Many in the film and television music industry will say that Los Angeles is home to some of the best recording musicians for film and television scores in the world. And speaking for myself, I would have to agree on both counts — having worked as a composer in Los Angeles for a number of years and having had the privilege of recording with some of LA’s finest recording musicians, I’ve seen no better players for score recording anywhere.
So why are so many of these amazing players underemployed, or worse, unemployed and having to turn to other ways to make ends meet? There’s certainly no shortage of new film, television and video productions being created that demand live players, and certainly no shortage of talented composers. What there is, however, is a rapidly growing number of projects where the studio or production company has decided not to record the project under an American Federation of Musicians (AFM) union contract.These companies have made a business decision to record their scores under a buyout agreement, which means the company pays once for the score to be recorded, and doesn’t owe the players, orchestrators, or conductor any future payments under any circumstances. While the AFM has offered a buyout agreement for low budget Canadian content films in their Canadian division, they do not offer any buyout agreements for film and television show products recorded in the US, which has fueled a booming business in buyout film score recording in Seattle and Eastern Europe including Bulgaria, Belgrade, Prague, Budapest and elsewhere for low, medium, and even some high budget studio films. Most recently, the score for the blockbuster studio film Ghost Rider was recorded in Seattle.
As a direct result of so many production companies and film studios choosing to record outside of Los Angeles, the industry has witnessed an exodus of recording work to other locales which has cost LA players dearly. While a relatively small group of players continue to record the high-budget studio film scores that are recorded in Los Angeles, a much larger group of players has been feeling the financial losses of the migration of recording work to buyout locales. Recently, a small group of industry professionals including scoring mixers, composers, players, contractors and others got together and decided to do something about the problem.
This group, which later became the startup company New Era Scoring (NES), was determined to find a way for those studios and production companies that had decided on buyout score recording contracts to record using LA musicians. Years of the AFM trying to persuade these companies to record under AFM contracts had not come close to solving the problem. And with the AFM resorting to $50,000 threats against its members — including orchestrators, copyists, conductors and players — for being involved with Seattle recording projects, the group came to the conclusion that the AFM’s strategies simply weren’t working when it came to encouraging production companies who had decided to record under buyout agreements to record in Los Angeles.
After talking to more than a few major production companies about the problem in an attempt to see what it would take to keep more scoring jobs in Los Angeles, the answer became clear: the companies wanted to record their scores without “strings attached.” That is, they wanted buyout contracts. No future payments under any circumstances, and no requirements to keep the accounting books open into the future to allow for the possibility of future payments. Record the score once, pay the musicians well, but pay them once. That’s what New Era learned from the studios.
Armed with that information, they hired a team of attorneys to look into a special status of union membership called Financial Core status, a provision enabled by previous legal cases, that US labor unions are required to offer their members. New Era Scoring developed a business plan: create a high quality orchestra in Los Angeles made up of talented AFM members who choose Financial Core status and offer buyout work here to companies who had chosen to do buyout score recording and were planning to go to Seattle, Eastern Europe, or elsewhere. New Era was committed to giving these companies an option to record buyout scores in Los Angeles and regaining work for Los Angeles recording musicians that was headed to Seattle and elsewhere.
Simply put, if a union member chooses to switch to Financial Core status, they can then work on union jobs and non-union jobs without any fear of reprisals, fines or other punishment from the union. When Financial Core (Fi-Core) musicians work on AFM union jobs, they must be treated like any regular AFM member, and will accrue health, welfare and pension benefits just as all other AFM members on the job do. Working on union jobs counts towards their union health insurance requirements for Fi-Core members just as it does for other AFM members.
AFM dues for members who choose Financial Core status are reduced approximately 15% to conform with the law covering this area that requires the union to reduce the dues of Fi-Core members to account for the portion of the union’s revenue that is spent on political work.
The key benefit for AFM members who choose Fi-Core status is the ability to work on non-AFM recording jobs, including scoring jobs organized by New Era Scoring, without fear of fines or other punishment from the AFM. Working on non-AFM recording dates for film and television is something that full AFM members cannot do without fear of fines and other official sanctions by the AFM, as full AFM members agree as part of their membership not to work on jobs other than AFM jobs.
The costs to an AFM member who chooses Financial Core status? Specifically, the member loses the right to vote in AFM elections, attend AFM meetings, and receive the union newspaper. Currently there’s an ongoing legal process underway to determine whether the AFM has the right to remove members who choose Financial Core status from the Local 47 Directory — Local 47 says they can do this, New Era’s attorneys say this represents an unfair labor practice. A final decision on this issue has not yet been reached, however NES believes that musicians’ existing contractor relationships and the expanding number of online and hardcopy musicians directories and references will continue to be useful in helping musicians get the word out about their talent and availability.
