President’s Message

As I write this column, I am headed to Cleveland, Ohio, to attend the Theater Musicians Association (TMA) and the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) conferences. These are the last two events of a busy conference season. I feel inspired by meeting so many officers, delegates, and union members in person this summer. The players and regional local conferences offer opportunities to hear directly from AFM officers, voice concerns, and build solidarity.

The past few months have been a blur of travel, with navigating ever-changing flight schedules and battling jet lag, while hopping between time zones posing a logistical puzzle. This summer’s travel challenges were a stark reminder that I can’t be everywhere at once. I was very disappointed to miss the Midwestern Conference due to a flight cancellation, and the Regional Orchestra Players Association (ROPA) conference because of a schedule conflict with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) convention.

However, sometimes tough choices must be made. The essential work of the Federation continues, and expanding our union presence and building relationships with our allies must be a priority. You have heard me say before that now, more than ever, it is crucial to build relationships with allies both in other unions and internationally. To that end, I attended the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) Congress held in June in Geneva, Switzerland, along with AFM Vice President from Canada Allistair Elliott and Symphonic Services Division (SSD) Director Rochelle Skolnick. I described this conference in more detail in my column in the August issue of the IM.

Also on the international stage, I had the honor of being a featured speaker at the British Musicians’ Union (MU) Delegates’ Congress held in Liverpool, England, in July. I updated the MU delegates on the current political and labor challenges in the US. I discussed common priorities and concerns, such as prohibitions on the export of Pernambuco, copyright issues, and the threat of artificial intelligence. It was fascinating to learn more about their processes and hear from British musicians who face many of the same challenges we do. The MU and the AFM will continue to have a close and collaborative relationship.

Returning to the US, I had the privilege of being invited to address the IATSE 70th Quadrennial Convention of Delegates. Speaking before the convention was a powerful sign of our continued solidarity, especially as we navigate common workplace issues around artificial intelligence and copyright protection. There isn’t a single sector of the entertainment industry that the AFM participates in that doesn’t include our colleagues in IATSE. It is critical that the AFM and IATSE maintain a strong relationship.

Because of a scheduling conflict with the IATSE Convention, I had to make the very difficult decision to miss the ROPA Conference. While it was disappointing not to be there, the Federation was well represented by AFM Secretary-Treasurer Ken Shirk, Government Affairs Director Ben Kessler, and SSD Director Skolnick. The SSD staff was on-site in Philadelphia, presenting a full-day workshop on negotiating for orchestras to nearly 30 delegates and local officers.

In August, this year’s Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) Conference and Canadian Conference were held together in Toronto, Ontario, for the first time since 2012. It was encouraging to see many Canadian Conference leaders and OCSM delegates working together to improve our union. The gathering also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first OCSM Executive Board.

Attending the conference in Toronto provided me with an opportunity to address the inequity that Canadian musicians face when crossing the border to perform in the US. The present timetables and costs for P-2 visas are unacceptable. We will continue to push for policy change through meetings with members of Congress who have jurisdiction over immigration policy and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. Music is an economic driver, and we must demonstrate the harm caused when shows and tours are canceled. Please continue to share your stories with us. We are listening and tirelessly working to fix this broken system.

Ahead of the Western, Eastern, Southern, Midwestern, and Canadian conferences, the Federation hosted two-day educational sessions for local officers. These sessions, led by Director of Organizing Gabe Kristal, Electronic Media Services Division Director John Painting, and Freelance Services and Membership Development Director Wages Argott, provided officers with valuable resources and a forum to exchange ideas. I couldn’t be prouder than I am right now with the level of engagement all of our AFM directors have with AFM local officers and members.

AFM Secretary-Treasurer Shirk represented the AFM at conferences this summer, along with many of our department directors. I would like to thank all the AFM directors and staff members who also spent much of the summer traveling. Our staff returned from player and local conferences tired but energized, with many ideas for improving conditions for locals and members.

September brings with it a return to a more regular schedule, but the work doesn’t stop. In fact, it’s ramping up with the start of new negotiations. The AFM International Executive Board meeting this month will be an opportunity to regroup and strategize following our busy summer. A major focus of our agenda will include preparing for the upcoming Symphonic, Opera, and Ballet Integrated Media Agreement and Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA) negotiations.

