Joey La Neve DeFrancesco
@JoeyQuits
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Joey La Neve DeFrancesco. https://t.co/oCS8GwzRam @downtownboys, La Neve. Founder and organizer w/ @umaw_ [email protected]
New York City
Joined October 2011
We've long suspected that Spotify was recruiting fake artists and juicing them in its algorithm and placing them on the most popular playlists. Liz Pelly collected the internal docs + other evidence to finally prove it.
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Read it here: Even for a longtime Spotify hater, it's shocking how systematic and deliberate the fake artist program is.
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The great @RepRashida just introduced the Living Wage for Musicians Act, which will finally create a new streaming royalty paid directly to musicians. Sign on in support here:
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Tell your lawmakers to support the bill to fix streaming, the Living Wage for Musicians Act
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A really cool venue that gives bands food, drinks, 100% of the door, and a nice sleeping space next door is Tubbys in Kingston, NY.
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Post your Spotify festival poster, then go here and ask your members of Congress to make sure musicians actually get paid for those streams:
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fellow white people, as the least threatened here, you don't move to another country, you start doing the work.
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Spotify is raising prices and still refusing to pay artists more. Send a letter to your Reps right now and demand they pass the Living Wage for Musicians Act to ensure that all streaming platforms pay musicians fairly:
Spotify is increasing prices. Again. An individual plan will now cost $11.99 and a family plan will cost $19.99. In their announcement Spotify did not mention paying artists more.
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A really big victory for delivery drivers, and a model for how workers can win across the gig economy
Big news: New York delivery drivers have beat Grubhub and Seamless in court, and will officially get a new $18/hr minimum wage. The pay for these 60,000 gig workers will rise to $20/hr by 2025.
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It's exhausting how many in the arts/culture/music world continue to view everything as political except actual politics. dance party? art fair? revolutionary. organizing to take power and build a better world? boring, cringe, silly.
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Punk puritanism, like consumerist activism, isnt a political strategy for change, but rather an individualistic religion seeking cleanliness.
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small addition: sxsw has been doing this shit for yrs (which means it's worse that they continue it, not that it's ok cause it's old)
doing SXSW paperwork rn--they threaten 2 "immediately deport" any international artist who plays an "unofficial" show http://t.co/JrjrBVURhM.
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SXSW sweating as artists realize the official festival offers absolutely nothing and that bands make more money and have more fun on unofficial shows.
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music journalists who make 40k/yr mocking music publicists who make 35k/yr for being overly pushy while promoting their artists who make -5k/yr.
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It's an extraordinary privilege and hubris to believe you can escape capitalism without everyone escaping capitalism.
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The specter of the snob has really done a lot of work to justify corporate monopolization in cultural industries. Everyone constantly hates on snobs, but so few snobs actually exist. Literally everyone's opinion is "it's crazy because I like weird music AND pop music".
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As dumb as we are, even musicians can win when we organize and fight.
BREAKING: Austin Parks and Rec Board unanimously passes a recommendation that @SXSW be required to pay fair rates to musicians. This is a massive victory and a huge step.
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The very kind owner told me he was a touring musician for many years and had played extensively in Europe where it's standard to give bands food, decent pay, and comfortable places to sleep. He thought "why can't we do that here?" and then he did it. Very cool!.
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@flashtaggyblog amazing how many times publications call artists "new" or declare their record a "debut LP" even though the artist has been around like 8 years and released 3 other records.
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So many @sxsw panels so little time! Here's my guide to the must-see conversations at this year's festival 🧵.
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I don't think there is much political value in what individual artists say with their music. But there is actual power when we act collectively as music workers, and right now there is a serious collective effort from cultural workers to push for a ceasefire and a free Palestine.
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This is a big one.
BREAKING: The NLRB just finalized a new rule that could have a monumental impact on worker power. The new joint-employer rule says that corporations are responsible for most workers employed by contractors. Giants like Amazon and McDonalds can’t hide behind loopholes anymore.
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Musicians have the most deep seated entrepreneur brain of all cultural workers. Instead of organizing to take power, so many just scream "boycott it! start a new music fest!" at every injustice. Meanwhile a handful of companies grow more dominant every single year.
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The intersection of sxsw and st Patrick's day and a Friday night has created a new kind of evil.
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Write a letter here to ask your reps to support the Living Wage for Musicians Act to fix streaming
The only way to fight back is to build musicians' collective power. Streaming is the main way people listen to music, yet most artists are struggling to make a living while executives are cashing out millions. We need the Living Wage for Musicians Act NOW!.