At the center of the “directory” dispute is whether or not an AFM member who chooses Financial Core status is still a “member” of the AFM or not. The AFM has claimed that members who choose Financial Core status are essentially “non-members” without any rights or benefits. However, New Era’s attorneys strongly disagree, saying that these members still pay dues to the AFM and continue to be represented by the AFM to the extent that they work on and benefit from AFM recording jobs. The contention between what the AFM calls a “member” and what national labor law defines as a union “member” as it relates to those members who choose Financial Core status is currently being hammered out as part of New Era’s challenges of AFM policy before the National Labor Relations Board.
To learn more about these new business models, Film Music Magazine interviewed two representatives of New Era Scoring: composer Yoav Goren and scoring mixer and recording engineer Greg Townley.
Can you tell us a little bit about New Era Scoring, what it is, and why you put it together?
GregTownley: I was approached by a client of mine who owns a non-signatory music company; he’s unable to do union work, and never has because of the type of business he owns. He needed to record out of town. It started a conversation about the state of the industry. We talked about how unfortunate it was that players here in LA were going to lose another job, and how difficult it is for certain clients based in LA to work here. We embarked on a path to pool our resources together and find a real solution to the problem.
New Era Scoring (NES) was designed to bring recording work back to Los Angeles. There’s a great need for scoring orchestras for “non-signatory” companies [production companies who are not contracted to the AFM] in Los Angeles. I’ve had jobs where the composer is here, the film company’s here, the production company’s here, the music team is here, but we often end up flying half way around the world to be able to record with a buyout agreement. That scenario doesn’t make sense, and that’s how New Era Scoring started.
Yoav Goren: For me, it really germinated from more or less a selfish reason as a composer. I co-own a music library where, in the past for our big orchestral projects, LA was never considered, period. Because we’re not an AFM union signatory and we can’t be tied into special payments, and also cost is always a consideration, all our orchestral work went out of town.
So it was always Seattle or London. We tended to go for the higher end, as high end as we could. And I was thinking as part of my business expanding that I would like to do more of these orchestral recordings without having to travel, even to Seattle. It suddenly becomes more about organizing, logistics, leaving town and being away from your home base in the middle of a project. I live in LA, and the musicians here are phenomenal. I can say this with confidence: they’re some of the finest musicians in the world, and I wanted to find a way for my company and my composers to record locally more frequently.
What is the reaction from companies about a Los Angeles based “financial core” orchestra for recording their scores on a buyout agreement?
GregTownley: The NES business model is currently approaching “non-signatory” film, trailer, video game and library music companies that already have set a precedent and have made the decision to not record union in LA. They’re just not going to. It’s not going to change, the work’s gone. They have the means to do it out of town, they can do it, and they do it all the time. The union has not been successful in convincing these companies to record here. These “non-signatory” companies and the AFM have been going thru this battle for a long time, and there’s been talk about it for years. The one question these non-signatory companies have about recording a score is: how can I record in LA? And that leads to the topic of union or non-union. And some types of projects we are talking about involve a big orchestra and are high quality recordings, so it’s going to be visible. So obviously if our clients are looking to record non-union, we can’t do it in LA. NES doesn’t want to do what’s called a “dark date” [when full AFM members secretly record sessions not under AFM contract], and NES is telling these prospective clients, “We have the solution.” The reaction we are getting is very positive.
What are your challenges in putting together a Financial Core status orchestra in Los Angeles?
Greg Townley: The challenge is that very few in town want to be on the bleeding edge. So there’s a Catch 22 in that NES is positioned right now to go to companies, to take meetings with them, to let them know that Los Angeles is a viable option for buyout recordings. But we need a Financial Core orchestra to implement that. The players and potential clients that we talk to, they’re all waiting for us to make it safe for them to record in LA.
But we can’t get the work because we don’t have the orchestra. Everybody’s been waiting years to see what the union is going to do about the situation of all the non-signatory work leaving. Let’s talk frankly. Even though there’s a lot of shake up right now, nobody’s making a move because they’re waiting for other musicians or the union to affect this needed change.
Yoav Goren: And in the meantime NES has had to turn down three jobs. Potential clients wanted to do the work in LA, and knew about New Era Scoring. But we couldn’t take the jobs because we didn’t have the players.
