five of the Music Works podcast. Image credit: Shutterstock.
The Musicians’ Union is delighted to sponsor season five of the Music Works podcast. Its first episode, released today 30 June, will explore the role of the MU and creating change in the industry with MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl. It discusses areas such as fair pay and working conditions, streaming, buyouts, the impact of Brexit on musicians and the importance of having a safe space to report sexual harassment within the creative industries.
Listen to the episode now via Spotify.
Other guests in the series include Black Lives in Music CEO Charisse Beaumont, PRS for Music’s Relationship Manager (Classical) Daniel Lewis, Young Classical Artist Trust’s Kate Blackstone and mezzo-soprano Claire Barnett-Jones.
Together with host Katie Manasse, they will be discussing a wide range of topics from gender pay gap in opera to the work of PRS, such as royalties and their frequently asked questions.
Members can listen to the new series of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Podbean.
Being part of the change
Host Katie Manasse said:
“We have worked in the classical music industry for our whole careers and love it! We love the people in it, and we love the work that we do. But, when you work in an industry so closely you can’t help but become aware of the unfairnesses and the problems that exist within it.
“Since COVID-19 and lockdown happened, those problems with the industry have come more and more to the fore. We’ve seen how fragile a musician’s income can be. We’ve seen how fragile music organisations can be. And with the Music Works podcast, we want to change that.”
MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl said:
“Part of being a Musicians’ Union member is creating change where you are, and the union is delighted to support Katie’s mission to create change in the classical music industry.
“I’m delighted to be part of the first episode of the new series sponsored by the MU, talking about the importance of trade unionism now, and how working musicians coming together in their union is a powerful way to meet the challenges musicians face in the current financial and political climate.”