Source: S. M. Berg, “Musical Conditions in New York,” Moving Picture World 14 October 1916, 237.Musical Conditions in New York
By S. M. Berg
Among the numerous inquiries received from musicians throughout the country, one of the most common is “what are my chances in New York City?”
Some go into detail on their years of experience they have had as musicians, telling the class of music they are conversant with, and how they are able to compose and arrange. Others will write me they hear of the enormous salaries being paid to certain men, and that here in this great city is the opportunity to get one of the big salaried positions that are frequently offered. Then many will tell me of the poor opportunities for advancement in the town they are in, and how they have been told by their relatives and friends of their capabilities, that New York is the only place for them to come to and quickly climb the ladder of success. I have in no way exaggerated or overdrawn, but have endeavored to state clearly from my personal experience in the past ten years, what is the real condition of affairs in New York.
The Musician’s union, which is allied to the American Federation of Labor, has a membership of about 7,000. It is financially strong, and has usually won everything it has gone after. All of the leading theaters playing Drama, Opera, Comic Opera, Musical Comedy or Burlesque, and the leading motion picture theaters engage exclusively union musicians. The Hotels, Restaurants, Cafes and Cabarets engage on the average about 33 per cent union musicians.
The largest combination in greater New York, of theaters which play pictures or vaudeville and pictures the conditions are peculiar, as no outsider really knows how the music is handled. The company trade under one man’s name. Some of the houses playing vaudeville and pictures engage union musicians.
The rest have non-union men, and when the question “why” is asked, the answer is given that he books the shows but has no financial interest in the house.
The second largest company controls a number of theaters playing vaudeville and pictures or pictures only. The whole combination is non-union, and the their largest circle of theaters playing vaudeville and pictures only, the musicians again are non-union.
The union scale of salaries for pictures in New York City for the two shows a day, seven days a week is $28.00 per man, double for leader, and the price per man ranges to about $40.00 according to the scale of admission prices. On the face of such a statement as this it would appear that fair wages and plenty of work is open to musicians, be they union or non-union. Here is the other side of the question.
As stated before, the union is composed of 7,000 members. The test of capability as a musician is ridiculously simple. In fact candidly it is disgraceful and some years ago when they were making an effort to control things, almost anybody that had the slightest idea of drawing a melody out of an instrument was accepted as a union musician, and qualified to take any job. A story is told, that a certain man who was in the habit of getting jobs for musicians at weddings, etc., according to the laws of the union, he could not be a contractor, and claim one-half of the leader’s money unless he was a member of the union so it became necessary for him to become a musician and play some instrument. He took lessons on the flute and after two months applied for membership. He endeavored to play the “Star Spangled Banner” and after three attempts to play the first half was accepted.
There is a large number of men who are members of the union who are not qualified musicians in the true sense of the word. This raises the question “What is a qualified musician?” One who is acquainted with what is known as Standard Music and is able to play his part in any combination. Qualified to read with ease at sight, he should be a master of his instrument and be able to play the cadenzas, passages, etc., which are frequently marked solo in orchestrations, but I regret to state there is a large percentage of men without these capabilities. Now to the non-union men.
Owing to the war conditions, we have lying idle in New York over a thousand foreigners, who were in the habit of traveling to Europe as boat musicians. Then possibility there is another 8,000 men who are non-union. There is a second union the American International Musical and Theatrical Union, which claims to have about 3,000 members but are not allied to the Federation, their scale of prices being lower. Possibly my readers will now begin to realizes what all this means. Qualifications with the exception of very few instances cut no figure. Price is the consideration. Non-union men work for less. Union men that are in need are forced to accept below the scale. Union musicians can be found working in any of the three theater circles as non-union men and at very low salaries. Over two-thirds of the Restaurants, Cafes, Cabarets, have all kinds of mixed combinations. An instance was brought to me a few days ago at a picture theater at which application as director was made by a well-known Italian leader, a man who is in the habit of dressing in a white uniform with many medals. He explained to the proprietor what a good director he was and what a good orchestra he would give him. When prices were talked of, he said “My price is so much.” When asked the price of the orchestra he quote the union scale but was told the theater could not pay it. After much discourse he exclaimed “I have a friend in the outer office, permit me to bring him in.” His friend was brought in and after explanations were made told the proprietor he could supply the rest of the men, union men too, at a moderate figure which was far below the union scale.
I trust that my readers will not feel that I am falsifying my statement. There is a large body of competent qualified men, with honorable ideas but the abnormal conditions in New York forces a number of them who possibly have the best intentions but whose wives and children are in need of the necessities of life, to accept such propositions. What can they do?
A word as to the positions in the leading dramatic houses. This class of job is the easiest in the business. A stranger could not get one of these positions as they are almost all in the hands of men who have had them for years. Possibly for no other reason than they are known to the managers.
The few organists who are receiving high salaries are the exception. I am sure that if one were to insert an advertisement in the Evening Telegram (which has a column for musicians), for an organist wanted to play 7 or 8 hours a day at a salary of $30.00 a week, on would get 20 or 30 applicants.
In my earlier days I have been as far west as dear old ‘Frisco, and have traveled from New Orleans to Northern Canada. My personal experience with the qualification of musicians is far beyond the New York average. The salaries are not so high but the cost of living is much cheaper. The musician in the small city is looked upon with respect and is recognized as a professional man. He has the opportunity to do a little teaching but unfortunately here in this great city one might almost classify musicians as a necessary evil. In fact this very expression was used in my presence by a well-known restaurant proprietor. I sincerely hope that the day is not far distant when conditions will be changed.
