Ray Hair

AFM International President

New Public TV Contract Ratified

July 6, 2016

I am pleased to report that after three rounds of negotiations, starting in October 2015, the Federation reached agreement with representatives of public television employers including the Public Broadcasting Service, WGBH, WETA, WTTW, Austin City Limits, Sesame Workshop, and Thirteen Productions (formerly Educational Broadcasting Corporation) for a successor National Public Television Agreement. The agreement was ratified June 1, and will extend three years.

AFM, Media Convergence and Performance Rights, Part 5

June 1, 2016

In the fifth and final part of our series, we examine the growth of streaming and the potential to drive new money to MPTF, SPF, and AFM-EPW.

AFM Media Convergence and Performance Rights, Part 4

May 3, 2016

In part four of this series we discuss the AFM’s role in advocating digital performance rights, and its partnerships with Sound-Exchange and SAG-AFTRA in royalty distributions.

AFM, Media Convergence and Performance Rights, Pt. 3

April 5, 2016

Part three of this series discusses how revolutionary systems in digital media production and distribution have converged, disrupting business models.

AFM, Media Convergence and Performance Rights Part 2

March 1, 2016

The future of the Federation depends in part on its ability to bargain progressive media agreements despite global competitiveness and a burgeoning background of web-based, user-generated-content that has blurred the lines between broadcasting and other media across all elements of consumption.

AFM, Media Convergence, and Performance Rights

February 29, 2016

AFM, Media Convergence, and Performance Rights — To understand what is happening now in music and media, let’s look to our past to remember who we are, where we came from, and what we did, in order to help us see where we go from here.

Chief Operating Officer Mancini Retires

January 1, 2016

Chief Operating Officer Mancini Retires — Lew Mancini, whose tenure with the Federation began in 1971 as a supervisor in the Booking Agent Department, and who eventually became our highest-ranking employee as chief operating officer (COO), retired from service effective December 31, 2015.

Public Television Contract Negotiations Have Begun

November 5, 2015

Fresh on the heels of last month’s opening round of Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA) negotiations, the Federation has just finished the opening round of talks with the Public Television Industry toward a successor National Public Television (NPTV) Agreement. First negotiated in the early 1970’s, the existing agreement was reached in December 2002, and expired […]

Record Labels Return to the Table: Seeking Successor to Sound Recording Labor Agreement

October 5, 2015

As I write this column, preliminary caucus meetings have just concluded in preparation for the opening round of talks with major labels representing the sound recording industry toward a successor Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA).

Ground Zero, Subzero—Looking Back at 9/11

September 11, 2015

My travel to New York City to attend the October 3 opening of the AFM’s Pamphlet B negotiations had assumed an entirely different demeanor in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack.