An agreement has been reached on the awaiting amendments for California’s “Gig” Economy Assembly Bill 5. This new decision exempts musicians, composers, songwriters, recording artists, and other workers in the music industry from the bill. Therefore, they will now be able to obtain financial relief.
According to Variety, Assembly Bill 5 is specifically for “gig economy” jobs like ride-sharing companies. Not only this, but it will also make it more difficult for companies to identify workers as independent contractors instead of employees.
In January, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez asked legislation to work on issues affecting musicians and other industries. This was due to the official passage of Assembly Bill 5 which set up an ABC test to determine employment status.
According to the latest agreement on AB5, music professionals can follow the Borello test, which will determine whether someone is an employer; this will help to conclude employment classification for live performances and studio recordings. Ultimately, unions will be able to continue organizing the work of recording artists, musicians, and more.