This is a critical moment for our union and our members as we strive to secure a strong agreement that addresses the economic realities of today’s music industry, including issues of streaming royalties, residuals, and the use of new technologies. We are committed to fighting for a contract that protects and elevates the work of our professional recording musicians.

The International Federation of Musicians’ (FIM) 23rd Congress was held from June 25-27, at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted by the Swiss Musicians’ Union (SMV-USDAM). The conference brought together delegates from musician unions from around the world. I attended on behalf of the AFM along with Vice President from Canada Allistair Elliot and Symphonic Services Division Director Rochelle Skolnick.

Opening speeches emphasized the importance of social dialogue and intellectual property, with Davide Jäger (co-president of SMV-USDAM), Daniel Lampart (general secretary, SGB-USS), Frank Hagemann (director of ILO Sectoral Policies Department), Clair Ruppert (deputy director, ACTRAV), and Sylvie Forbin (deputy director general, World Intellectual Property Organization). FIM President John Smith concluded the opening ceremony, recalling FIM’s most recent accomplishments and highlighting current threats and opportunities.

The congress adopted a number of resolutions reflecting the concerns of musician unions worldwide. High-level debates took place on numerous issues, including:

Artificial Intelligence (AI): The congress agreed that AI models trained on protected content must obtain authorization from rights holders, that composers and performers receive proper credit, and that any use of their work by AI is fairly remunerated.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI): The congress agreed to create a regional network of “women’s desks” to enable member unions to better identify obstacles to equal participation in music and to share best practices. It also called for an international FIM conference on EDI in the music sector, adopted a firm stance against blackface, and demanded pay equality between permanent and substitute musicians.

Freelancers: The congress urged governments to recognize all freelance and independent musicians as workers under national labor laws.

The congress program featured three panels involving top international experts.

• Collective Bargaining for Independent Workers, moderated by Edith Katiji (FIM vice president, Zimbabwe), with panelists Karen Curtis (chief, Freedom of Association Branch ILO), Allistair Elliott (AFM vice president, Canada), Margherita Licata (technical specialist, ILO), and Naomi Pohl (general secretary, British Musicians’ Union).

• Impact of the Rise of On-demand Radio on Broadcast Royalties, moderated by Horace Trubridge (FIM vice president, United Kingdom), and featuring Tilo Gerlach (GVL, Germany), Mike Huppe (SoundExchange, USA), Peter Leathem (PPL, UK), and Pál Tomori (EJI, Hungary).

• Collective Agreements in the Field of AI, where I served as a moderator along with Beat Santschi (FIM vice president, Switzerland), Dominick Luquer (general secretary, FIA), Johannes Studinger (director, UNI MEI), and Xavier Beaudonnet (chief of collective bargaining unit, ILO).

Keynote speakers were Maité Llanos, director of the Geneva office of the ITUC, who highlighted the significance of the conclusions reached during the ILO tripartite meeting for the arts and entertainment sector in February 2023; César André Machado de Morais, general coordinator of copyright regulation at the Ministry of Culture of Brazil, who introduced the Brazilian AI bill aimed at providing creators with genuine protection; and Mike Huppe, CEO of SoundExchange, who outlined the challenges presented by AI for the music sector.

The congress elected FIM officers and an executive committee for the next four years. John F. Smith (UK) was reelected president. I was proud to be elected as a vice president along with Karin Inde (Sweden), Edith Katiji (Zimbabwe), Irene Monterroso (Costa Rica), and Beat Santschi (Switzerland).

FIM emerged from this congress strengthened in its role as a global leader in defending musicians’ rights, with updated strategic policy aims and a renewed commitment to support its members worldwide. The AFM’s robust participation in this global organization is a critical part of our work to effectively represent our members as we continue to confront challenges that know no geographic boundaries.

Eastern Music Festival Rally

Following the FIM Congress, I flew directly from Geneva to Greensboro, North Carolina, to support Eastern Music Festival (EMF) faculty and musicians. My speech at their concert and rally reflected my disappointment, frustration, and outrage with the festival’s leadership.

This year’s festival was canceled, not because there wasn’t enough money or enough students who wanted to attend. Rather, the leadership had decided to punish the musicians who only wanted to be respected and treated fairly.

