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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
slightly OT: blues & a NJ political candidate
slightly OT: blues & a NJ political candidate
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kudzurunner
4198 posts
Aug 16, 2013
6:09 PM
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I don't know how many forum members realize this, but Jay Gaunt's mother, Jan Bidwell, is running for New Jersey State Senate. I'm pretty sure she's running on the Democratic line, based on her endorsements and positions, but I'm not 100% sure.
In any case, although I'd prefer strongly NOT to make this forum into a place where the merits and failings of specific candidates and politicians are debated, Jan falls into a somewhat different category--and not just because she's the mother of a forum member who is a noted player.
Specifically, her platform includes a lengthy statement about how she is going to work, if elected, to help improve the lives of musicians. THAT, my friends, is a platform I've never seen. It deserves an airing here.
Please note: the fact that I'm sharing this information does not constitute a formal endorsement of her candidacy. But it does mean that I think what she's saying on this particular issue is long overdue. If her words interest you, I urge you to explore her candidacy further and share links with your friends on social media.
Here's her website:
http://www.bidwellforsenate.com/
And here's the statement:
As a candidate for the NJ State Senate my primary focus has to be on the handful of extremely impactful issues that directly affect all of my constituents. That does not preclude the fact that I feel very strongly about issues that cover a smaller swath of the people in our state. Once elected, I will be able to pursue many issues about which I feel passionately. One passion is helping musicians make a living while they create music.
As the mother of a musician, and a fledgling musician, I have seen that there is a population that is not being underserved, but rather is not being served at all. Musicians are really not on anybody’s radar. I have been in the political world at the same time I have been in the music industry. No one, but no one, in the legislature is even thinking about the lives of musicians.
When I traveled with Jay I met brilliant musicians who either had to have other jobs, or who barely scraped by, and the latter are not only immensely talented, but pretty rare. It just shouldn’t be so hard.
I have a couple of ideas for programs that I would begin to act upon as soon as elected. It will take time to garner enough support for adequate legislation, but at least I know where I want to begin.
First, I would explore how to create a special category for musicians with regard to collecting unemployment. There is no other profession similar to that of the working musician. Gigs can be inconsistent, low paying, far away, or can simply dry up for weeks at a time. There is no mechanism in place that would allow a musician to collect unemployment for, lets say, two weeks, while waiting for a gig. There is no sick pay, no vacation pay, there is no consistency in income. If musicians could collect unemployment while waiting for a gig, or while recovering from an illness, or when anything else interrupts an artist’s ability to play, they might be able to be a full time musician.
There are a lot of kinks in this idea. There would need to be an employer of record and so artists might need to become independent contractors and would need to declare income, and therefore pay into unemployment. But I want to wade into the policy mine fields to try to sort this out.
I would also explore subsidized housing for artists. This is available in New York City and I think we could and should provide it for artists in...
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kudzurunner
4199 posts
Aug 16, 2013
6:09 PM
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...New Jersey.
No one but a musician understands how many hours go into a two set gig. Rehearsal, driving, load in, sound check (before the crowd arrives), playing, break, playing, talking to fans, load out, and usually a long drive home all adds up to working for way, way, below minimum wage. There must be some way to address this without over-regulating clubs.
There is a danger in regulating clubs to pay musicians more, make gigs consistent, feed them, or any other binding regulation. That could dissuade clubs from having music. In NJ many clubs have been closing without such regulation. Times are just very hard.
At the very least, I don’t think clubs should be allowed to have artists play for tips only. I think there should be a minimum amount that a group gets from a tip jar and if the total tips don’t meet that minimum, the club should kick in to meet the minimum. This would help the owners to be more proactive with promoting tipping.
There have to be more ideas. There has to be a way to keep music creative and fresh and organic. I would be open to listening to any other ideas that working musicians have that would help them continue to create music.
Music is transformative. It is woven into all of us. If being a musician becomes too hard for most musicians, we will be left with over produced corporate business-based recordings. An integral part of our culture will die off if that happens.
Probably less than 1% of non-musicians ever think about how hard it is to make music, but 100% of the people’s lives have a sound track. Someone needs to begin the conversation at a policy level. I have every intention of doing that.
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SuperBee
1367 posts
Aug 16, 2013
6:30 PM
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I can't find that statement on her website.
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nacoran
7033 posts
Aug 16, 2013
9:02 PM
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I'm not sure how I'd address these issues, if I'd address them the way she does or some other way, but I like that she is at least thinking about them. I've got a couple ideas, but they involve broader policies that would likely be beyond the scope of this site.
Keeping to her ideas, while I like the idea of people getting paid for every gig, that could wipe out people trying to break into the business. It's all about how to keep the incentives in place for venues to have music, but finding ways for musicians to make money at it. We did have a local issue here in SmAlbany where the local government raised and old cabaret tax. The musicians fought, but the tax eventually went through, although slightly reduced. It basically taxes venues that have amplified music for that privilege. Personally, I argued that was the wrong way to go about it because it created an extra layer of bureaucracy and tax for a venue to jump through. You can design a tax so businesses will try to do more business to pay for it, or you can design it to discourage business from trying new things. It was easier for the city to pass than say, a couple dollar bump to property tax. Divide and conquer. Tax smarter, not harder, or something like that.
