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Friday, January 23, 2026
New President of NYC Musicians' Union on Broadway Strike, AI and More
www.hollywoodreporter.com: Dan Point has taken over the leadership of the American Federation of Musicians Local 802, the union for Broadway and New York City musicians, months after the union was set to go on strike.
5 comments:
NeonGreen
said...
I remember reading about the musician’s union possibly striking late last year, and the comically late time that they reached an agreement. What stood out to me about that story was how close to the deadline executives took discussions against the threat of a strike. On the other points Point discussed, I find it interesting that local 802 has a say in the use of AI. Specifically considering the knowledge that consumers would receive based on whether or not music they are listening to uses AI. My own perspective is that consumers deserve to know how AI is used in both the art they consume and how their own creations are used in AI. Personally being against the use of AI, I can imagine that a talking point in these negotiations with local 802 was the impact this knowledge would have on the profit of production studios that do use AI. I hope that if discussions continue, these restrictions will sway studios against using AI.
After reading the headline of this article, I immediately wondered what the relationship between the American Federation of Musicians Local 802’s new president, Dan Point, would be with the new New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani. It’s incredibly refreshing to see a mayor actively work in tandem with unions rather than the corporations/industries they fall under. Additionally, I think this article is yet another indicator of not just the dire situation at hand, but potentially some hope for the future of the entertainment industry. So many other unions of different entertainment workers besides musicians such as writers, technicians and actors across the United States have also either been threatening strikes or actively pursuing them. I don’t know if we’ve ever seen such momentum before, and the unfortunate potential of AI replacing workers furthers efforts. I hope for nothing but success in Local 802’s future in wishing that they will not have to resort to the drastic measures of striking, but also in support of their fight against AI integration in the arts to allow for creativity in an industry that is driven by human expression and innovation.
Maybe I’m just not up with the times, but I see no reason why AI should be involved in creating any form of art. Art is about creative expression and human emotion, putting a piece of your soul out in the world to elicit an emotional reaction from other people; and AI has no place in that process. In regards to music specifically, the inclusion of AI would simply be a compromise to the integrity of the artist and the work, also taking away jobs that are best performed with the knowledge of a human ear. I understand that in rapidly changing times it makes sense to work with the up and coming technology, but I really think musicians should be wary of agreeing to train the machines with their work, and stray away from using AI in their work at all. With all that being said, it is important that this is a conversation that is being had and that solutions are being looked into.
The very first things that stick out to me are his goals to take on AI recorded music and also work with the New York City mayor in making ticketing affordable for communities. These are some wonderful goals that I feel are some of the greatest concerns for people in the industry right now. A lot of artists are terrified of what this new AI can do with creating music. Is there going to be a point whereArtist are completely erased, and all the art that we see or that is mainstreamed is from artificial intelligence? I am glad to see that someoneIs standing up. I am also incredibly excited to seeHow this new mayor and he work together to address the ticketing prices and how expensive they have been getting these past couple of years. To be honest, I have been a little bit removed from the topic of The musicians Almost going on strike because I'm not a musician, but reading about it really puts a new perspective on just how many people are affected by these unfair working conditions, not just the cast, not just the crew. Every single aspect of theater is effected.
Firstly, I find it absolutely absurd that currently musicians do not have a choice as to whether or not their work is training AI. As a consumer I think it is absolutely ridiculous that any form of AI could currently be marketed to me without my knowledge, (though I’d only hope I have good enough taste to avoid it anyways…) I’m hoping to see more successes for the musician’s union. It's heartbreaking having to watch people battle for the bare minimum right now but it is just about our entire working class, tragically. I do love to see this attempt to lower the access barrier to see live shows, ticket prices are a highly important thing to pay attention to. It all just feels absurd, how much of a struggle it is for artists to 1. Have ways to opt out of training/listeners have ways of knowing they’re listening to AI, 2. Make enough money to sustain, 3. Have any kind of reasonable ticket prices.
5 comments:
I remember reading about the musician’s union possibly striking late last year, and the comically late time that they reached an agreement. What stood out to me about that story was how close to the deadline executives took discussions against the threat of a strike. On the other points Point discussed, I find it interesting that local 802 has a say in the use of AI. Specifically considering the knowledge that consumers would receive based on whether or not music they are listening to uses AI. My own perspective is that consumers deserve to know how AI is used in both the art they consume and how their own creations are used in AI. Personally being against the use of AI, I can imagine that a talking point in these negotiations with local 802 was the impact this knowledge would have on the profit of production studios that do use AI. I hope that if discussions continue, these restrictions will sway studios against using AI.
After reading the headline of this article, I immediately wondered what the relationship between the American Federation of Musicians Local 802’s new president, Dan Point, would be with the new New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani. It’s incredibly refreshing to see a mayor actively work in tandem with unions rather than the corporations/industries they fall under. Additionally, I think this article is yet another indicator of not just the dire situation at hand, but potentially some hope for the future of the entertainment industry. So many other unions of different entertainment workers besides musicians such as writers, technicians and actors across the United States have also either been threatening strikes or actively pursuing them. I don’t know if we’ve ever seen such momentum before, and the unfortunate potential of AI replacing workers furthers efforts. I hope for nothing but success in Local 802’s future in wishing that they will not have to resort to the drastic measures of striking, but also in support of their fight against AI integration in the arts to allow for creativity in an industry that is driven by human expression and innovation.
Maybe I’m just not up with the times, but I see no reason why AI should be involved in creating any form of art. Art is about creative expression and human emotion, putting a piece of your soul out in the world to elicit an emotional reaction from other people; and AI has no place in that process. In regards to music specifically, the inclusion of AI would simply be a compromise to the integrity of the artist and the work, also taking away jobs that are best performed with the knowledge of a human ear. I understand that in rapidly changing times it makes sense to work with the up and coming technology, but I really think musicians should be wary of agreeing to train the machines with their work, and stray away from using AI in their work at all. With all that being said, it is important that this is a conversation that is being had and that solutions are being looked into.
The very first things that stick out to me are his goals to take on AI recorded music and also work with the New York City mayor in making ticketing affordable for communities. These are some wonderful goals that I feel are some of the greatest concerns for people in the industry right now. A lot of artists are terrified of what this new AI can do with creating music. Is there going to be a point whereArtist are completely erased, and all the art that we see or that is mainstreamed is from artificial intelligence? I am glad to see that someoneIs standing up. I am also incredibly excited to seeHow this new mayor and he work together to address the ticketing prices and how expensive they have been getting these past couple of years. To be honest, I have been a little bit removed from the topic of The musicians Almost going on strike because I'm not a musician, but reading about it really puts a new perspective on just how many people are affected by these unfair working conditions, not just the cast, not just the crew. Every single aspect of theater is effected.
Firstly, I find it absolutely absurd that currently musicians do not have a choice as to whether or not their work is training AI. As a consumer I think it is absolutely ridiculous that any form of AI could currently be marketed to me without my knowledge, (though I’d only hope I have good enough taste to avoid it anyways…) I’m hoping to see more successes for the musician’s union. It's heartbreaking having to watch people battle for the bare minimum right now but it is just about our entire working class, tragically. I do love to see this attempt to lower the access barrier to see live shows, ticket prices are a highly important thing to pay attention to. It all just feels absurd, how much of a struggle it is for artists to 1. Have ways to opt out of training/listeners have ways of knowing they’re listening to AI, 2. Make enough money to sustain, 3. Have any kind of reasonable ticket prices.
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