The musicians came together to join the union because they wanted fair compensation, to have a voice in their workplace, and because they wanted to partner with the leadership of EMF to keep it the world-class festival it has been for so many years. However, instead of bargaining fairly, the festival’s management punished not only the talented musicians but also the students and community that benefit from their extraordinary performances and tutelage at EMF.

I call on Eastern Music Festival leadership to get back to the bargaining table and work with these committed musicians and their union and to bargain a fair agreement that ensures that this festival will continue to endure, in stature and excellence, for the students, the community, and the faculty of musicians, for generations to come.

You can read more about the struggle of the musicians of the Eastern Music Festival and their rally here.

Before 2010, New York and Los Angeles were the leading centers for film scoring. Due to producers’ desire to cut costs, most nonsignatory film scoring has been done overseas in recent years. Although scoring makes up a small portion of a blockbuster film’s budget, often less than .05%, by 2018 most film productions that didn’t have union agreements had moved their scoring overseas. Many of these recordings are now made by nonunion orchestras in Central and Eastern European countries.

This spring, one of our primary focuses has been on state lobbying efforts to ensure that more motion picture and television scoring work is done in the US and Canada.

California: A Stronger Voice in Sacramento

The AFM has taken a strong, proactive stance to ensure musicians’ voices are heard in Sacramento by joining the Entertainment Union Coalition (EUC). This multi-union alliance is dedicated to advocating for entertainment industry members on public policy issues in California and collectively represents over 165,000 workers in the state’s entertainment sector.

I have appointed Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) President Stephanie O’Keefe and AFM Director of Government Affairs Ben Kessler as our liaisons. Thanks to their work and dedication, the AFM now has a seat at the table among the other arts and entertainment unions and guilds, including California IATSE Council, Directors Guild of America, LiUNA! Local 724, Teamsters Local 399, Writers Guild of America West, and SAG-AFTRA.

The EUC has been a vocal advocate for the entertainment industry in discussions around California Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2025-2026 budget. When production companies are bound by our contracts, and more film and television production takes place in California, that means more work for AFM members. It is clear to me that Newsom’s proposed expansion of the California Film and Television Job Program to $750 million will benefit working musicians. The increase will make California’s incentive program competitive with those in other countries. It will do so as a true jobs package.

We thank our members and AFM local leaders throughout California who submitted letters of support for AB 1138 and SB 630 to key chair and committee members in Sacramento during April. These film and television modernization bills are critical to bringing back film and television jobs, strengthening the domestic entertainment industry, and ensuring California remains a global center for film and television.

New York State: Celebrating New Scoring Incentives

Last month, we celebrated new tax incentives for film scoring in New York State. To fight the offshoring of music scoring through legislation, AFM and Local 802 officers and staff, including former President Sara Cutler and current President Bob Suttmann, Financial Vice President Karen Fisher, and Chief of Staff Dan Point, traveled to Albany to lobby state legislators and build meaningful relationships.

Under a new provision, producers have a financial incentive to score their made-in-New York projects in the state. If they hire at least five musicians to record a qualified project in New York, they will receive a 10% uplift rebate or tax credit on scoring costs from the state, on top of the standard 40% credit. If scoring is conducted in Upstate New York, there is an additional 10% uplift, meaning producers could see rebates of scoring costs as high as 60%.

I appreciate New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s support for this legislation. This has been a passion project of mine since I became president of Local 802 in 2010. It is essential that the tax credit program truly benefits all aspects of the New York State creative economy, including AFM scoring musicians.

New Jersey: Closing Loopholes for Domestic Work

We are currently working with AFM local union leaders in New Jersey on film tax incentive legislation to ensure that film scoring work is produced domestically.

The Garden State Film and Digital Media Jobs Act, passed in 2018, gives tax credits to attract film and digital media productions to New Jersey. To get the tax credit, producers must spend a certain amount on hiring in-state workers and spend a certain amount on in-state vendors. It’s a great program, establishing New Jersey as a top-tier filmmaking destination but there is no direct incentive to keep the film scoring work at home.

