The Living Wage for Musicians Act

Rep. Rashida Tlaib with the text of the Living Wage for Musicians Act, at the Motown Museum in Detroit

A project I and others have been working on for more than two years finally went public last week, when Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Jamaal Bowman introduced the Living Wage for Musicians Act.

And then I came down with a raging head cold, right on cue. This often happens to me at the end of a tour, or after a recording session. It’s not my favorite way to celebrate, but it’s an old enough pattern that I know what my body means: good job. Now take some Vitamin C, echinacea, and go to bed.

Same as a tour or a recording, it was a huge joint effort to bring a bill to this point. The Living Wage for Musicians Act was put together by Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s staff, together with the Streaming Committee for United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW). UMAW in turn has had, as pro bono legal counsel, the Cyberlaw Clinic directed by Christopher Bavitz at Harvard Law School. The UMAW Streaming Committee – a dedicated group of musicians and activists each bringing their own special skills and energy to the table – also called on advice from entertainment lawyer Henderson Cole, and legal scholar Rohan Grey. All told, with the Harvard law students who participated in the Cyberlaw Clinic, and those of us who have put time into the Streaming Committee, and the many stakeholders in the music industry whom we consulted, there are literally dozens and dozens of people who volunteered their time and ideas toward this collective action.

And the work isn’t done, not by a longshot. But more of it will happen in public now, and potentially with your participation. If you are a musician or music worker, please take a look at what this bill aims to accomplish and consider adding your name in public support. If you don’t work in music but support this idea, please help our effort by writing your representative and urging them to cosponsor Rep. Tlaib’s bill.

As for the bill itself: following is the text as it stands. There is a summary on the UMAW website, and many in the popular press articles that covered Rep. Tlaib’s announcement. There is much to discuss in its details, and I look forward to taking up that conversation with all interested parties, including here on Dada Drummer Almanach. But for now, I’m getting plenty of fluids.

Listening to: The Past Is Still Alive, by Hurray for the Riff Raff

Cooking: chicken soup (it can’t hurt)