This past weekend the Musicians Union of Catalunya along with a number of other unions, associations and entities called for a coordinated cultural blackout on social media and streaming platforms for 48 hours. This “strike” was in response to Spanish Minister of Culture José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes’ public statement in which he declared that the current global crisis "is not a crisis of culture," noting that the government was “concerned with more important matters,” and did not consider the economic concerns presented by the sector to be a priority.
The Union’s position is that weeks of mandatory quarantine have shown us more clearly than ever that culture—music, film, theater, books—plays a vital and even essential role in people's daily lives, and therefore has value. This value is created by people whose basic needs are not being recognized by the government during this desperate moment. The global pandemic has led to the worst economic crisis in the creative sector in recent history, a sector that even in the best of times is one of the most financially exposed and legally unprotected.
The great majority of people who work in the cultural sector all over the world find themselves without income for an indefinite period due to the coronavirus pandemic: from bass players to festival bookers, as well as stagehands, sound and lighting technicians, road managers, promoters, music teachers, cultural center employees and many others. German Culture Minister Monika Grütters has promised her government’s assistance to help alleviate the financial burden felt by the German creative sector, and other governments in the European Union have enacted similar legislation. The Spanish government had not yet responded to requests to follow suit, until Uribes’ declaration in the negative on April 8.
The Musicians Union, the Actor’s Union, the Academy of Catalan Music, and many others reacted by calling for a 48-hour freeze on all online cultural channels. No music, art, or other creative content would broadcast via social networks, streaming platforms, or web pages during this time. The digital blackout was to serve not only to underline the value that culture has in society’s day-to-day, but also as a call to action to the government to put into place the emergency measures that trade unions and associations had proposed to help alleviate the impact of the crisis.
A Mixed Response
The response to the digital strike by the public and the press has been mixed as well as volatile. Some see the timing as a selfish disregard for the problems of everyone else: music and culture are a few of the only elements keeping society from drowning, and it’s not appropriate to take what little happiness they have away from people in a moment when everyone is in such a bad position. The common view from this side is that creative professionals’ lives are not so bad; after all, they make a living doing what they love, and even though they’re out of work, so are a lot of people. It’s not as if they’re worse off than anyone else at the moment, what right do they have to act like divas and complain?
On the other side of the aisle are the people who ask: “What moment could be more appropriate to say ‘enough is enough’?” The government has promised assistance to multiple sectors in need but made it clear that this one is not important. The great majority of creative professionals are in fact “worse off” than many workers even in the best of times, in that they do not have access to unemployment or financial assistance. They do not have partial salaries or any income at all for the foreseeable future.
Taking into account the value of music and culture, especially in these trying times, many believe that the government has a duty to make sure that these same individuals—people who work for a living, like anyone else—can pay their bills and feed their families. The world is made a better place by what they do, and it’s wrong that they face such economic instability while everyone else depends on them to make the quarantine feel bearable. When even the one government official who is supposed to look out for these professionals’ interests publicly states that they are not an economic priority, things have gone too far.
Banksy in Boston F̶O̶L̶L̶O̶W̶ Y̶O̶U̶R̶ D̶R̶E̶A̶M̶S̶ CANCELLED, Essex St, Chinatown, Boston. Photo by Chris Devers (CC BY NC ND 2.0)
Making a Living
Hundreds upon hundreds of creatives adhered to the strike, but many people who depend on these industries to make a living felt torn. On one hand, they lack basic protections and are suffering. On the other, they also feel that music and culture is supposed to help people through times of crisis and want to do what they can to help. Others were unwilling to express themselves publicly for fear of reprisals and criticism from both sides.
We spoke with Ramon Vagué, a professional bass player, music professor, and a member of the board of directors of the Musician’s Union (Sindicat de Músics Activistes de Catalunya or SMAC) about why he believes that a cultural strike was necessary as well as long overdue.
Ramon Vagué, photo by Sabrina Ceballos.
Tell us a little about your musical career, and your role within the Musicians’ Union (SMAC).
Ramon Vagué: I started my professional career almost 22 years ago… that’s a lot of time in the trenches, full of bitter defeats and happy victories. I say “the trenches” because dedicating yourself to the arts in a world overrun with commercialism, without having come from a connected or wealthy family, entails a lot of hard work. That’s why I’m proud to be an active part of SMAC, which is arguably the only musicians union that actually looks out for the professional interests of the working musician.
My role within the union, along with the others who make up the executive board, is to address the individual as well as global challenges faced by our affiliates, and together with the union's lawyer and other colleagues, come up with long-term as well as short-term strategies to call attention to and counteract the multidimensional precariousness inherent in our profession.
You’re a bass player in several musical projects as well as a teacher. What effect has the global pandemic and resulting quarantine had on your projects and/or your classes? What are your short-term concerns?
RV: Think of it like this: If working in music is like balancing on a tightrope, the current situation is like adding to that scenario a cloud of wasps stinging us as we try not to fall. Musicians are on the bottom rung of the music industry, even though the entire multibillion-euro business is based on and built around our work. There are huge profit margins, but little to no legal protection for musicians, which creates ample opportunity for labor exploitation. These circumstances are compounded by the ineffectiveness and general apathy of the government when it comes to our rights and protections in the workplace.
Those active musicians who also teach have discovered the temporary, though not necessarily ideal, solution of giving online classes. But there is no temporary online solution for live music. For now, all the projects that we’ve invested years to bring to fruition are essentially dead in the water, as difficult as that is to say.
