United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) has launched Raise the Bar, a campaign urging music venues to publicly adopt four standards aimed at improving conditions for performing artists.
The pledge asks venues to eliminate the following practices:
- Merchandise commission fees
- Pay-to-play arrangements
- Door polling
- Non-transparent contracts
UMAW has created an online directory of venues that have signed the pledge and plans to expand the list in the coming weeks. The organization is also encouraging artists and fans to ask their local venues to participate.
According to UMAW, practices such as taking a cut of merchandise sales, requiring artists to pay for stage time, using door polling to determine compensation, and relying on opaque contracts have become increasingly common, creating unnecessary financial and professional obstacles for working musicians. Many independent venues already operate without these practices, and the public pledge is intended to recognize those operators while encouraging others to adopt the same standards.
The campaign has received support from several music organizations, including the Freelance Musicians Association of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), Maine Music Alliance, Vocal Kentucky, and the Rising Artists Foundation.
More than 20 venues across the US have joined the initiative at launch. Venues interested in participating can sign the pledge through UMAW’s Raise the Bar campaign website.