In this great city the sincere and earnest musician is deserving of a living wage, but my knowledge of the conditions is that many qualified musicians willing to accept a position for $18.00 a week to play for 7 hours a day and 7 days a week, cannot find the work. With such conditions as these can you say that New York is the stepping stone to prosperity for musicians?
At the end of 1916, Berg left The Moving Picture World to become head of the music section for the Exhibitor's Trade Review. On 26 May 1917, he republished a lightly edited version of this same item, which I include below for sake of comparison:
Source: S. M. Berg, "Music for the Photoplay," Exhibitor's Trade Review 26 May 1917, 1753.Among the numerous inquiries received from musicians throughout the country, one of the most common is, “What are my chances in New York City?”
Some go into detail on their years of experience they have had as musicians, telling the class of music they are conversant with, and how they are able to compose and arrange. Others will write me they hear of the enormous salaries they hear of, which are paid to certain men and feel that if they were given the opportunity they could fill one of these big salaried positions. Then again, many will complain of the poor opportunities for advancement in the town they are in, and how they have been told by their relatives of their capabilities and that New York is the only place for them to come to and quickly climb the ladder of success.
The editor has in no way exaggerated or overdrawn but has endeavored to state clearly from his personal experience during the past ten years, what is the real conditions of affairs are in New York. The classes to be considered are the union and non-union musicians.
The Musician’s Union, which is allied to the American Federation of Labor, has a membership of about 7,000. It is financially strong and has usually won everything it has gone after. All of the leading theaters playing the drama, opera, comic opera, musical comedy or burlesque, together with the leading motion picture theaters engage exclusively union musicians. Hotels, restaurants, cafes and cabarets engage on the average about 33 per cent. union musicians.
The largest circuit of theatres in greater New York that play pictures or vaudeville and pictures, has peculiar conditions as no outsider really knows how the music end is handled. However, some of the houses playing vaudeville and pictures engage union musicians while the rest have non-union men. The second largest circuit of theatres playing vaudeville and pictures, or pictures only, is also peculiarly situated.
There are two other unions in New York City, which are not allied with the American Federation of Labor, whose members also hold positions in the various circuit theatres.
The union scale of salaries for pictures in New York City for the two shows a day, seven days a week is $28.00 per man, double for leader, and the price per man ranges to about $42.50, according to the scale of admission. On the face of such a statement as this, it seems that fair wages and plenty of work is open to musicians, regardless of whether they are union or non-union. Here is the other side of the question.
As stated before, the union is composed of 7,000 members. The test of capability as a musician is ridiculously simple. In fact, candidly, it is disgraceful, and some years ago when they were making an effort to control things almost anybody that had the slightest idea of drawing a melody out of an instrument was accepted as a union musician, and qualified to take the job. A story is told that a certain man who was in the habit of getting jobs for musicians at dances, weddings, etc., according to the laws of the union, could not be a contractor, and claim one-half of the leader’s money unless he was a member of the union. It therefore became necessary for him to become a musician and play some instrument. He then took up lessons on the flute and after two months applied for membership. He endeavored to play the “Star Spangled Banner,” and after three attempts was finally accepted. Now to the non-union men.
Owing to the war conditions, we have lying idle in New York hundreds of foreigners, who were in the habit of travelling to Europe as boat musicians. Possibly readers will now begin to realize what all this means. Qualifications with but few exceptions cut no figure. Prices are the only consideration. Non-union men work for less. Union men who are in need, are forced to accept positions far below the scale.
Union musicians can be found working in any of the three theatre circuits as non-union men and at very low salaries. Over two-thirds of the restaurants, cabarets, and cafes have all kinds of mixed combinations. An instance of this kind was enacted a few days ago at a picture theatre at which application as a director was made by a well-known Italian leader, who is in the habit of dressing in a white uniform with many medals. He explained to the proprietor what a good director he was and what a fine orchestra he would give him. When prices were talked of, he said “My prices are so much.” When asked the price of the orchestra he quoted the union scale, but upon being told the theatre could not pay it he brought in a friend who explained to the proprietor that he could supply union men at a moderate figure which was far below the union scale. With such obstacles as these, can one blame those musicians, who possibly have the best of intentions but whose wives and children are in need of the necessities of life, for accepting such propositions?
A word as to the positions in the leading dramatic houses. This class of job is the easiest in the business, but a stranger could not get one of these positions as they are almost all in the hands of men who have had them for years for no other reason probably than they are known to the managers.
The few organists who are receiving high salaries are the exception. I am sure that if one were to insert an advertisement in the Evening Telegram (which has a column for musicians) for an organist wanted to play seven or eight hours a day at a salary of $30.00 a week, one would get 20 or 30 applicants.
The early career of the editor has taken him from coast to coast, and his experiences with the qualification of musicians are far beyond the New York average. The salaries are not so high but the cost of living is much cheaper. The musician in the small city is looked upon with respect and is recognized as a professional man. He has the opportunity to do a little teaching, but unfortunately here in this great city one might almost classify musicians as a necessary evil. In fact this very expression was used in my presence by a well known restaurant proprietor. However, we sincerely hope that the day is not far distant when conditions will be vastly different.
In this great city the sincere and earnest musician is deserving of a living wage, but with the conditions as mentioned above, many qualified musicians are willing to accept a position for $18.00 a week to play seven hours a day and seven days a week, cannot find the work. With such a state of affairs, can you say that New York is the stepping stone to prosperity for musicians?
