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.

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Home » Recent News » National Music Council Marks Global Music Freedom Day with Symposium on Political Violence Against Music Creators and Performers


National Music Council Marks Global Music Freedom Day with Symposium on Political Violence Against Music Creators and Performers

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The Congressionally-chartered National Music Council of the United States (NMC), in collaboration with its global partner, the Paris-based International Music Council (IMC), will premiere a landmark symposium addressing the recent spike in political violence against songwriters, composers, and music performers throughout the world. The webcast, available to viewers at www.musiccouncil.org, on March 3, represents a key component of the global Music Freedom Day observances.

The program features discussions and interviews with many of the world’s leading experts and activists on free speech issues as they pertain to the music and music education communities. Panel topics will include movements to protect free speech in music; trends in politically-based censorship of the musical arts; and the history of music’s political influence and of governmental attempts to harness, control, and silence it. The Symposium’s website also features an article by NMC chair Charles J. Sanders, “Music, Politics, and History,” which traces the global timeline of music suppression and includes dozens of links to musical examples and accounts of incidents.

According to a joint statement issued by Sanders and NMC president James Weaver, “We believe this to be the first international, music community-sponsored forum ever held outside of Europe to address this crucial topic, and NMC is proud to have joined with its IMC colleagues in bringing it to fruition. The ability in the US and Canada to speak out on such issues, principally without fear of government reprisal, places on us a special responsibility to shine a brighter light on these escalating injustices and attacks. Music creators and performers have always been vulnerable targets for coercion and repression. Our community’s responsibilities are to ensure that such anti-democratic activities not remain hidden in the shadows, no matter where in the world they occur—including within our own borders.”







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