Greg Townley: When Yoav and I first met, we didn’t want to put players in jeopardy in any way, shape, or form. We didn’t want to subject them to fines. Our clients are telling us in no uncertain terms, “We would do the work here if you had a Financial Core orchestra.”
Let’s cut to the chase: what are the numbers you’re talking about here?
Yoav Goren: Depending on the job itself, we’re looking at $75-$85 per hour for the musicians with section leaders getting double scale, as a buyout.
Greg Townley: When dealing with low budget projects, we’re actually offering musicians more per hour than the AFM low budget film agreement offers now. In addition, what we’re talking about is very much like an AFM union job for our non-signatory clients you have all the same amenities that you would have at any well-coordinated session. NES envisions a “one call” situation for our clients. We contract musicians, record in magnificent venues with state-of-theart equipment and oversee all aspects of the session. When you take out cost items such as travel, hotel, and other ancillary expenses related to going out of town, NES will be competitive.
How would you respond to someone if they said that offering these types of buyout jobs isn’t fair to the musicians because you’re not providing the same level of health and pension and other benefits that AFM contracted jobs do?
GregTownley: My definitive answer for that is that once again, we’re dealing with non-signatory companies that already have a set precedent and have decided to go elsewhere and record non-AFM.
Yoav Goren: The reality of the situation is that you have AFM signatory and you have non-signatory companies. With the signatories you’re going to get your health and welfare, you’re going to get your special payments, but the non-signatories are going to go away and you’re not going to get the work at all. Wouldn’t you rather have at least the hourly wage and the work instead of nothing? Wouldn’t you rather keep the work in LA rather than seeing it leave and strengthen other venues and orchestras outside of LA, and watch those orchestras grow exponentially while LA loses all that work year after year after year?
So you don’t agree with the idea that solidarity among musicians and taking the position “Union or nothing” is a way to strengthen the LA position?
GregTownley: This concept has been proven ineffective because clients have alternative ways to record elsewhere.
As an alternate point of view, a union representative for I.A.T.S.E. [a labor union which represents many crafts in the film business including music editors and scoring mixers] recently told me, “We don’thave a policy to fine our union members for working with non-signatory companies in between working union jobs when they need to feed their families. Our efforts go toward getting companies to become signatories, not penalizing our members.” So it is a choice the AFM has made to fine their members. We don’t believe this concept builds solidarity.
Yoav Goren: Many people in our industry disagree with the notion that this is weakening the union. I think not doing something about the current crisis has weakened the union, as evidenced by the decrease in LA union membership over the last few years by a couple of thousand musicians.
But speaking of weakening the union, as things are now the only alternative is doing dark dates here or traveling to a less desirable location. By offering a local desirable orchestra, doesn’t that threaten to weaken the union even more because you have a much more local talented, easy to work with alternative rather than having to travel to Seattle or elsewhere?
Yoav Goren: Well let me propose this to you. As we know there are certain talented musicians that work a lot in LA on union contracts, and there are many other equally talented union musicians that are rarely given the opportunity to work on the big union jobs. The ones that haven’t been “chosen” by the contractors for the elite union jobs can end up doing 90 percent dark dates and 10 percent union dates over the course of a year. So, as a musician, what happens if you stick to your guns and say, “No, I’m only going to do union jobs,” and you do 20 jobs a year, let’s say. Wouldn’t you rather do 100 or 200 jobs a year? No, you’re not going to get the special payments on the non-AFM jobs, but you wouldn’t have received those special payments anyway because those jobs would have been done out of town. What if you could actually do those non-AFM jobs legally? You could work without fear of penalty, and may dramatically multiply your workload. Wouldn’t that be a better situation for you as a musician?
There is a huge potential in LA to have projects come and record here. People all over the world, and we’ve heard this from many composers, would love to come to LA to record. If we can offer clients the ability to record their music economically, in great rooms, and we’ve got the great musicianship which not a lot of places have, frankly, we can compete with all these other venues that have siphoned work away for purely economic reasons alone. I think there’ll be a huge influx of work here. Now, again, I’m talking about companies that would never consider coming here in the first place because they will only be recording non-AFM.
But isn’t a Financial Core orchestra made up of talented LA recording musicians a direct threat to union special payments?
Greg Townley: Our position is that the system currently in place is not working. The union’s answer to keep work in town was to lower the low budget film agreement so that musicians can retain their special payments. NES completely supports the special payments concept when you can get it. The reality is that we have a limited number of musicians that get enormous amounts of money in union special payments, and understandably they want to keep those payments in place. The problem is, there are thousands of talented musicians who are not benefiting from these special payments rules in any way, and they need to diversify and work more. The perceived threat to special payments is non-existent if we’re talking about session work for non-signatory companies.
