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 23, 2015
IM -Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) member James Horner, the composer of countless breathtaking scores, from Titanic and Braveheart, Field of Dreams and Avatar, to Jumanji and An American Tail, and so many others, passed away on Monday, June 22 in a plane crash near Santa Barbara, California. The two-time Academy Award winner was just 61. Horner’s dossier as a film composer is as extraordinary, and he will not be forgotten by those who worked closely with him, or by the innumerable people he touched with his music. Horner will inexorably live on in his music and the classic films that he was invaluable to. With three new scores to be released this year, the world has thankfully not yet seen the last of James Horner. In the Shakespearean fashion, Horner will of course live on through his truly exceptional art; undoubtably, “[his] heart will go on.”