I’ve been in the music business for 30 years. In the 30 years, I’ve worn and continue to ware many hats which is necessary in order to make enough money to support my family.
Married with three Children ages- 12, 8 & 7. My youngest, diagnosed with autism.
My job titles include:
Events Entertainment Company owner, Booking Agent, Audio & Video installation for houses of worship, Sound for live events, DJ, Drummer, Percussionist Live & Studio.
50% of the work I do myself, 50% I use independent contractors. i.e. Sound Tech’s, Lighting Tech, Musicians, DJ’s.
On a given week, I may have 2-6 events. I may play drums and provide sound for a Temple Gig on Fri, DJ a wedding sat, provide sound & lighting for a Corp event sun AM & play a Jazz gig sun night.
There is really no other option to make a living with my skill sets.
I’ve tried working for AEG & Live Nation, but these jobs limited my earning potential and didn’t allow the flexibility to care for my children. Especially my special needs child.
I’ve never known any other model that works for this particular industry.
*aside from the Record Industry which has a very different business model*
AB-5 as written makes it virtually impossible for me to run my company without going bankrupt.
IC’s are an integral part of this business. I can choose and in-turn, others can choose to work with me or not based on a particular event or gig presented.
Both are very competitive, which is healthy. As a business owner and freelancer you have to work constantly on your business and artistry. My business succeeds or fails because of me not anyone else.
I’m constantly having to upgrade my equipment to be on pair with my competitors.
As an artist, I continue to practice My skills to stay competitive. This is a life long journey.
Thus far I’ve only lost one client.
But more are sure to follow if AB-5 as written continues.
For my business, I’m frantically working to figure out best practices to be able to continue having a business.
At the end of the day, the cost of doing business both as a IC and company owner just jumped 30-60%. Surly the end clients won’t pay these increases, leaving the 100’s of thousands of IC’s and small business left with nothing.
And very likely homeless.
I firmly believe, that once the government sees how much economic harm & impact AB-5 has and will continue to do to California’s economy, the Law will change. Unfortunately I believe a lot more damage will be done before this is realized.
The AFL-CIO has no right to dictate how work is done, who works, for how much and for how long. For those not directly a member of a union.
If they had built 300 unions for the missed classified IC’s, and incentivized those to join those unions, this would be a very different conversation.
The fact that assembly bill five was put into law is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
This is how the music business has worked for hundreds of years. If you don’t like our business, the least you could do is educate yourself in how our business is conducted before killing it.
I perform for various events and venues with a band. We’re all independent contractors who are seniors and tax paying citizens who survive off of our music income. We pay taxes. Don’t destroy families and the economy and make the homeless situation worse.
I work at home due to a medical issue. My work is all computer based paralegal and court work. I’m a sole proprietorship. I do everything myself. So far I’ve been unaffected but I live with a huge concern that that will change.
Because of the nature of our work. It’s sporadic there’s not need to have someone as an employee. I may use someone one day and not use them the remainder of the year. We contact interpreters based on their availability, so I couldn’t ever hire the same interpreter as they may be tied up elsewhere.
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