Industry organisation of the FAU Berlin for employees and freelancer individuals in publishing, theatre, art, film, and media.
Contact information for this section
Email: faub-medien@fau.org
Meetings: Every fourth Monday at 7:00 pm in our Lokal; online participation possible.
If you would like to join, please write to us!
Berlin is trendy! For companies in the cultural and media sectors, the city is an attractive location, not least because of its vibrant art, music, and theatre scenes. Here, companies and event organisers find workers from a pool of creative and international talent. The capital’s economy, together with tourism, relies heavily on the so-called creative industries.
Working conditions are often deplorable. According to the latest figures from the Artists’ Social Insurance Fund, the average annual income of insured members is a shocking €16,495. Artists (€16,100) and musicians (€13,675) earn the least. Fees and wages have stagnated for years, and precarious freelance work is becoming the norm — when companies do not already demand that we sacrifice ourselves for art and fail even to ask for a salary. Yet many of the companies that depress wages with unpaid or poorly paid interns and student workers are highly profitable.
Who are cultural and media workers?
We are those who provide content to the media and cultural industries and keep things running. Without us, no film shoot or opera performance takes place. Without us, the screen remains grey and the radio silent.
We are journalists, artists, and musicians, stagehands, and sound technicians. We do not organise ourselves as a professional association but as an industrial union for the cultural and media sectors. Through public events and regular meetings, we aim to overcome the isolation of self-employed individuals and look beyond the boundaries of our respective trades. As a section of FAU Berlin, we welcome employees from the literary, film, and advertising industries, as well as artists and musicians. If you work in one of these areas, you have come to the right place — even if you are currently unemployed or ‘between projects’!