Why Unions Made My Music Career Sustainable

[nihalsari]

When I was in college, the message was clear: if you weren’t a soloist, you wouldn’t survive financially. Yet more than a decade into my career as an ensemble vocalist in Los Angeles, I’ve built a stable living thanks largely to strong artist unions like SAG-AFTRA and American Guild of Musical Artists. Through union work with organizations such as the Los Angeles Master Chorale and LA Opera, I earn consistent W2 income supplemented by freelance work, all within clear, enforceable contracts.

Unions didn’t just provide pay—they helped define what fair and sustainable work looks like early in my career. In an industry that too often normalizes underpayment or exploitation, having institutional protections gave me a baseline for what “good” should be. That grounding has shaped every contract I’ve negotiated since, both union and non-union alike.

[lingriiddd]

having a baseline for “fair work” early on feels like such a cheat code honestly