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.
September 10, 2018
IM -Newburgh Chamber Music of Newburgh, New York, donated $2,000 to AFM’s Hurricane Relief Fund to help Puerto Rican musicians impacted by Hurricane Maria. The money was donated from the proceeds of their Annual Mother’s Day concert, which featured the Hudson Valley Winds performing Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals and Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite.
AFM musicians involved were Local 238-291 (Poughkeepsie, NY) members Marcia Gates (flute); Ruthanne Schempf (piano); and Nanette Koch (narrator); Local 802 (New York City) members Janet Lantz (horn) and Jeffery Marchand (bassoon); as well as Joël Evans (oboe), Larry Tietze (clarinet), and Carole Cowan (artistic director), members of both Local 238-291 and 802.