Musicians Services, Inc. (MSI) is a full service event payroll service. When you use our referral services for the finest musicians in Hawai’i, we also can help by providing start to finish payroll processing, contract services, and liability insurance.
MSI is tailor made to suit the needs of musicians who may, from time to time, assume the tax responsibility of leaders. MSI is also available to employers who become signatory to a Local 677 collective bargaining agreement or LS-1 single engagement agreement. The service allows members who may assume the role of employer to remit musicians’ payments for wages, benefits and payroll taxes with a single check. MSI takes care of all the unemployment payments, federal and state tax filings, disability, worker’s compensation, Medicare and FICA payments. Bi-weekly paychecks will then be issued and mailed to the musicians, and MSI will remit all payments to the benefit funds and taxing authorities as required. MSI will also make all quarterly and year-end reports and send out W-2s, all at no extra cost.
MSI takes on the role and responsibility of employer of record for the purpose of the payment of taxes but not for the purposes of labor relations. There must always be an employer who becomes signatory to a Local 677 collective bargaining agreement or LS-1 form (single engagement agreement).
How does MSI work?
A musician is paid for an engagement and the payment goes to MSI for full payroll processing. MSI deducts the following: 31.8% for employer taxes as mandated by law (unemployment, Social Security, Medicare, temporary disability, workers comp, GET, general liability) and payroll service charge; and 6.54% for pension. This leaves the musician’s gross pay, of which 4.5% of scale wages is deducted for work dues. MSI then deducts state and federal tax withholding according to the number of exemptions the musician indicates on his/her Form W-4, and gives a paycheck to the musician.
Mission:
Our goal is to get leaders, contractors and musicians off the 1099 merry-go-round and back into the legitimate payrolling mainstream. The database of Local 677 musicians who have been paid by MSI is in the thousands, so it’s obvious that many of our union members see the advantages in using the Musicians Services, Inc. paymaster plan.
Musicians Services, Inc. is located on the 2nd floor of Local 677’s offices. For information, please call Liz Perreira at (808) 596-2121, or e-mail payroll@musicianshawaii.com.