Local 16-248 (Newark, NJ) President Tony Scally and Local 16-248 Executive Board Member Dave Schneck, along with Local 62 (Trenton, NJ) President Buzz Herman and Local 399 (Asbury Park, NJ) President Jim McIlvain and Secretary Curt Morton, have been working steadily to help move the bipartisan S4392 and A4382 bills through the New Jersey legislature. These crucial bills, sponsored by Senator Joseph Lagana for S4392, and Assemblymembers William Sampson, Barbara McCann Stamato, and Dawn Fantasia for A4382, aim to incentivize producers to hire domestic musicians for scoring sessions, rather than outsourcing the work to Europe. More information can be found at www.nj.fairsharemusic.org.

Continuing the Fight for AFM Member Jobs

Of course, this work extends beyond the impact of tax incentives; the important work to ensure more jobs for AFM members across the US and Canada continues. The AFM is committed to increasing work opportunities for all members under Electronic Media Services Division (EMSD) recording contracts by actively engaging with both musicians and local officers. This includes offering education, resources, and support to ensure proper contract filing and compliance. The EMSD works to demystify the various AFM agreements, from the Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA) to specialized contracts for low-budget projects and new media.

By highlighting the advantages of union contracts—including fair wages, pension and health contributions, and residual payments for “new use” and supplemental markets—the AFM empowers members and encourages employers to participate, ultimately broadening union opportunities in the constantly changing recording industry.

Much of the work the Federation does to advocate for musicians’ interests and influence laws and policies that protect them happens through the relationships we’ve built in Washington, DC. Ben Kessler is our director of government affairs. Last month, I joined him for a few days in the capital to discuss your interests directly with your representatives.

• We met with Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Committee on the Judiciary. We covered a range of topics that included intellectual property and the unique needs of scoring musicians.
• We discussed AI and arts funding during our meeting with Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL), who serves on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability. A talented musician himself, Frost is an advocate for AFM members.
• We met with Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), a ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Intellectual Property Subcommittee, who is a champion for creating transparency in AI development and protecting musicians’ jobs.
• Our conversation with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) included the need to move American Music Fairness Act out of committee and through the legislative process as soon as possible. He has been a longtime advocate for the union.
• During our meeting with Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, he expressed support for AMFA and performers’ rights.
• We met with Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who serves on the House Judiciary Committee and is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement. We discussed the many issues facing our Canadian members as well as protecting the rights of Seattle musicians. We also spoke about the cruelty of requiring transgender and nonbinary artists to list their gender at birth in document applications.

AFM Legislative Priorities

Tax Incentives for Postproduction Work—Many nonsignatory television and film productions are now scored overseas with cheaper, nonunion orchestras. New postproduction tax incentives could encourage producers to hire US musicians and studios and keep this work at home. We talked to elected officials about the importance of advocating for musicians’ jobs in the US.

Copyright and GAI Protections—With several cases on generative artificial intelligence (GAI) before the courts and uncertainty at the US Copyright Office, we need more allies in Congress to establish meaningful safeguards that protect featured artists and session musicians alike. We presented our concerns about maintaining the autonomy of the US Copyright Office in the wake of the attempted firing of the Register of Copyrights. The AFM supports those who are working with us toward consent, credit, and compensation when our work is used for AI development.

American Music Fairness Act—The American Music Fairness Act (AMFA) would allow compensation for musicians for AM/FM radio plays. The proposal would end special treatment for broadcasters while protecting small and local radio stations from arduous fees. Our opponents spend millions of dollars every year just to keep from paying musicians fairly. The AFM is also in conversations with members of Congress and a range of stakeholders on how to best improve streaming platform compensation models. 

P-2 Visa Processing—What was already an expensive, slow, and difficult process for Canadian musicians wishing to obtain a visa to work in the US has become even worse. The situation was compounded by the shutting down of the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman after its staff was put on leave. This effectively ended immigration oversight.

Supporting Our Members

While in Washington, I met with senior staff at the Canadian Embassy. It is a critical time for the AFM to have open lines of communication with both the US Embassy in Ottawa and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. The P-2 visa process has failed Canadian musicians for some time. And with the firing of the staff of the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman responsible for immigration services, we must look elsewhere for transparency and accountability. During our meeting at the Embassy, we discussed advocacy strategies and the need to engage US stakeholders if we are to affect change. We acknowledged the harm the visa application gender identification policy is having on our trans and nonbinary members. Unfortunately, the position of the Trump administration is unwaveringly cruel in its position.

