美国国家公共电台 NPR How A Contract Clause Led To A Fight Between Musicians And Austin's Biggest Event

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

What at first seemed like a standard bit of legalese has now created a controversy¹. The language appears in the contracts given to artists performing at this year's South by Southwest music festival. Musicians accuse the festival of threatening foreign performers with deportation² if they play outside of the festival's official venues³. NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas untangles the situation.

ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS, BYLINE⁴: For foreigners, getting a visa to visit the United States can be pretty complicated. And for musicians hoping to introduce themselves to an American audience, figuring out exactly what kind of visa they need and what they can do while they're here can be even more confusing. Leena Khandwala, an immigration attorney based in New York, explains the basics.

LEENA KHANDWALA: So tourist visas are for foreign nationals who are visiting the United States temporarily for business or pleasure.

TSIOULCAS: People here on those visas or who are from one of the nearly 40 countries who don't need a visa to visit the U.S. can do a bit of soliciting⁵ of new business while they're here.

KHANDWALA: Such as meeting with clients, attending a conference or a convention, you know, negotiating a contract, attending a board meeting, those kinds of activities.

TSIOULCAS: And that could include doing one official performance at South by Southwest, one of the world's premier⁶ platforms for musicians. But if they want to do more, Khandwala says, foreign performers need another kind of visa.

KHANDWALA: If they were coming on a tour, they would have to have an employment type of non-immigrant visa, an O visa or a P visa.

TSIOULCAS: For years, the South by Southwest artist contract has contained language outlining those visa basics and outlining what could happen if musicians break the rules. That's according to Roland Swensen, the festival's CEO and one of its co-founders.

ROLAND SWENSON: We gave the artists like a list of, if you violate your visa, these are the things that could happen. And that's being interpreted as, this is what we're going to do to you.

TSIOULCAS: Off the record, people who work in the touring industry say that seeing these kinds of clauses in artist contracts is not uncommon⁷ anymore. But yesterday afternoon, a drummer named Felix Walworth canceled a South by Southwest showcase via Twitter, objecting to the contract language. Walworth did not respond to NPR's request for an interview.

But a number of other artists have signed an open letter calling on the festival to, in their words, cease any collusion with immigration officials that puts performers in danger. Among them is the band PWR BTTM, which is slated⁸ to perform at a showcase that NPR is curating at the festival. Another is singer Victoria Ruiz of the band Downtown Boys.

VICTORIA RUIZ: As someone who is very upset with the current political moment and is seeking ways to resist, this seems like a very logical step to take because these artists are the people who make South by Southwest what it is in terms of its art.

TSIOULCAS: The festivals, Roland Swenson says, its longstanding position has only meant to help foreign artists by getting them here using the simplest and cheapest visa.

SWENSON: We've managed to build this event that allows hundreds and hundreds of acts, who are for the most part unknown, to come and play at a festival in the U.S.

TSIOULCAS: Musicians who have signed the open letter are considering whether or not they will withdraw from this year's South by Southwest. Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR News, New York.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

3 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 soliciting   

v.恳求( solicit的现在分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• A prostitute was soliciting on the street. 一名妓女正在街上拉客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• China Daily is soliciting subscriptions. 《中国日报》正在征求订户。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

7 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

8 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。