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.
May 29, 2020
The AFM last month joined with other entertainment unions and music industry organizations in highlighting the ways that the CARES Act has fallen short in assisting musicians and other entertainment workers.
May 29, 2020
More than 42,000 session musicians and vocalists in all 50 states and Canada will be sharing $62 million in royalties collected by the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund—the largest distribution in the fund’s history.
May 29, 2020
Pianist and composer Ran Blake is the 2020 recipient of the Boston Jazz Hero award from the Jazz Journalists Association
May 1, 2020
Music Is an Underrated Path to Social Justice When trumpet player Herb Smith of Local 66 (Rochester, NY) read the news about a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally being organized in downtown Rochester last summer, he knew he needed to take part in some way. This wasn’t a new feeling for him. Tall and dreadlocked, […]
May 1, 2020
An agreement has been reached in the California Assembly on pending amendments to California’s “Gig Economy” Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) that will provide relief to the majority of affected music professionals, including musicians, recording artists, composers, songwriters, and vocalists.
May 1, 2020
Musicians of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra (NBSO) voted by an overwhelming majority in April to ratify a first Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Boston Musicians’ Association (BMA), Local 9-535.
May 1, 2020
To view this article in English, click here. par Alan Willaert, vice-président de la FAM pour le Canada En 1927 est sorti un long métrage intitulé The Jazz Singer. Comme tout premier film parlant, il a sonné le glas de la présence des musiciens dans les cinémas à l’échelle de l’Amérique du Nord. Et la […]
May 1, 2020
Loud Fast Words offers firsthand commentary from Dave Pirner, a member Soul Asylum, reflecting on every album and every song from his repertoire.
May 1, 2020
In “Counterpoint”, Philip Kennicott recounts his efforts to rise to the challenge and to fight through his grief as his mother was dying.
April 6, 2020
Tarisio, the leading international auction venue for fine instruments and bows, has launched GiveBack — a special benefit auction with all commissions donated to musicians around the world who have been affected by COVID-19. The commissions from this sale, which are expected to exceed $100,000, will be divided into $600 grants and awarded on a lottery […]