The American Federation of Musicians , the labor union representing professional musicians working on stage, film and television, plans to stage a rally in New York this Wednesday as they kick off negotiations with the networks on a new agreement covering the musicians who populate the bands on Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The AFM’s current Live TV and Videotape Agreement expires in October. Adding a sense of urgency to the negotiations is the recent dismissal of Late Night with Seth Meyers’ house band, reportedly at NBC’s insistence.
The AFM and its NYC chapter, the Local 802, are calling on all union members and allies to attend “A Rally for a Fair Contract” in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday September 4th. Members have also been asked to stay to observe as the bargaining process between union leaders and the networks begin.
Earlier this year, the AFM successfully negotiated a new deal with AMPTS covering musicians working in film, which included enhanced healthcare contributions, performance bonuses, and new protections to safeguard against generative artificial intelligence.
In addition to a wage increase, the union’s negotiating committee is expected to push for similar updates to its Live TV and Videotape Agreement with the TV networks, which covers not only house bands, but also guest artists, back-up musicians, and music preparation personnel.
It promises to be a delicate negotiation. While clips from late-night shows attract huge audiences on YouTube and social media, networks have struggled to monetize those streams in a way that makes up for the loss of linear viewership. Three years after signing their last agreement, the number of live house bands in late night has decreased from six to just four. (In addition to the loss of Seth Meyers’ 8G Band on NBC, CBS also lost a live house band when it transitioned from The Late Late Show with James Corden to After Midnight.)
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the AFM is negotiating with the AMPTS on its Live TV and Videotape Agreement. In fact, the negotiations for this agreement are taking place between AFM and the television networks directly.
