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.
June 30, 2020
Just as the workplace for musicians has changed from concert halls to virtual rooms, meetings for orchestra committees and contract negotiations have converted from face-to-face deliberations to virtual conversations. Whatever your choice of online meeting space, whether Zoom, Webex, Skype, FaceTime, or Google Meet, these platforms offer both challenges and advantages for organizing and negotiating […]
June 30, 2020
Collectively, as musicians we are enduring a chapter of our professional lives more painful than any we have ever before experienced. We have been exiled from concert hall stages and orchestra pits and sent into solitary confinement in our home practice studios. Our incomes and our identities as musicians are suddenly precarious. Our contact with […]
June 29, 2020
In March, musicians performing with the Chicago Teatro Zinzanni dinner-and-show production successfully voted to form a union, with official results of the election certified on May 28. Teatro Zinzanni arrived in Chicago as a “proudly non-union” company. “When we were hired, we were told that Teatro Zinzanni worked hard to keep the union out,” says […]
June 15, 2020
In this troubled and uncertain time where there has been a dramatic decrease in live work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a certain amount of solace in knowing that projects recorded under AFM agreements administered by the Electronic Media Services Division can and have resulted in much needed income for musicians.
May 25, 2020
The purpose of the NDA is to preserve confidential information including songs, vocal arrangements, and other creative artistic matters that have not been performed publicly.
May 13, 2020
Find out what has been going on in the Symphonic Services Division amidst COVID-19 with this update from the SSD Director Rochelle Skolnick.
March 30, 2020
The Symphonic Services Division (SSD) of the AFM jumped in early to negotiate a side letter to the Integrated Media Agreement (IMA) with the Employer’s Electronic Media Association (EMA) to cover electronic media that could be distributed to our audiences in place of live performances.
March 30, 2020
The Symphonic Services Division has been fielding inumerous calls and emails working to protect musicians compensation during this COVID-19 outbreak.
March 30, 2020
Theres no doubt that crises show why we organize. Here are some examples of how our collective power can make a difference for musicians.
March 30, 2020
In an effort to address the impact of COVID-19 for non-symphonic situations, the EMSD has established guidelines for potential waivers.