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In order to offer a buyout, NES cannot use AFM agreements. This means that any NES recording session will be a non-union date. Should an AFM member choose to take these sessions, he or she will have no contractual protection from Local 47 or the Federation. The hard reality is that non-union dates are being performed in Los Angeles on a daily basis, by union musicians. NES sessions are conducted professionally, and have enabled musicians to supplement their income to make up for the diminishing amount of union work. NES’ Fi-Core sessions are a legal way for LA musicians to work as much as they can without fear of fines. Accepting a non-union date also means that no contributions will be made on your behalf to the AFM Pension Fund, the Motion Picture and Television Fund, and/or Local 47's Health & Welfare Fund. As far as Local 47 understands, NES has offered no alternative for pension planning and/or health coverage for its participants. Union members who currently accept non-union dates don’t receive any of the benefits mentioned above. Because of the diminishing union work, many members do not even qualify for health insurance under the Union contract, and must make additional monthly payments to obtain basic coverage. NES actually has had many discussions with musicians about including group health care benefits, as well as concepts such as profit sharing. NES’ long-term plan is to offer these benefit options to musicians on all its sessions. Maybe NES isn't such a good idea after all. Local 47’s opposition to NES stems from its need to protect the status quo, which serves a relatively small amount of preferred members in its union. NES believes in leveling the playing field for all Southern California musicians. We are empowering individuals with information about their rights, and are providing more work for musicians by establishing a buy-out rate for non-signatory clients in order to supplement AFM contract work. Regardless of what NES reports, the recording industry knows that premiere professional musicians are AFM musicians. Membership ensures that you will be taken seriously in your craft and that your work will be protected. If this is a fact, why does so much of the “recording industry” take its work out of town to record its music? What makes Southern California musicians the best in the world is their years of dedication to their craft, not full-dues membership in the AFM. NES strongly believes that coupling the premier musicianship of Southern California with a competitive economic package for clients will ensure that our musicians can reclaim much of the work that actually originates in L.A. but leaves town to record. 4
Offering a buyout may be a quick fix, but NES will undercut any and all AFM recording agreements, weakening our Union and eventually eliminating the possibility of new-use and special payments. Special payments are a valuable benefit and we all want to see them continue to be honored whenever possible. But the reality is that so much session work is already avoiding special payments by going non-union in destinations outside of Los Angeles. NES is bringing these clients back to work in LA. This opportunity ultimately strengthens the union member. Local musicians can then perform both existing AFM Signatory work (under AFM contracts) and Non-signatory work (as Fi-Core musicians) and greatly increase their income opportunities. The AFM is aware that "runaway scoring" is one of the most important issues facing our union. Losing recording to non-union cities and countries has cost us and we continue to look for new ways to address the issue. But we know that resigning from the AFM is not the answer. Offering a buyout is not the answer. And NES is not the answer. Over the past decade, the AFM has done little about runaway scoring, as evidenced by the continual flight of work to other venues outside of LA. Obviously, the AFM does not offer an answer to this critical issue. To date, many groups have done a lot of talking about the problems. NES is the only entity implementing a real solution. We’re offering a legal way for non-signatory clients to work here in LA with a buyout agreement. We are paying musicians a competitive wage. We are making it possible for musicians to perform any work they choose without fear of fines or penalties. NES is strictly motivated by the needs of local musicians. We encourage an open-minded discussion on the many issues facing our industry. Please visit our website at www.newerascoring.com for a wealth of information on Financial Core and NES, and discuss relevant topics on our open forum at www.katskin.co.uk/newera. NES is a movement committed to effecting real change for the benefit of all musicians in Southern California. Feel free to contact us at newerascoring@gmail.com to share your thoughts with us. Thank you, The New Era Scoring Consortium 5
Page 1 and 2: NEW ERA SCORING OFFICIAL STATEMENT
Page 3: The option to take agency fee statu

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