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 23, 2017
What do you do with more than 1,000 musical instruments in disrepair and no funds to fix them? That was the dilemma faced by The School District of Philadelphia.
May 23, 2017
Amidst the financial crisis in Brazil, the artists of the Brazilian Symphonic Orchestra and ballet of the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theater, have not been paid their salaries since February.
May 23, 2017
A Music Week study that analyzed the top 100 singles of 2016 found that an average of 4.53 people wrote the hits, and those in the top 30 averaged 4.67 people.
May 23, 2017
In May, former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled plans for the Obama Presidential Center and park to be built in Chicago’s South Side. Aside from the presidential library, the three-building complex will include an auditorium, restaurant, spaces for exhibition and education/meetings, plus a recording studio.
May 19, 2017
Three AFM musicians received 2017 Ford Musician Awards for Excellence in Community Service in May. Violinist Diane McElfish Helle of Local 56 (Grand Rapids, MI) leads the Grand Rapid Symphony’s Music for Health initiative, which sends symphony musicians into hospitals to assist with patient rehabilitation and support.
May 3, 2017
Sensaphonics is running a Facebook giveaway contest for the month of May in celebration of Better Hearing Month. The company will award one winner with a pair of classic 2X-S custom in-ear monitors and a dB Check in-ear sound level analyzer.
May 3, 2017
Tyson Foods pledged last week to build a better workplace for its 95,000 workers
May 3, 2017
A recently released AFL-CIO study showed that 4,836 workers died in 2015 after suffering workplace accidents and 150 workers died each day from hazardous working conditions.
May 3, 2017
Though the Working Families Flexibility Act has been touted as an attempt to provide employees with work flexibility, what it really does is provide employers additional flexibility in allowing them to compensate workers with paid time off (comp time) instead of overtime.
The first time then-teenagers Katie Larson and Savannah Buist, both members of Local 56 (Grand Rapids, MI) jammed together in 2011 they knew they had something special. The next five years were a blur of learning, creativity, and performing. They’ve graduated with the inaugural singer-songwriter major at Interlochen Arts Academy high school, produced three albums, and toured the country.