Philly Pops Agrees to Pay Back Wages to Musicians

In Saturday’s (12/2) Philadelphia Inquirer, Peter Dobrin writes, “The Philly Pops has agreed to pay musicians back pay and other costs associated with broadcasts of last year’s Christmas show at the Kimmel Center, ending one of two lawsuits in which the Pops has been enmeshed. Under the terms of a stipulation approved Thursday by the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania, the Pops says it will pay $300,000 to end the matter. Whether the resolution puts the Pops organization any closer to getting back onto the stage of Verizon Hall or elsewhere isn’t clear. Karen Corbin, the group’s president and CEO, provided a statement, but did not answer further questions about the group’s future. ‘We continue to explore all options in an ongoing effort to settle our obligations from last season. This filing is one of several efforts to do so,’ she said by email. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) sued the Pops in March for nonpayment of fees owed to players for two Christmas broadcasts shown on 6ABC and the U.S. government’s American Forces Network. The suit asked for an award of wages as well as late fees and contributions to pension plans totaling $313,472.55.”