Following a feature entitled ‘Get even and get paid’ by Mick Sinclair in the July/August issue of The Journalist, the NUJ members’ magazine, on the subject of copyright protection, it was heartening to see an edited version of my letter published in the latest issue: “Joseph Williams was the founder of the Musicians’ Union and its General Secretary from its inception in 1893 until he retired in 1924.
It all began when he posted a notice in a theatre band room in Manchester in May 1893, stating: ‘The union we require is…one that will protect us from amateurs, protect us from unscrupulous employers and protect us from ourselves. A Union that will guarantee our receiving a fair wage for engagements. A society that will keep the amateur in his right place, and prevent his going under prices.’ Some things never change and the fight goes on. #WorkNotPlayMU”