Thread by @WeAreTheMU

Good morning! This is Naomi Pohl, Deputy General Secretary of the Musicians’ Union.

I’m taking over @WeAreTheMU to answer your questions about working as a musician, the impact of coronavirus and anything else on your mind #AskTheMU

#coronavirusupdate #covid19uk #coronavirusuk

Ask your questions using the hashtag #AskTheMU. We’ll be taking them at random from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I will try to get through as many as I can in the next 45 minutes. #AskTheMU

If we don’t get to your question, take a look at our coronavirus advice hub at theMU.org/coronavirus.
MU members can also can contact their Regional Office for advice and assistance at theMU.org/contact #AskTheMU

Our first question is from Rick via Facebook: “Would the Musician's Union PLEASE explain what they are doing in terms of lobbying the Government for help with "Loss of Earnings" for self-employed Musicians?” facebook.com/12234918446253… #AskTheMU

We're speaking with MPs every day to lobby on key asks and have a lot of support. We're calling for a figure that at least matches the living wage. We're calling for this to be easy to apply for and in place as soon as possible (1/2)

We're also working with @UK_Music to lobby MPs for this universal basic income for musicians. We'll be posting an update as soon as we can and updated actions for musicians to do in support - NP #AskTheMU (2/2)

“I was wondering about my subscription which will be up for renewal soon. I have no work, family, overheads, etc. I’m not sure what to do... Any thoughts?” From Jonny on Facebook. Read his question in full > facebook.com/12234918446253… #AskTheMU

Absolutely Jonny, we understand that many members will be struggling to pay their subs at the moment. We are working to offer financial support and will launch this early next week when we have all the details worked out including how people can apply (1/2)

If you are in immediate financial hardship, please contact Help Musicians as in some cases they can cover bills and mortgage payments as well as offering counselling and other support > helpmusicians.org.uk/news/latest-ne… (2/2)

“How safe am I playing live ATM? How can I insure social distancing when people keep coming up to me to request songs” - DM from anon #AskTheMU

That's a really good question. We know that many of our members are still gigging and some smaller events are still happening. Our Live Performance team has come up with some really useful advice in this area for those who are working musiciansunion.org.uk/Home/Advice/co… - NP #AskTheMU

“Does the union have any practical suggestions for plugging the income gap?" Question from Anna via DM #AskTheMU

The main thing we need right now is proper Government support for freelancers. We are looking at practical tips we can give as well. I know many members are still offering individual or small group teaching in person or online. We have advice on this at themu.org/coronavirus

Same with gigs. Others are crowdfunding, selling merch online etc. Bandcamp has announced they are dropping their commission today daily.bandcamp.com/features/bandc… Everyone is being really creative. We'll get more advice to help as soon as we can at themu.org/coronavirus - NP

Hi Terry. We absolutely understand that this is a difficult time for a lot of people. Instead of discounting subs for everyone when some members are still able to contribute, we are looking at financial support for those suffering financial hardship (1/2)

https://twitter.com/terryseabrook/status/1240924367577587713?s=20

It will be launched early next week & we are working to make it as quick and easy to access as we can. You can also try @HelpMusiciansUK. We understand that this is an unprecedented crisis for our members and all our staff are focused on handling calls and queries - NP (2/2)

“I tried getting hold of MU today no answer” says Lauren on Facebook > facebook.com/12234918446253… #AskTheMU

Hi Lauren, I’m sorry to hear that. We are receiving high volumes of enquiries. Our staff are working flat out to answer as quickly as possible. I'll follow this up and ask someone to ring you today - NP

“All my gigs will be cancelled. which benefits should i be applying for?” asks Dave via Facebook > facebook.com/12234918446253… #AskTheMU

You can apply for Universal Credit. See musiciansunion.org.uk/Home/Advice/co… It's far from perfect, but it's something for now until we can get something better. Worth mentioning musicians have reported to us that they are being refused because money set aside to pay tax is classed as savings

That's why we are lobbying government for a universal basic income for self-employed musicians who are unable to work during this crisis. We'll be sending out more information on what we need and how you can get involved soon - NP #AskTheMU

Hi @prinzessamerica. We are talking to MPs every day and working with the music industry to lobby for change. We will update members on that work soon and let you know how you can get involved - NP

https://twitter.com/prinzessamerica/status/1240828102353268736?s=20

“If I want to cover songs by other artists do I need to get permission to perform them on a live stream?” Next up we're running through some questions from Robin via DM... #AskTheMU

No, my understanding is that (in the UK) you don’t need permission unless it’s a new arrangement. If it’s a straight cover, then it’s just a matter of royalties being distributed by PRS to the writer. See prsformusic.com/royalties/onli… - NP

Btw YouTube is licensed on a blanket basis with PRS but this translates into low royalties per stream for the writer, much lower than for Spotify for example. That's something we are working on & the EU Copyright Directive would have helped with - NP

“Do I maintain the same rights to my music on a live stream for a gig as I would at a music venue?” From Robin via DM #AskTheMU

Sort of. PRS licenses online platforms and distributes royalties to writers whose works feature. YouTube royalties are too low in our view; they don’t take responsibility for paying for music used in user generated content. Our R&B team can advise themu.org/contact - NP

If you want to try and make some money from YouTube while you're unable to gig, there is some advice for creators and joining the partners programme at youtube.com/user/creatorac… - NP #AskTheMU

Thanks everyone for your questions, I hope we've been able to help. For more advice see themu.org/coronavirus I'm spending the rest of my day looking at how we're supporting musicians, and talking to industry bodies about working together to put pressure on Government - NP

MU members can always contact our Regional Offices for specific advice on contracts, cancellations, payments and your rights via theMU.org/contact We'll let you know when the next #AskTheMU is happening asap! Stay safe and well everyone - NP