The legalities are clear: if VUW or other entities attempt to pursue using my music, and I catch wind of it, they'll end up in court. In court, nobody's going to care if I'm trans: they're going to care about whether I signed a contract.
I didn't, and that's an oversight that people with the ability to hire lawyers really can't handwave away. There is no legal obligation on my part to licence or perform my music, and the social obligation is irrelevant for a recluse that barely goes out.
They're going to care about why I haven't been paid for stuff that I wrote while participating in a jobseeking course, and they're not going to buy 'but we thought that they were going to do an MA' ... that's not how copyright works. I wasn't enrolled, so VUW has to give up, and so do Red Scare, the NZSO and any other groups that want me to do Shipwrecked songs live must also give up. The boycott is fair, valid and not something to see as an insubstantial threat.
It's working. You're dropping parts of your non-negotiables, but it's too late for that. The outcome that I am seeking is absolute cessation per the terms of my letters, and that is the only outcome that I consider acceptable.
Cease pursuing my music unless you're willing to licence it and accept that my refusal to perform is valid and reasonable. I'm a composer by training, and I refuse to perform for people that called me a pervert, a fetishist, a bigot, a paedo, and a dozen other things. Not to mention accusing me of indecent exposure repeatedly. That is the stuff that went way over the line, and Tory actually enabled that (as did Nadine). I'm sorry that you failed, ladies, but fucking say sorry for what you said rather than being shocked that my videos made you look bad. Pay me a few thousand dollars, then find another person to perform.
- That, VUW faculty members, is the final and legally correct answer. Further pleas to use my music for free will only hasten legal action. Pay me reasonable licencing fees for the music that you need.
No more attempts to butter me up: real emails that lead to real meetings, or cease and desist instantly. I'd prefer the latter, but using the back channel is simply banned, and Salina has to email me directly if she wants to speak about my music.
NZSM isn't going to persuade me. NZSO isn't going to persuade me. The answer is no.
When I was 21-25, and actually doing stuff, nobody pressured me to perform. I seldom did more than a song or two, and nobody cared. As a man, it was considered totally reasonable to pursue a career as a composer. That is the transphobia that the music and drama geeks are enabling. I sang well back then as well. Simply allow Amanda to be the same as Michael: a composer that sometimes plays for fun.