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.

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Tino A. Gagliardi

Theatre, Touring, and Booking Division Director


Musicians Return to the Pit as Touring Shows Reopen

by Tino Gagliardi, AFM Director of Theatre, Touring, and Booking Division It’s been a long time coming, but after 18 months, Broadway’s touring shows have finally reopened. Officially, the pandemic has not been declared “over,” but touring musicians, on-location musicians, stagehands, and production crews are returning to work. In 2020, 23 AFM-covered touring productions were […]

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State of Touring Theatrical Productions Still Uncertain, But Digital Options Increasing

On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The following day, the governor of New York State banned the gathering of groups larger than 500 people after 5 p.m. each night, effectively shutting down all of Broadway. On March 20, the AFM and the Broadway League came to a settlement agreement […]

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Safety Protocols for a Return to Work for Pit Musicians

From the Theatre, Touring, and Booking Division The Broadway League announced in late June that Broadway performances in New York City will be suspended through the remainder of 2020 due to COVID-19. Returning productions are currently projected to resume performances over a series of rolling dates in early 2021.  As we navigate through the current […]

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New Touring/Theater Feature Added to the AFM Website

We are introducing a new feature in the members section of the AFM website—a section that is designed to improve and increase communication between the union and our members working under theatrical trade agreements across the country. Our first postings to this new site offer video/audio comments and impressions from a few of the musicians […]

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The Music Performance Trust Fund Is Back!

This new revenue stream has brought the MPTF back from the dire straits in which the fund found itself just a decade ago.

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Local 802 Awards First Grant to Emerging Artists

Local 802 (New York City)’s new grant program, the Emerging Artists Project, is poised to award its inaugural grant after a long selection process. Sixteen highly esteemed musicians listened to and rated all the applicants and an in-house committee evaluated the application materials (performance history, business plan, audience base, social justice, and education components).

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Pension Fund Information Update

As an officer of the Federation who is also a trustee of our Pension Fund, I am devoting this column to the Pension Fund. Like all of you, I am concerned about the safety of my pension and, like you, I am worried about the Pension Fund’s future.

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Building a Partnership with Municipal Government

That lesson should not be applied solely to our membership and our organizing efforts, but also to our advocacy and partnership work with municipal governments and agencies

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Support Fair Play, Fair Pay

Support Fair Play, Fair Pay because it gives musicians and other performers the simple and undeniable right to be compensated for their creative product.

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Organizing Means Raising the Profile of the People Making the Music

You can be a musician, and have power in numbers, too. As a union, it is our job to ensure that musicians get fair treatment and are recognized by their employers as the valuable employees that they are. But to do so, we must continue to engage our members and make sure that the general […]

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