There are probably lots of low hanging fruit in the way of adjusting busking laws too. Adjust musicians status under universal healthcare? In the current economy I don't think we'll get a big boost the the NEA. Fix copyright law? Fix the way royalties are paid?
You can't come up with ideas if you don't brainstorm. :)
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Nate
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Last Edited by nacoran on Aug 16, 2013 9:08 PM
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kudzurunner
4200 posts
Aug 17, 2013
5:37 AM
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@SuperBee: You can't find it on her website because it's not--or wasn't--on her website. She and I were speaking about her candidacy and she mentioned that one of the things that was important to her was using the office to improve the lives of musicians. I don't know whether her statement above was a position paper she hadn't yet put online or whether she drafted it on the spot, but in either case it is now a matter of public record, and it IS direct from her. So it's something that can be debated on the merits.
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blueswannabe
258 posts
Aug 19, 2013
10:46 AM
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I think a large part of the problem is that many clubs can't afford to pay for live music and will only do so if the band will bring in the business. Maybe there should be some additional tax incentives to make it easier for clubs to host live music.
There are also licensing fees to companies such as BMI which, as I understand it, charge clubs annual fees for hosting live music. If you increase the demand side of the equation, maybe there will be more work available to practicing musicians.
Last Edited by blueswannabe on Aug 19, 2013 10:48 AM
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Frank
2630 posts
Aug 19, 2013
11:01 AM
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There is a little blues club in a little town here is Pittsburgh that wants to expand the bar spending millions of dollars in renovations and size increase...The neighbors and such are fighting them tooth and nail, claiming to many headaches will be created for those who live nearby and everything is stalled and may never be allowed make the business bigger.
Last Edited by Frank on Aug 19, 2013 11:03 AM
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JInx
498 posts
Aug 19, 2013
11:15 AM
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my opinion; this is a horrible idea, and will only castrate and further suck dry all vitality left in the current music scene.
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Baker
317 posts
Aug 20, 2013
5:57 AM
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This is an interesting one. I live in the UK so things are slightly different but the majority of professional musicians I know (and this includes highly trained session musicians) still do things like extras work to make ends meet. However as UK citizens everyone is currently entitled to free health care via the NHS etc. and standard welfare – Housing benefit etc.
For me I think the it becomes complicated when you start having to define who is a "musician" and who is not, in financial and cultural terms. We have a similar issues in the UK, especially in London, where promoters and venues don't want to book you unless you can guarantee a certain amount of punters.
My first reaction to this is to say "Well, isn't it the promoters job to get the punters in, you're paying us to provide a service". We all put in long hours, learning to play, rehearsing, traveling, sound checking, etc – everything that Jan mentions. And she's right.
However, what we produce as musicians can be considered a product, with a value attached to it. Whether that value is considered in financial terms – How many albums will we sell, or how many people will we bring in to the club? – Or in more of a perceived cultural currency, a venue owner's reputation for always having great blues bands on for example – Or in broader cultural terms, is it important to keep this music live and vibrant. Unfortunately these "values" do not always coincide.
So as a musician what if your product is not valuable. People in general don't like what you are doing. You're not very popular, you're not going to attract a crowd, help create a reputation for a venue or promoter. You're not going to sell any CDs? – If someone made a car that no one wanted to drive should there be legislation in place to protect that company in order to keep the automotive industry alive? – How do you define or decide who is entitled to what?
How do you decide which musicians are valuable assets and which are not? Which are going to be able to put money back into the system and which are not?
Clubs and record companies are business. They need to book bands which are going to make them more money than they spend on them, or that are going to improve their reputation (and therefore generate more money).
Now that said:
Don't get me wrong, I am playing devils advocate. I do agree with Jan's statement. I think that we need to change the way things work in order that being a musician can be a viable career and a full time job without much of the struggle.
I have had a few experiences this year, both really positive and negative that have lead me to thinking about a musicians output more in terms of a valuable product.
My view is that you should always be making music because you love it, you're compelled to make it – but there is a point when you must start thinking about it in business terms. How much am I worth to this promoter or venue? And therefore how much should they be paying me. Do I turn down a gig because they're not offering very much or do I do it because I know there will be a good crowd and we might generate some more interest.
Sorry, this is a bit of a ramble, but food for thought (hopefully) once you start talking about how you start to change the system in order to support the "trade" of musicianship.
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nacoran
7083 posts
Aug 31, 2013
6:43 PM
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I had this in another thread, but it seems to pertain:
http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/5449877.htm?page=1
(Canada raising fees for some foreign musicians.)
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Nate
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nacoran
7138 posts
Sep 14, 2013
7:28 PM
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And an oddball theory on music scene economics:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/09/14/rock_club_competition.html
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Nate
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dmitrysbor
108 posts
Sep 16, 2013
2:37 AM
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Well,
here it is not necessary to discover America. She could just make the tax cuts for the musicians at least, as it was done in Ireland some time ago.
She sees the issues, but don't have any good ideas to solve them ;(
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