Yoav Goren: The real threat is the one levied by the union upon its members who are simply seeking work in order to make a living. To protect the relatively small group of musicians who substantially benefit from large special payments, the union’s answer to musicians, orchestrators and copyists is: if you go work in Seattle we’re going to fine you $50,000. And that’s their answer rather than, for example, providing a buyout scale and seeking other solutions to dynamic issues in our industry.
What will it take for you to put together a Financial Core status orchestra — what do you think it will take to get enough musicians to choose this option so they can make themselves available for the work you will be offering them?
Yoav Goren: We’re so confident of future work opportunities that we are considering guaranteeing Financial Core musicians a base of income for three or more months after the inception of our orchestra. Of course, musicians in our orchestra are free to do any other work. This would be only the beginning of several measures we are considering to make our orchestras a serious consideration for local musicians.
Greg Townley: Many musicians we’ve talked to want a guarantee of work first before changing to Fi-Core, so we will guarantee them a certain amount of sessions. This is of course based upon at least 60 people joining this movement.
So if you had an orchestra of 60 of the right musicians ready to go, you’re willing to offer them this, and you’re confident that you can get the work?
Yoav Goren: Absolutely, we’ve already turned down several scoring jobs without any kind of formal promotion.
GregTownley: We envision multiple orchestras. We don’t see only 60 people working. And beyond just making it economically viable for a company to record here, our standards are extremely high for the final product. So New Era is not just about the orchestra, rather it’s a whole turnkey package for the client, including the orchestra, recording venue, and everything and everyone you need to record a cost-effective, top quality score here in Los Angeles on a buyout agreement.
If you had to make a very simple pitch to LA musicians about why they should choose Financial Core status and be able to supplement their union jobs with your jobs, what would it be?
Yoav Goren: For most musicians, the employment system in town, the status quo, is simply not working as far as keeping them financially afloat. There is a lot of anxiety over the future of the amount of session work. Our belief is that the Financial Core option and what NES has to offer is the best chance of not only supplementing the musicians’ income, but vastly improving work prospects and ensuring the flow of work coming back to LA. The reality is that union right now does not offer most musicians security, and staying with the status quo is not working. Fi-Core status allows musicians to get more work right now and, collectively in the bigger picture, help effect that needed change to the status quo without entirely abandoning terms in the CBA that do benefit them. It’s a choice I believe bests serves the individual musician and the health and vitality of our industry going forward.
Greg Townley: Again, as a Fi-Core status member of the AFM you continue to support collective bargaining, you can still work union sessions and perform in union symphonies, thereby building and protecting your pension and health care, with the added benefit of being able to take ALL the work that is offered to you here in Los Angeles.
NES will offer companies the option, and better yet, a great opportunity to get their scores done in LA with the highest possible quality for a competitive price. We will then start regenerating a considerable amount of session work for the entire scoring community.
Yoav Goren: Our mission is really about affecting a needed change to put musicians to work. Time will tell if New Era Scoring’s business proposition is embraced by musicians, film studios and production companies that have decided to record their scores under a buyout agreement.
But after spending some time with Greg Townley, Yoav Goren and some others involved with New Era Scoring, there is one common denominator among all of them: they’re doing this to create more recording work for Los Angeles musicians. So far, New Era’s founders have spent thousands of dollars of their personal money to hire attorneys to do the legal research on Financial Core status, and have spent 18 months of their lives putting together a viable buyout orchestra in Los Angeles. Their passion is strong, they are dedicated to their cause, and they are totally committed to offering new solutions to address one of the most intractable and serious problems Los Angeles recording musicians face.
If anyone has the ability and determination to forge smart new business models to address the ever-changing business climate of recording scores, these guys do. And they’ve already exhibited two of the most common winning qualities of successful entrepreneurs and those agents of change who are able to introduce new, successful business models: they’ve put their careers on the line and their money on the table. If I had to predict, I think those actions will speak more loudly than all the threats that can be made by those who are committed to maintaining the status quo at any cost.
Film Music Magazine invited representatives from the AFM to comment for this article; however, the AFM declined to respond to the invitations.
To get more information about New Era Scoring, including detailed FAQs and other information about choosing Financial Core status, visit their website at www.newerascoring.com or email newerascoring@gmail.com