Finally, I made time to meet with our AFM members of Local 161-710 (Washington, DC), who are working at the Kennedy Center during this very uncertain time. I listened to the concerns of those members facing challenging workplace conditions and assured them that the AFM is here to help. We are discussing the situation with other labor unions to present a unified stance in support of all Kennedy Center workers.

Boost Our Legislative Efforts Through a TEMPO Contribution

These visits to the capital and Kessler’s continued work are important for moving our priorities forward. As mid-term elections approach, supporting the campaigns of those elected leaders who fight for our concerns is more important than ever. We must restore balance in our government in order to protect the needs of musicians and union workers across the country.

TEMPO contributions allow the AFM to support lawmakers and candidates who advocate for issues critical to musicians. Please consider making a contribution to TEMPO. Every donation makes a difference.

Visit: https://www.afm.org/what-we-are-doing/legislative/tempo/

Remembering Bill Moriarity

My friend, former Local 802 (New York City) President Bill Moriarity, passed away at the end of April. He was a mentor with whom I sought counsel on a regular basis. Whether it was bargaining strategy or pension issues, I could always count on Bill to provide a fresh perspective on any problem at hand. The things I learned from him provided me with the tools to be an effective negotiator and president. I still have a copy of the Local 802 Bylaws he gave me when I first talked about running for Local 802 Executive Board. You can read more about his legacy here.

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 the biggest population of musicians in Canada and the US, they are especially disadvantaged when seeking employment protections that are available to almost every other worker. Consequently, they are the most challenging for local unions to represent effectively.

The freelance musicians of this decade have entered into a very different music industry from that experienced by the previous generation. When called to play a job, the musicians of the old generation could expect a paycheck from the bandleader at the end of the gig, in an amount at or better than local union scale. The succeeding generations of musicians have had to navigate the burdens of “pay-to-play,” self-marketing, insurance requirements, exploitative streaming platforms, a commercial culture that eschews the very idea of contracts as a way to secure compensation, and a consumer culture that considers itself entitled to free music.

With that as background, I am pleased to report that, with the support of the International Executive Board, we are focusing on increasing our services and visibility to the upcoming generation of musicians. Freelance Services Department Director Wages Argott is leading the effort to enhance AFM’s presence in the lives of freelance musicians and its significance for their careers by engaging in music industry events and trade shows, improving the GoProHosting web hosting service for members by introducing new features and functionalities, and updating the Federation’s musician-specific websites—such as Venuology, a “Yelp-like” place for musicians to write their own reviews of performance venues to improve access and functionality.

Just as important, however, is new partnering between the Federation and its locals to equip the locals to develop and foster vibrant connections with freelance musicians in their communities. The Federation’s Education Committee, which I appointed at the beginning of this administration, has embarked on a new education model for 2025 to assist union locals with exactly this task.

The committee, chaired by International Secretary-Treasurer Ken Shirk, has tasked the heads of the Freelance Department, Organizing Department, and Electronic Media Services Division (EMSD) to develop an integrated education program, combining aspects of traditional labor and community organizing together with the building blocks of the Freelance Department programs and indie musician-specific electronic media structures, designed to facilitate live, functional connections between the working bands and their local unions.

Freelance Director Argott, together with Organizing Department Director Gabe Kristal and EMSD Director John Painting, have designed an excellent two-day workshop for local officers to bring those specific aspects together. The overall goal of the program is to provide locals with a clear template of how a local can start the process of transitioning into an active, community and power-building entity to assist this large, under-represented segment of the industry in gaining influence and control over their economic lives.

The first presentation was given to a very receptive group of local representatives just prior to the Western Conference, held last month in Tacoma, Washington. Responses from the participants were quite enthusiastic. Similar workshops will be presented across the Federation at the Eastern, Southern, Midwestern, and Canadian Conferences in the months to come.

The Federation is funding hotel and per diem for up to 15 participants for these sessions, and participation is open to any local leader or representative who wishes to bring the important information and skillsets back to their own communities. My hope is that as many local officers as possible attend these workshops and implement the concepts and tools learned to rededicate themselves to this union’s primary mission—for all of us as musicians to live and work in dignity, be fulfilled, and be compensated fairly.