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.
February 14, 2014
Los Lonely Boys, members of Local 433 (Austin, TX), are a first-degree Texas success story that began before the musicians were born. Their father, Enrique Garza, played music with his brothers growing up. And Henry, JoJo, and Ringo, the brothers who make up Los Lonely Boys, have been playing music together since childhood, when they […]
February 14, 2014
Glenn Dicterow lists Jascha Heifetz, David Oistrakh, and Nathan Milstein as some of his favorite violinists. They aren’t unusual choices, but what’s different is Dicterow’s reason for picking them. He doesn’t cite these master violinists’ technique, tone, or musicality—though those things undoubtedly factor in. What he admires most is their combination of humility and ambition. […]
February 14, 2014
Born and raised in L.A., Ritenour began playing guitar at eight years old and credits his father for finding him the best teachers. “Back in those days you could find Joe Pass and Barney Kessel in the telephone book,” says Ritenour. “He would just call and say he had this talented son, and could […]
February 14, 2014
AFM Local 257 (Nashville, TN) member Rhonda Vincent is a fifth generation musician from the Vincent family that gained notoriety in the 1970s on their own variety radio and television program, The Sally Mountain Show. Dubbed “The Queen of Bluegrass” by The Wall Street Journal, Vincent has since carved out a successful niche for herself […]
February 14, 2014
As a concert pianist, Jon Kimura Parker of Local 145 (Vancouver, BC) travels to a different venue most every weekend, giving 60 or 70 concerts each year. He’s also professor of piano for Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Houston. We caught up with him when he was “commuting” between Houston and China for […]
February 14, 2014
Growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Christian McBride couldn’t wait to get to New York City and play with all the big name jazz players. As a teenager, he even made a list of all the people he’d one day play with. Topping that list was Art Blakey. “I never asked myself if I thought it […]
February 14, 2014
Folk rock singer-songwriter, and Local 802 (New York City) member, Jonatha Brooke is putting the finishing touches on her new play, My Mother Has Four Noses. It’s a one-woman show that she wrote, scored, and stars in. “It’s a very real story about my mother and me,” she says. ?“It’s kind of a love story.” […]
February 14, 2014
Vermont based singer songwriter Jay Nash recently discovered the importance of the AFM to indie musicians like himself as he jumped into commercial composing and studio work. “I don’t have to worry about negotiating anything. There’s a set rate for playing an instrument on a recording; it’s cut and dry. I represent myself, so it’s […]
February 14, 2014
Drummer Dave Weckl of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) first joined the union “way back” in the ’70s in his hometown, St. Louis, Missouri, when he started working in clubs at a young age. “Back in the day you had to be in the union to work with other union musicians, so it wasn’t a […]
February 14, 2014
It almost seems like it would be easier to list the people that David Sanborn of Local 802 (New York City) has not played with than those he’s performed or recorded with. His long list of memorable collaborations began when he was just a kid sitting in with Little Milton and Albert King at a […]