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So my wallet got stolen tonight but also Solange came to our show so I guess it's all balanced out?.
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@electricalWSOP Unorganized labor will never win concessions from organized capital. Ditch the libertarianism and get organized with @UMAW_ or other groups working to end merch cuts.
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Worth remember that in 2017, we successfully forced @sxsw to stop working with ICE. When artists organize, we win.
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The fuller story on the bullshit they're throwing at our dear friend Victoria and so many others right now
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The only way to fight back is to build musicians' collective power. Join @UMAW_
This is why Spotify sucks now. While Spotify execs are cashing out from streaming, your favorite artists are struggling to earn a living. It’s killing the music industry.
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I realize many European venues are able to access public funding that we don't have in the US. Our long term solution in the US has to be getting more public funding. But in the short term, there are ways to set up venues to treat artists with a lot more dignity.
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Every panel that's like "Navigating the music industry in 2023!" is like 2 streaming company reps, 2 CEOs from music startups with lots of VC money that don't do anything, a rep from a defense contractor, and one "independent artist" who loves AI.
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SXSW just announced 'SXSW Sydney' and is offering ZERO money to musicians, not even the token $250 it offers US bands at the Austin festival. But they are still charging the $55 application fee. This is literally a pay-to-play scam.
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So tonight I met my hero since I was 14 years old and he said he liked my music
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to my fellow white music people: please do better than becoming aggressively threatened when artists of color achieve small bits of power.
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Stop trying to be the Most Reasonable Moral Leftist online and start pressuring our government to stop bankrolling the ongoing illegal occupation that's responsible for all this death.
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The answer to "can musicians go on strike like writers and actors?" is 100% "yes." We just aren't anywhere near organized enough.
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which is fine, I too like both weird music and pop music. But the snob accusation has become a weird fake populist cudgel to beat back even mild criticism of corporate cultural products.
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Musicians are workers, and we as workers win concessions and take power by organizing collectively and demanding it.
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Deeply depressing how Conde Nast and Penske Media have bought up and destroyed our biggest cultural publications in less than a decade.
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Important to remember that, at the very most, like 25 Rhode Islanders use twitter.
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As libs tone police our slogans and statements calling for a ceasefire to save all civilian lives, here's a very small sample of the messages my band receives every day from the pro-war side.
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I'm missing my high school reunion in a few weeks cause I'll b in Denver playing a show w Tom Morello and my 16 y/o self couldn't be prouder.
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I talk a lot about how much worse the music industry keeps getting for musicians, but doing the budgeting right now ahead of our first big tour in a few years, and shit is really really bad out here.
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It's OK to just say the AI music is soulless garbage that fundamentally misunderstands the purpose and meaning of art. No need to qualify it.
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McAllen, TX scene report last night: DJ blasting bidi bidi bom bom while entire crowd destroys a Donald Trump piñata.
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UMAW is escalating our 'Fair Pay at SXSW' campaign with two events in Austin next week: a show on March 14, and a rally on March 16. Here is the STACKED show at Hole in the Wall. Free and open to everyone.
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Our Fair Pay at @SXSW rally this Wednesday was HUGE. Sincerely inspiring to see so many unions and orgs from across music, journalism, film, TV, and more come out to stand with musicians.
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Can this Google executive use Mind Control for good? I'm excited to find out!
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These are the events the music industry doesn't want you to see. Due to fear of retaliation from SXSW and Penske, we had a confirmed venue cancel and our major sponsor pull out at the last minute. Please donate if you can so we can pull these off:
announcing the UMAW Fair Pay at SXSW show and protest in Austin 💪 the show is “unofficial” and open to all, cosponsored by @fightfortheftr @demandprogress @WorkingFamilies and @topshelfrecords. #FairPayAtSXSW
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SXSW makes more money on artist application fees than they pay out to artists.
SXSW is owned by multi-millionaire Jay Penske, but runs on the undervalued labor of artists who perform. It’s time for a raise! . Join the 1500+ artists who have signed our demands HERE:
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If musicians were anywhere near as organized as Hollywood writers, we'd be at the negotiating table with the big labels and big tech companies discussing regulation of AI.
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Do you think people gave Gil Scott-Heron shit like "Well actually there's a lot of revolutionary potential to television. There's fair criticisms to be had, but you can't just hate on the whole technology.".
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UMAW is launching a campaign today to end merch cuts, which are especially common at corporate venues run by companies like Ticketmaster-Live Nation.
