I was out at dinner the other night at Uncle Billy’s Barbeque on Barton Springs with a friend when he brought up an point worth examining; a musicians alliance or union of sorts, right here in Austin. My first reaction was, “Why do we need or want a union”? He answered, “A better, more PREDICTABLE standard of living for Austin musicians.  He went on to make a great case for the idea citing that the city, it’s businesses and it’s residents have all benefitted by the quantity and quality of Austin’s music and musicians. After all, let’s not forget that the musicians created the tourist destination that Austin has become today, shouldn’t they get a guaranteed base pay or should they continue to pawn guitars to pay the rent and hope people are generous with the tip jar while some bar sells burgers and ...

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