Category Archives: All News
Sweetwater: 50 Years After Woodstock
On Aug. 15, 1969, half a million people gathered upon on a dairy farm in Bethel near White Lake, New York for a three-day music festival that would come to define a generation.
Billed as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music,” the epic event would later be known simply as Woodstock. Little did anyone imagine that it would become synonymous with the counterculture movement of the 1960s, and remains so five decades later. Continue reading
Musicians #BandTogether at Alex Theatre to Demand Fair Contract From Disney CEO Bob Iger
GLENDALE, CA (Oct. 2, 2019) — On Tuesday night more than 50 musicians held a flash-mob musical street performance outside of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s book signing event at the Alex Theatre as part of the grassroots #BandTogether campaign to demand that Disney and other major film and television studios improve standards for musicians’ work in new media. Continue reading
October 2019 Overture Online: #BandTogether
Inside This Issue:
- #BandTogether
Musicians mobilize for a fair contract - Sweetwater: 50 Years After Woodstock
The first band to play at Woodstock recalls the historic festival that defined a generation - Career Pathways Mentorship Program
Musicians changing lives one student at a time
and more!
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Overture Online is optimized for reading via smartphone or tablet. For those without access to a smart device, issues may be viewed on a web browser here. Local 47 members may download archived pdf versions from the members section at afm47.org.
LA Jazz Society Honors Lee Ritenour & More at 2019 Awards Concert
Jazz lovers are encouraged to get their tickets soon for a spectacular concert on October 5, 2019 as the Los Angeles Jazz Society honors jazz legends and supporters at the Montalban Theatre.
The Jazz Tribute honoree this year is Grammy award winning jazz guitarist, AFM Local 47 Life Member Lee Ritenour, being recognized for his long career spanning 40+ years, and his tremendous support of young musicians as well as through the Six String Theory Competition. Continue reading
LA Times: How the rise of streaming might turn Hollywood musicians into an endangered species
Hollywood musicians, those foot soldiers who bring the work of celebrated composers such as John Williams (“Star Wars”), James Horner (“Titanic”) and Hans Zimmer (“Dunkirk”) to life, have faced a mound of professional challenges in recent years.
Producers record their film scores in London or other overseas locations to avoid paying union scale, digital recordings have eaten away at opportunities for live players, and studios penny-pinch on music in countless ways even though their recording budgets are typically a tiny piece of a project’s budget — a $100-million project might spend less than $400,000 on musicians’ pay.
But now the musicians are facing a threat that some call potentially an “extinction-level event.” It’s the takeover of the entertainment industry by streaming video services.
Pension Fund Retiree Representative Meeting
AFM & Employer’s Pension Fund
Retiree Representative Meeting
Wednesday, October 2, 2019, 1-3 p.m.
Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport
2500 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA
Final Note: Matthew Lincoln Utal
Former Life Member. Saxophone
7/13/1926 – 9/5/2019
Matt Utal passed away at the age of 93 on September 5, 2019. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 13, 1926 to Eunice Bloom and Louis Wattel. Eunice later moved to California and married Michael Utal, who adopted Matt in 1931. He began to study piano as a little boy. Continue reading
Hooray for Hollywood: 18th Annual Music Fund Golf Tournament
On Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, please join us at the 18th Annual Music Fund Fall Classic Golf Tournament, our biggest fundraising event of the year, for a festive day of golf, fun, and music – all for a good cause!
All funds from the tournament will be used to assist musicians in a serious financial crisis and to sponsor youth music programs throughout Los Angeles. Continue reading
AB5: What it means for musicians
A message from RMALA:
We have been hearing about concern in the community about potential effects of AB5, the recently passed California legislation that is on track for our Governor’s signature.
AB5 was created in Sacramento to implement a California Supreme Court decision from last year, the Dynamex ruling, in which a unanimous court limited the ability to classify some workers as independent contractors. AB5 was essentially created to carve some exemptions out from the ruling, not to add classifications. So, doctors, plumbers, private tutors and some others are being exempted from the court ruling by AB5. Continue reading