Songwriters as Workers
We’re living through a major turning point in unionization efforts in the United States. Amazon Labor Union scored a historic win at the JF8 Amazon warehouse last month defeating anti-labor tactics of one of America’s largest corporations. Independent Starbucks stores all over the country are voting to unionize successfully as well. The efforts have been so successful that Starbucks’ CEO has offered raises to Starbucks stores that don’t unionize - an illegal activity that needs to be reported as such. For those wondering, yes this labor movement is relevant to you as a songwriter.
Songwriters are laborers. Though they do not have a set place of work like an Amazon or Starbucks employee, they share a set of interests that pit them against major corporations like Spotify, Apple, record labels, and even publishing companies. This set of interests include but are not limited to increasing streaming royalty rates, increasing mechanical royalty rates, the establishment of faster, more transparent payment models, and the elimination of predatory contracts in favor of ethical contracts standards.
Because songwriters don’t have a workplace or a shared employer, unionization efforts are difficult. Still, I think the first step is to ask songwriters to imagine what could happen if they wielded collective power. A songwriter’s strike for instance would deny streaming sites + labels new music which might lead to better royalty rates. A joint refusal to sign contracts with certain clauses might lead to the elimination of unfavorable contracts for songwriters. Collective power generally leads to collective benefit.
There are some organizers attempting to change things in our industry. The Union of Music and Allied Workers, which boasts 20k followers on Instagram, has staged protests at the Spotify offices in Los Angeles and circulated a widely signed petition in attempts to get Spotify to pay 1 cent per stream. They argue for the ethical and moral imperative of fair wages for artists, songwriters, and music workers. Though they have not succeeded as of yet, UMAW could prove to be a powerful advocating union on behalf of songwriters in the future.
Something has got to give. Songwriters deserve to be compensated fairly for their work. If we view songwriters as laborers first and foremost, then we might be able to better advocate for ourselves as a collective whose interests are at odds with corporate power. Perhaps, under this framework, we can develop a music industry structure that benefits the people making the songs.
