A Manhattan company that makes a so-called virtual orchestra machine, an advanced synthesizer used to mimic the sound of live musicians, has filed an unfair labor practice claim accusing the Broadway musicians' union of unfairly preventing theater and music companies from using its product. þþþThe company, Realtime Music Solutions, filed its complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on March 4, and the union, Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, was notified of the action this week. At the heart of the complaint is a deal the union announced in February with the Opera Company of Brooklyn to ban the use of the machine in all future productions.þþIn a statement released on Realtime's Web site yesterday, the company said that the union's deal violated federal labor laws and that the union's ÿopen hostility and false accusations'' had hurt its business. þþÿIt is illegal for 802 in their effort to procure more business for its members to ban the Opera Company of Brooklyn to do business with a third party, namely us,'' said Jeff Lazarus, the chief executive of Realtime. þþLeonard Leibowitz, a lawyer for Local 802, denied that the union had done anything wrong in drafting a contract requiring live musicians. ÿThe purpose of the language is to preserve work for union members,'' he said. ÿIt is perfectly legal.ÿþþA fight over the virtual orchestra machine, called Sinfonia, first flared up last year when the musicians went on strike over an effort by producers to reduce the number of musicians in Broadway orchestra pits, with the machine suggested as a possible fill-in for live music. The strike shut down Broadway for four days. þþþ
Source; NY Times
