Now is the right time to become an American Federation of Musicians member. From ragtime to rap, from the early phonograph to today's digital recordings, the AFM has been there for its members. And now there are more benefits available to AFM members than ever before, including a multi-million dollar pension fund, excellent contract protection, instrument and travelers insurance, work referral programs and access to licensed booking agents to keep you working.
As an AFM member, you are part of a membership of more than 80,000 musicians. Experience has proven that collective activity on behalf of individuals with similar interests is the most effective way to achieve a goal. The AFM can negotiate agreements and administer contracts, procure valuable benefits and achieve legislative goals. A single musician has no such power.
The AFM has a proud history of managing change rather than being victimized by it. We find strength in adversity, and when the going gets tough, we get creative - all on your behalf.
Like the industry, the AFM is also changing and evolving, and its policies and programs will move in new directions dictated by its members. As a member, you will determine these directions through your interest and involvement. Your membership card will be your key to participation in governing your union, keeping it responsive to your needs and enabling it to serve you better. To become a member now, visit www.afm.org/join.
If the delegates to the last AFM Convention made one thing abundantly clear, it was the desire for the Federation to step up its support for locals seeking to organize freelance musicians. These are the musicians least likely to perform under a traditional trade union collective bargaining agreement. While freelance, indie, and self-produced musicians comprise […]
Read MoreStories abound about the future health of the labor movement. The US presidential election and the complete domination of the US Congress and Supreme Court by the MAGA elements have taken organized labor’s inconvenient-but-familiar laws and norms in America and stood them on their heads. What was true and dependable at 11:59 a.m. on January […]
Read More#enfrancais : Permis de travail des États-Unis, pressions et négociations Recent United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) communications regarding gender identity on P-2 visa petitions have raised concerns and questions among members who have applied for or are considering applying for US work permits. The Federation is actively lobbying on both sides of the […]
Read MoreThe Kennedy Center’s February 12 change in leadership has become the subject of much discussion among members of the arts community and beyond. Following soon after this announcement was the news that a number of high-profile artists had made the decision to withdraw from their commitments to the center. Currently, artists, arts creators, and others […]
Read MoreIn 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act. Upon creating the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Johnson said, “Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves, […]
Read MoreGrowing up as the only child of Korean parentage in his small Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, community, John Yun, music director of the surprise Broadway hit Maybe Happy Ending in New York’s Belasco Theatre, says he didn’t really see the piano as his future. “I wasn’t a great student,” Yun remembers. “I kind of did the […]
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