Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Spencer Peppet, Organizer and Musician from United Musicians and Allied Workers
1:17:06
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69 sec
Spencer Peppet, a musician and organizer with United Musicians and Allied Workers, testified about the challenges facing musicians in New York City and the importance of the Living Wage for Musicians Act. She emphasized the need for higher streaming payments to keep music a viable profession in the city.
- Musicians are facing multiple challenges including predatory label deals and low show pay
- The Living Wage for Musicians Act is seen as a crucial first step in making music a feasible profession
- There's a risk of musicians being priced out of New York City, threatening its status as a music capital
Spencer Peppet
1:17:06
Hi.
1:17:07
My name is Spencer Peppet.
1:17:09
I am a musician living in New York.
1:17:11
I'm in Ridgewood, Queens.
1:17:14
I also am an organizer with UMa, and I play in a band that tours and releases music.
1:17:20
I think musicians are getting hit on all sides.
1:17:24
We are facing predatory label deals, low show pay, and one of the main ways that we begin to make being a musician a feasible profession in the current age is through the Living Wage for Musicians Act, because it's the first step towards creating, again, a feasible way for this profession to stay a profession.
1:17:48
Right now, musicians are getting priced out of New York.
1:17:52
We are struggling to make ends meet.
1:17:54
If we want New York to stay one of the music capitals of the world and of the country, of course, I think that we need to acknowledge that people are getting priced out and the only way that we fix that is through higher payments from streaming and it's a good first step to then address the rest of the music industry as well.
1:18:14
That's all.
1:18:15
Thank you.