David Byrne backs down on Burning-Down-The-House (Orchestra) approach to union dispute

David Byrne, the former frontman for the rock group Talking Heads, has reached an agreement with a major Broadway workers’ union, agreeing to their demands to use live musicians for an upcoming production.

The American Federation of Musicians Local 802 announced Friday that it has reached an agreement with Byrne’s show, “Here Lies Love,” eliminating the need for third-party mediation.

The show will employ 12 members of Local 802: nine band musicians and three actor-musicians who play music as part of their stage performance.

Byrne had originally proposed using only pre-recorded music, which the union saw as an existential threat to his role in Broadway musicals. Local 802 described Byrne’s lawsuit as unprecedented in a niche regional industry where unions remain influential. The union was concerned that if Byrne achieved his goal, he would jeopardize the future use of musicians in Broadway musicals and the artistic quality they add to the Broadway experience.

“Broadway is a very special place with the best musicians and performances in the world, and we are pleased that this agreement honors that tradition,” said Tino Gagliardi, president of Local 802, in a statement.

Byrne’s spokespersons did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the deal.

Byrne’s concession to the union followed weeks of negative media coverage. The union hired an experienced political communication strategist eric koch launch a no-holds-barred publicity campaign against Byrne. And Gagliardi was previously interested in Note to Huff Post that Byrne, a New York City resident, was once a member of Local 802.

Last Tuesday, The HuffPost reported that in 1986, Byrne admitted that he chose to shoot a musical comedy film in Texas because it is a “right-to-work” state where unions have less power. The revelation undermined Byrne’s insistence that she wanted to use recorded music on “Here Lies Love” for creative reasons.

“The HuffPost story was the last straw for Byrne to sit down and negotiate,” someone familiar with the union’s conversations with Byrne told HuffPost.

The strength of Local 802 on Broadway helps make it one of the most influential musicians’ unions in the US With more than 5,000 dues-paying members, it is the largest affiliate of the American Federation of Musicians in the country.

Local 802 has a collective bargaining agreement with the Broadway League, the group representing officially designated Broadway theater owners, that specifies how many musicians a musical production must employ in each theater.

However, Broadway producers are free to apply to Local 802 for exemptions from the minimum musician requirements on a case-by-case basis. The agreement specifies that any musical presented at the Broadway Theater, where “Here Lies Love” will be performed, must employ 19 union musicians. The final count of 12 union members for production represents a compromise between Byrne and the union.

But in its more than a century of existence, Local 802 had never allowed a musical The production will be done entirely without musicians, according to Gagliardi. The union was prepared to fight Byrne in third-party mediation, after which he would have had the opportunity to appeal any ruling to a formal arbitration body.