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 1, 2016
IM -A collaborative project with the Woody Guthrie Center and the Woody Guthrie Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will have students and faculty from Loyola University New Orleans transcribing a collection of Woody Guthrie interviews that are currently only available in audio format. Student workers will use state-of-the-art transcription software under the direction of Loyola New Orleans’ Department of History, as well as the Documentary and Oral History Studio, and Professors Patricia Carlin O’Keefe, Mark Fernandez, and Justin A. Nystrom.
The recordings include tape-recorded interviews from the 1970s by journalist Joe Klein, author of Woody Guthrie: A Life. “The transcriptions of these historical recordings will benefit researchers immensely and provide a wealth of information about Woody’s life and legacy to all our guests,” says Deana McCloud, executive director of the Woody Guthrie Center.