United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles

Follow and support @UMAW_ for the latest ongoing efforts!

[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

We spent the better half of 2022 collecting stories about your gigs, and we have a few suggestions for things we'd like to see left behind in the new year 👋 Check out our biggest takeaways in the 🧵below!

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[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

We hope you will join us in creating a better LA music industry for all.

[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

We spent the better half of 2022 collecting stories about your gigs, and we have a few suggestions for things we'd like to see left behind in the new year 👋 Check out our biggest takeaways in the 🧵below!

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[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

UMAWLA Musicians Demand for 2023:
• An end to predatory pay to play practices.
• No merch cuts, ever. (#MyMerch)
• Fair pay in the form of a guarantee or equitable door split.
• A safe, accessible, and welcoming environment for both performers and fans.

[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

practices are commonly cited.
...with some very notable exceptions! Alex’s Bar in Long Beach is consistantly cited as being among the best small venues to play, with equitable pay and excellent promotion on-par with many beloved DIY and all-ages spots. Kudos, Alex!

[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

Takeaway #3:
Bars and small clubs treat musicians terribly
Bars and small clubs, especially those in gentrified neighborhoods like Highland Park and Silverlake, were consistently rated the lowest in all categories. Lack of promotion, difficult load-in, and weaselly payment

[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

General rudeness from sound staff was also commonly cited. Venues who tolerate elitism and gatekeeping behavior have no place in our vision for a better LA music scene.

[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

Takeaway #2:
Misogyny is still commonplace, especially among sound staff
A common trend in those surveyed were stories about women being made to feel uncomfortable, belittled, or ignored by sound engineers in comparison to their bandmates.

[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

The most common form of pay-to-play in LA is the "presale” model, in which a band or performer is required to sell a minimum number of tickets in advance, leaving artists on the hook to pay the promoter out-of-pocket for any unsold tickets, sometimes totaling hundreds of dollars.

[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

Takeaway #1:
Pay-to-play is unfortunately still alive and well in LA
Many historic LA venues, especially those that line Sunset Blvd, shamelessly take advantage of inexperienced musicians with these schemes based off their name-recognition alone.

[United Musicians & Allied Workers - Los Angeles @UMAWLA]

Yellow text on a blue/pink gradient background. Each slide includes social handles and website at the bottom: "IG: @umawlosangeles", "Twt: @UMAWLA", "https://t.co/2WnJrZTbXR"
UMAW LA
2022 Venue Survey
We asked LA musicians about how their gigs went in 2022. This is what we found.

[United Musicians and Allied Workers @UMAW_]

Introducing our new campaign in collaboration with @FeaturedArtists and @cadenceweapon : #MyMerch 💯

Venues: link in bio to join the database of over 400 #MyMerch venues.
Artists: link in bio to tell your #MyMerch story (can be anonymous if preferred).

[jackantonoff @jackantonoff]

the more we make it tenable for young and small artists to make a living on the road the more great music we will get

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @AOC]

Daily reminder that Ticketmaster is a monopoly, it’s merger with LiveNation should never have been approved, and they need to be reigned in.

Break them up.

[United Musicians and Allied Workers @UMAW_]

The Taylor Swift presale didn't have to be a disaster, but Ticketmaster now controls 70% of the primary ticketing and live event venues market. This allows them to hike up prices with tons of hidden fees and still provide a terrible ticket-buying experience for music fans!

[United Musicians and Allied Workers @UMAW_]

Announcing: UMAW raffle!! 18 incredible artists donated vinyl, CDs, prints, GUITARS, and more for the last week of our fall fundraiser. $15 tickets, unlimited entries, open worldwide. Raffle closes Nov 15. https://t.co/rBXDN85cRH

[More Perfect Union @MorePerfectUS]

If you want to afford tickets to Taylor Swift’s upcoming Midnights tour, you need to get on board with the movement to break up Ticketmaster’s monopoly.

Sign on here. https://t.co/D0eJPYPoXo