Introducing our new campaign in collaboration with @FeaturedArtists and @cadenceweapon : #MyMerch 💯 . Venues: link in bio to join the database of over 400 #MyMerch venues. Artists: link in bio to tell your #MyMerch story (can be anonymous if preferred).
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It was a scam when big international touring acts paid openers only $250 on tours in 2014. Absolutely disgusting that the standard is still $250 in 2022.
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The guy who ruined music is now getting into the healthcare industry.
Over 60,000 Signups in Just Twelve Weeks!. It's been nearly three months since we launched @NekoHealth in London, and the response has been nothing short of incredible. Over 60,000 people have signed up for a scan, which reflects a growing shift toward preventive healthcare and
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punk does not and cannot exist outside of broader economic structures and pretending that it does makes it less accessible.
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ok i love this meme and i had to make one here it is
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It's very bad that the conservative billionaire Penske family is gradually buying up all cultural media in the US.
Penske Media will become Vox Media’s largest shareholder, though the brands will continue to operate independently.
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This is the result of decades of right wing organizing and institution building at every level. They have understood the need to build power in Congress, courts, local communities, churches, etc. They keep winning unless we build our own institutional counter forces.
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My landlord failed to send me a bill for gas tank fill-ups for 14 months. They just realized this and now want me to pay the entire massive bill all at once before the end of this month. Anyone know the RI law on this? Do tenants have any protections in this situation?.
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our new record cost of living is out today worldwide! get it anywhere
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Easy tool to quickly call all your reps and demand an immediate ceasefire -- just dial 626-414-5083 and you'll be automatically connected. As a bonus, my voice will guide you through everything.
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New York freelance musicians, journalists, artists, etc., Kathy Hochul just vetoed a bill granting basic workplace protections, like the right to a written contract, the right to timely payments, and protection from retaliation.
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You can hear the whole room gasp.
Here's @sxsw arguing they don't need to pay artists because we all love their wristbands:. "We're trying to create a milieu, a community during the festival so that artists can really make a decision-- is this my career, or do I need to back to medical school or whatever it is?"
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Proud to be one of the initial signers here. Musicians, artists, writers: add your name now.
Writers Against the War on Gaza is an ad hoc coalition committed to solidarity and the horizon of liberation for the Palestinian people. Join 700+ writers, artists, and others in signing our open letter, and find out more:
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Incredible that @UMAW_ pulled off our Fair Pay at SXSW show last night with so much working against us. Thanks everyone who played and came out. Our rally is tomorrow--Thursday the 16th--at 11am. Bring drums and instruments and signs. See you there.
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The panel organizer when I ask if they can offer an honorarium
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Massive providence student walk out protest filling up the Rhode Island star house rn #Inauguration
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I talked to the New York Times about starting the viral job quitting trend
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a fun perk of being an Uber driver is that instead of tipping with real money passengers can give you infantilizing digital awards
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and here's one more for the classical music lovers out there
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Have we considered if china is just setting us up for this trick
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Instead of doing free advertising for the streaming company that has destroyed the music industry, you can just post some links to bands that you listen to.
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It speaks to our lack of power. It would be self-evidently ridiculous for people to tell writers "just start your own movie studio!" but for some reason this is a common response to musician organizing.
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So much media now is "What is hot rich people were actually sad" (white lotus, saltburn, etc etc) but it all ultimately makes the lifestyle it pretends to criticize more appealing. Mulholland Drive shows it as an actual hell.
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NYC out big for Gaza even with everyone left for DC
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doing SXSW paperwork rn--they threaten 2 "immediately deport" any international artist who plays an "unofficial" show http://t.co/JrjrBVURhM.
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damn petty anarchist twitter is harder to impress than my father.
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The complete dominance of pop music + stan culture didn't come out of a nebulous ideological shift in journalism. It's the result of ever-increasing corporate monopolization of all aspects of the music industry.
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🔥OUR 'HISTORY SOLVED' EP IS OUT TODAY 🔥 Also happy to announce it's now available as a double 7" set via @gutterpopcomics. You can buy the 7", stream, bandcamp, etc at
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Keep going to actions, calling, posting. But it's not enough on its own. We also all need to join and get involved in organizations building mass power. It's a long road ahead and it's only way to leverage the energy into real power.
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Top of the list has to be "Spies Supercharged: Tech and the Future of CIA" - don't miss the chance to meet directly with these CIA deputy directors
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The same people who did "here's how blockchain is going to fix every thing!" a year ago are now doing exactly the same thing with AI.
AI is going to enable the creation and enforcement of laws 1000x as complex as we have today. This is mostly a good thing.
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