It’s no surprise that Vice President Kamala Harris features Beyoncé’s “Freedom” at campaign rallies. With permission from the artist, the cathartic anthem graced Harris’ first campaign ad, in which she says, “There are some people who think that we should be a country of chaos, of fear, of hate. But us? We choose something different: We […]

As election day approaches, I would like to take a moment to recognize the importance of politics to our union, and the work of our own National Legislative Office. From this Washington, DC base, the AFM is able to build relationships with political allies and lobby for issues that are important to musicians and other […]

When this administration stepped into office a year ago, one of the first messages awaiting me was a notice from the Federation’s group membership insurance broker that AIG/New Hampshire was pulling the plug on the AFM’s long-running musical instrument and band liability insurance programs for US members. That started what became a months-long scramble by […]

en francais While the US approaches another important election in a few months, in Canada we have about 18 months left under the current government. There is a push from the artistic communities in Canada to lobby for a Live Performance Tax Credit. With comparisons to Film Tax credits, a Live Performance Tax credit would […]

Imagine a world without music. Things would be very different, to say the least. Music plays so many roles in our daily lives. It may be easy to take it for granted, but those of us who have been able to make a living doing what we love will never do that. As professional musicians, […]

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Labor Studies Center sponsored a research conference over two and a half days, August 2-4. There were over 100 attendees, and another 200 on a waitlist. I felt privileged to have been accepted into the program. Attendees included professional researchers, organizers, students, union leaders, worker center and other […]