MU Head of International Dave Webster spoke to delegates about the challenges faced by UK musicians touring or working in the EU since Brexit. Photo: The MU.
Speaking at the Convention, Naomi spotlighted her mission to ensure all musicians are represented equally by the MU wherever they are based, however they make music and whatever their background.
Naomi outlined the MU’s structure and some of the changes the MU has made in the last few years to ensure more members are involved in its work. These include the MU’s new Members’ Assembly, the establishment of the Future Leaders programme and reserved seats introduced into the Executive Committee and other committees.
She also highlighted the MU’s Anti Far-Right Hub, telling delegates, “There is a huge anti-immigration movement across the UK at present with racism and antisemitism becoming much more apparent. As a Union, we will double down on our equality, diversity and inclusion work. It is the antidote to surging far-right rhetoric.”
Working together on common challenges
Naomi also highlighted shared industrial issues across the West End and Broadway, and the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation.
“With so many threats to musicians globally at present, including AI training without consent and compensation for our members, we have common enemies and a common cause. It is as important as ever that we have a ‘special relationship’ and work together to ensure musicians internationally can have sustainable and profitable careers,” she said.
“We stand in solidarity and with a shared cause: furthering the careers of professional musicians and defending their rights at a time when major corporations and big tech present threats to our livelihoods,” she added.
Supporting collaboration and cultural exchange
Dave Webster spoke about the challenges faced by UK musicians touring or working in the EU since Brexit.
Reflecting on how the UK Government approached the negotiations, Dave told delegates, “The Conservative Government in power at the time had assured us that they understood our members’ need to work and travel freely across borders and any deal would provide that facility... Despite our extensive campaigning and lobbying, the ‘deal’ that was struck did not contain any safeguards for our industry. In the blind panic to ‘get Brexit done,’ we got left out.”
This resonated with the theme of the AFM Convention, ‘Two Countries, One Union'. It was also the first time the event – the AFM equivalent of MU Delegate Conference – had been hosted north of the border since 1973.
Alongside outlining the risks of separating from your closest and most important market, Dave highlighted the value of cultural exchange and explained what the MU was doing to support its members and influence the UK Government to help get musicians touring in the EU.
Protecting freelancers’ rights at work
The AFM, like the MU, have a renewed focus on organising freelance musicians, including music teachers, since a resolution (motion) passed at their last convention.
They gave awards to activists who had run successful organising campaigns in their workplaces. A resolution was also passed calling on the AFM International Executive Board to amend their union’s bylaws to make harassment or discrimination of AFM members a disciplinary offence.
Other issues covered by resolutions included live music in theatre, support for members and other workers at the Kennedy Centre, and modernisation of the AFM membership database.
On the final day of the convention, President Tino Gagliardi urged members of the AFM to “get it in writing” and ensure no recording took place without a union contract. He warned members “otherwise, it will be stolen.”
Tino also talked about the AFM’s negotiations with the record labels, referring to Warners and Universal reaching a settlement with artificial intelligence (AI) platforms Udio and Suno without sharing the compensation with musicians. This was the subject of a legal dispute.
A video was shown urging members to get involved and express their views about AI to amplify the threat to musicians. One AFM member said, “Live music may see a renaissance as a counterbalance to artificially generated music”. Another said, “We need to position that AI is a tool and not a replacement for musicians”.
In the UK, the MU is campaigning for consent, labelling and fair remuneration for all human creators for the use of their work to train generative AI models.
Alongside this, the MU is campaigning for new and updated publicity, personality and personal data rights so that individuals' image and personal data can’t be exploited by AI without their consent.