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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Tom Beamer, Recording Engineer and Mixer & Advocate from United Musicians and Allied Workers
1:22:11
·
84 sec
Tom Beamer, a recording engineer and mixer from Flatbush, discusses the broader impact of unfair streaming payouts on the music industry ecosystem. He emphasizes that when musicians are underpaid, it affects a wide range of associated professions and contributes to job migration to more affordable cities.
- Highlights the connection between fair pay for musicians and the economic health of related professions such as engineers, producers, and instrument makers.
- Points out the relationship between the music industry's struggles and broader issues like the cost of living crisis and housing affordability in NYC.
- Argues that enabling musicians to make a living from their music would have significant cultural and economic benefits for the city.
Tom Beamer
1:22:11
Hi.
1:22:12
My name is Tom Beamer.
1:22:13
I'm a recording engineer and mixer.
1:22:15
I live in Flatbush.
1:22:17
I just wanted to speak a little bit on the kind of wider ecosystem that's affected by, you know, these streaming payouts.
1:22:25
Know, when musicians are hurting, there's a whole industry of people associated with the music industry that also hurt, you know, recording engineers, mixers, producers, people in live sound field, you know, down to like luthiers, you know, composers, music copyists, and, you know, you know, the list goes on.
1:22:48
All all of these people are affected by, you know, musicians not getting fair pay.
1:22:54
You know, obviously, this has like it's related to, you know, the cost of living crisis, the housing affordability crisis in the city.
1:23:00
But we're seeing, you know, in the past, especially twenty years, we've seen a lot of these jobs, you know, not just musicians, but this broader ecosystem.
1:23:08
A lot of these jobs being moved out to LA, Nashville, Austin, other cities that that are are more affordable.
1:23:16
And I think that, you know, having, you know, having musicians being able to to make actually make a living from their music, you know, aside from the cultural impacts obviously like that economic impact on the city you know would be hugely beneficial.
1:23:34
Thank you.