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.
July 7, 2017
But, she explains in a blog, every single negative comment was from a man. “These men like to claim that they aren’t sexist—that sexism, in fact, does not exist, but that women are inherently ‘inferior’ composers,” says Lentjes
Read MoreJuly 7, 2017
With 18 days of continuous music, Epidemic Music Group broke the Guinness World Record for Longest Concert by Multiple Artists. More than 450 performers took part in the event that raised more than $90,000 for 16 charities that included Habitat for Humanity, United Way, and the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research. In order to break the record audience size couldn’t drop below 10 people at the Stouffville, Ontario, Earl of Whitchurch pub.
Read MoreJuly 5, 2017
With the speed of today’s Internet, inaccurate information can be disseminated quickly. Here are a few myths I’ve seen about the pension fund, along with the facts.
Read MoreJune 30, 2017
For his first CD, Breaking Through, Paul Henning of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) made sure it was done on a Limited Pressing Agreement with a live 48-piece
Read MoreJune 30, 2017
Flipper Flanagan’s Flat Footed Four, members of Local 591 (Thunder Bay, ON), will celebrate their 50th anniversary with concerts and events across the region beginning June 15 at the Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay, Ontario. According to band member and guitarist Jamie Gerow, the concerts are retrospective of all the songs their audience has enjoyed over the years.
Read MoreJune 30, 2017
Gary Pressy of Local 10-208 (Chicago, IL) enjoys a seat at Chicago Cubs games like no other player. From his perch in the press booth overlooking Wrigley Field, the Cubs organist, since 1987, has played 2,446 consecutive games without missing a beat.
Read MoreJune 30, 2017
Manufacturing jobs in the US continue to disappear at a record rate with automaker layoffs steadily increasing since 2016.
Read MoreJune 30, 2017
Terrance Wise, who had worked at a Burger King for more than 11 years, was not kept on the job when the store was acquired by EYM King in 2015.
Read MoreJune 30, 2017
A historic meeting of Federation and local officers and delegates took place at the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Saturday, April 22, when the Eastern Conference of Locals, comprised of locals from New England, New Jersey, New York, and the former Penn-Del-Mar-DC Conference, was called to order by Eastern Conference President Candace Lammers of Local 400 (Hartford-New Haven, CT).
Read MoreJune 30, 2017
The Italia Maranello Cavo Bass is a light weight, 30-inch scale, semi-hollow body, four-string bass that packs a punch. It has a comfortable 20-fret rosewood fingerboard, mahogany neck, and chambered mahogany body featuring Italia’s signature f-hole.
Read More