Know Your Rights: Unionism for Freelance Musicians

October 1, 2026

Wages Argott  -  AFM Director of Freelance Services and Membership Development

Musicians join the Federation for many reasons: they believe in equity and advocacy for their profession, they want to be a part of a larger musical community, they find the benefits and services included with membership attractive, or they’re working under a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the AFM.

But what does it really mean to be a member of a labor union? And if you’re not one of those folks working under a traditional collective bargaining agreement (usually a contract negotiated by a group of employees of a single employer at a single workplace), what’s your role in the greater union body? What rights do you have as a worker, and how do you organize?

A labor union only works with participation from all its members (we are the union), and our conditions and dignity only improve through our collective action. Whether you’re a motivated new member or a long-time unionist, you may not always know what rights and protections are available to us as union workers, nor our responsibility to our professional community regarding the choices we make and the conditions we accept. And there’s an even bigger question: how can we organize independent musicians who do all kinds of work, for all kinds of folks, all over the place?

To begin answering this question and help you start the work in your neighborhood, the Freelance Services and Organizing Services departments have collaborated on a new unionism workshop open to all musicians.

This “Know Your Rights” educational session combines presentation and participation, because the first step of any good organizing campaign is listening. The work and conditions for musicians vary widely across the United States and Canada, and we need your voice and action to guide the work we accomplish together.

We’ll zoom out and explain just what unionism and organizing really mean in practical terms and you’ll have the opportunity in breakout groups to discuss the issues you’ve experienced in the workplace and the improvements you’d like to see.

Your facilitator will share information about the resources and tools available to our musicians to protect your live and recorded performances, as well as programs to connect our musicians with fair, equitable work.

More importantly, we’ll underscore how necessary collective action and shared standards are for the strength and sustainability of our craft in our respective locales, and how you can work alongside your fellow musicians, local leaders, and Federation staff to improve conditions and fight for dignity in the workplace.

These sessions—open to everyone from life members to gigging musicians from the broader community—are only the first step. At the conclusion of the roughly 90-minute workshop, you’ll leave with ideas, and hopefully new energy, that can be channeled into forming or growing your own local freelance organizing committee. These structured teams of musicians, just like you, will work together to identify specific challenges and strategize around solutions.

You’ll have the support of your local’s leadership, with whom you’ll work closely in developing your own organizing strategy. And, as with all our initiatives, the Federation will always have your back, helping connect you with available resources and staff support.

These freelance organizing committees will become the cornerstone of our international freelance organizing strategy. Their work will also inform and guide the actions of the Freelance Musicians Association (FMA)—the Federation’s player conference for independent musicians.

Only through consistent communication and participation can we move forward together. The FMA provides a valuable forum to hear about the work happening across the Federation, share and learn new ideas, or even just vent a bit about our struggles.

Musicians: let your local officers know that you’d like to have one of these workshops in your city and take the first step toward organizing your freelance community! Local leaders: our “Know Your Rights” training was designed and built to be presented by you, with all the materials you need to host this session in your area. Even if you recognize the importance of this education, you may be daunted by the prospect of hosting and presenting it on your own. Please reach out to me at wargott@afm.org to learn how Federation staff can provide additional support.

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