We at SMAC have been diligently following all new developments with regard to relief measures, but, unfortunately, we don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Cultural workers are not included in any government rescue plan, neither during nor following the pandemic.
How do you think the pandemic will affect the world of music and culture in the long term?
RV: It’s no less than catastrophic for creative professionals all over the country. There have been and will continue to be massive job losses. The extreme financial instability of most people who make their living in the cultural sector is mind-boggling, especially now. It’s like trying to continue to row in a boat with cracks in the hull, and without oars.
Any current estimation of the extent of the future damage falls short. Many concerts and other events are postponed, but “postponing” concerts camouflages the truth of the situation: the overlap with future dates in that calendar that had already been organized before all this, as well as the loss of new events that will not be programmed in order to make space for all of this reprogramming. This means that the normal flow of income, which is already at a minimum for a full-time musician, will be interrupted for at least a month, and these losses won’t be recouped.
In addition to the loss of income by musicians, the industry as a whole will close out the year without the ability to capitalize on profits with a view towards 2021, because everything will be losses across the board. Personally, I would say that we have not even begun to see the worst of it.
A large number of musicians are autónomo (self-employed). Has the government's statements in the past few days regarding the possibility of financial assistance for freelancers reassured you personally, or the union as a whole? If not, what feedback would you like to hear moving forward?
RV: The Government’s response has not been helpful, no. However, the problem we face goes even deeper than the recent statements (or lack thereof) regarding any possible financial assistance provided to freelancers.
The vast majority of self-employed artists and musicians have had to become autónomo because they have been forced to do so even though it goes against the current legislation. Venues and promoters insist on it, because it means that they don’t have to pay for musicians’ social security, which is in fact illegal. This hangs us out to dry completely. Within this perfect storm of industry-wide corruption and ineffectiveness on the part of those meant to enforce the laws, the metaphorical umbrella of any self-employed and intermittent worker is made of paper. This lack of security is magnified in the case of a musician because most of the time any attempt to assert your rights effectively means that you will not be hired.
But the government's recent statements are not reassuring at all, no. Not in regard to freelancers, and even less so in regard to the cultural sector. Few things generate more unease than empty platitudes like: “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” but with no action taken. At SMAC we are pressuring the government to finally live up to the public image that it likes to put out there: that of brave and responsible rulers who protect their most vulnerable when it comes to labor rights and social security, be it cultural workers, or any other kind of worker.
As a union we are very clear on one thing: we keep pushing because things will only advance if someone forces the issue.
What measures is the musicians union taking to try to help its members during this crisis?
RV: The crisis does not discriminate. It doesn’t distinguish between union affiliates or non-affiliated musicians. We’re working for the good of everyone, together with various players in the cultural industry, many of whom usually have opposing interests, but this time are united behind this single goal. We have all seen first-hand the impact of the waves of cancellations, of the evaporation of work for the foreseeable future. We have had meetings with government officials to discuss possible solutions, as well as carried out studies and surveys to quantify the short-term economic losses up to this point.
Likewise, we have drawn up and agreed on, together with various collectives and associations, a “shock” plan for the musical and artistic sector, with the goal of bringing the urgency of our situation to the attention of the Spanish government.
We ask the government to declare cultural assets to be of primary importance to society and to the economy, as other EU countries like Germany have already done, and to offer financial help to cultural institutions and artists whose livelihoods are threatened by the current situation. Culture is an immaterial good with a powerful social and economic return for the country. We want them to put into place a series of short-term rescue packages aimed at all musicians, both autonómo and those with a legal contract, as the sector is bleeding to death with each passing day.
What does the musicians’ union have to say about the free online concerts that many musicians are offering in these days of quarantine?
RV: We have no consensus on this as an organization. Personally, I believe that each artist is within his or her right to do so. It is a resource that has existed for the last several years and has served as an extremely effective promotional tool for many musicians; even, in many cases, creating new markets and revenue streams when managed creatively.
On the other hand, if you stop to consider the possible consequences of the sheer quantity of online concerts flooding the market in such a short period, some are concerned that they will have significantly devalued artists’ work when things go back to “normal.” Oversaturation, the trivialization of the effort that goes into creating art and music, repercussions on attendance at live concerts, a greater dependence on the internet to reach fans who no longer have to make an effort to seek out your music, and so on. I don’t know.
What was the purpose behind the call for a 48-hour moratorium on streaming concerts and other online cultural content?
RV: Our “culture strike” campaign is an attempt to draw upon the potential inherent in the use of these platforms, to harness the power that could be exerted over the decision makers if a large group of cultural workers to cut off online access to all of their material for a period of 48 hours. We need to demonstrate the importance and the value of culture, especially in the face of the government’s statements last week.
We creative professionals are already so dependent on these platforms that we’re almost slaves to them. Commercialization over creation has been endemic for years, especially since the advent of streaming platforms. The tool is in some ways part of the problem, so it makes sense to use it to generate positive change through action.
The sector wouldn’t be in such a vulnerable position in the first place if it weren’t for the lousy fiscal and employment structure which the music worker traditionally has had to navigate in this country. I want to emphasize “this” country, as other countries provide systems that provide more stability and protection. The lack of desire to improve the structure in the long term as well as the lack of will to apply the existing legislation is the root of the problem. The coronavirus pandemic only highlights how bad things really are and have been for a very long time.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
RV: Only to say thank you to you and the Metropolitan for caring enough and being brave enough to shine the light on those of us who are, for all intents and purposes, invisible.
What do you think? Write us at info@barcelona-metropolitan.com.