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Response to @nytimes article from 12/26: We applaud the attention given to our collective challenges during the pandemic, but offer data that shows a much more painful impact on performing artists. THREAD 1/12 https://twitter.com/PatcohenNYT/status/1342877790220201986
Article claims @NEAarts statistics report UI rates of 27% for musicians, 52% for actors, 55% for dancers. Our understanding is the underlying data comes from Bureau of Labor Statistics, whose data has been noted for poor measurement of artists & industries in which they work 2/12
Examples of problems with data from Bureau of Labor Statistics: 1) This article by @future_of_music notes poor quality of artist specific data: http://tinyurl.com/article-futuremusic THREAD 3/12
Example 2) of where government data can be better this recent discussion by @MusicPolicyDC about #NAICS Code reform featuring @NickRHart on what solutions can look like. THREAD 4/12
We agree with @beanartshero, @musicpolicyDC, and others that the government can and should do better when it comes to measuring the impact of COVID on the Arts & Culture sector. THREAD 5/12
Survey of over 30k artists by @artistReliefOrg @Americans4Arts notes more than 63% of #artists in all disciplines reported becoming fully unemployed. This suggests a true UI rate much higher than @NYTimes reported- for music, 2x or 3x that rate. Data: http://tinyurl.com/A4Arts 6/12
In Dec @MusicWorkers released "How Are We Surviving" report: http://tinyurl.com/MWA-Report . Staggering 71% surveyed lost more than ¾ of income during pandemic & majority are relying on UI suggesting a true UI rate for musicians 2x to 3x times higher than reported by @nytimes THREAD7/12
Many of us are already underpaid for our work, but overall, more than $8.5M was reported lost by 213 of the survey respondents since March. The data tells the story another way as well: only 2.5% of respondents in MWA survey were NOT impacted financially by COVID. THREAD 8/12
This is consistent with @ArtistReliefOrg / @Americans4Arts survey, which estimates #artists lost on average about $30k each due to the pandemic this year. THREAD 9/12
As the article states, this work is not returning anytime soon. On top of that, it reflects deep inequalities that have always existed in our industry. Many of us juggle 2 or 3 additional "steady gigs" in order to support our performance work. THREAD 10/12
As one MWA survey respondent put it: “The pandemic has only exaggerated & exacerbated inequities in the system that have allowed for #musicians to be exploited to a greater degree than ever before." THREAD 11/12
