Officers Columns

Here are the latest posts from our officers

Ray Hair – AFM International President

AFM Launches Workplace Safety Initiatives

Since becoming AFM president, I have met with members all across the Federation and there is one common theme: if we want to grow, if we want more work opportunities, and a more inclusive industry, we need to change the culture and how we do business.

Safe Workplaces

In the following months the AFM will launch its safe workplaces initiative and training. There are too many times when members don’t feel safe and protected from harassment in the workplace. It’s time to change the culture. I’m announcing the following steps:

We will bargain a requirement that employers provide meaningful harassment training to workers, and we will review the materials and training provided. We urge all AFM locals to do the same in their local agreements.

The AFM will create a hotline where anyone can report unsafe working conditions and get access to help, no matter where they work.

We will provide additional training for locals about how to handle complaints and require that all our employers provide for a safe and healthy work environment. Preconference officer training modules have been set for 2024 regional conferences, including a local officer mental health module in compliance with direction from the 102nd AFM Convention.

We will take a new approach to member-on-member complaints, prioritizing meritorious claims rather than automatically filing grievances for the sake of process.

Workplace protection is a complex problem that requires allies and partnerships. We’ll expand our work with the Entertainment Community Fund and work collaboratively with other unions in our industry to help create a better culture.

Union Business

As you have probably heard, the public support for unions is at a record high. We cannot, must not, miss this moment to capitalize and grow while the public is with us. Over the last few months, we’ve seen exciting growth and change from unions across the country. The United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) has made bold plans to organize the Deep South. Recently, they won a decisive and historic victory at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee. In the entertainment world, Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) united the industry and won important new contract gains.

There is much we can learn from how other unions are growing and changing and the Federation must also grow and adapt with the times if we are to remain relevant. That’s why we’re exploring retaining an outside consultant to review all of the Federation’s operations and see how we can grow and modernize to better serve members. That process will also include getting feedback from rank-and-file members like you.

Watch for more on this in the months ahead.

Contract Wins

In our negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for new Basic Theatrical Motion Picture and Basic Television Motion Picture agreements, we changed how we negotiated, bringing members further into the bargaining process and earlier than ever before. We also noted important gains in our new Pamphlet B and Short Engagement Tour (SET) agreements with Broadway League and Disney Theatrical Productions. There are additional details about these agreements on page 12.

I am excited for our future. The public is with us. We must embrace this moment for growth and change.

2024 Conference Schedule

April 28-28 Western Conference, Boise, ID

May 4-5 Eastern Conference, King of Prussia, PA

June 15-16 LCC/PCC Conference, Detroit, MI

June 22-23 Southern Conference, Austin, TX

June 28-30 Canadian Conference, Montreal, PQ

July 30-Aug 1 ROPA Conference, San Francisco, CA

August 12-15 OCSM Conference, Kitchener, ON

August 21-24 ICSOM Conference, Portland, OR

October 12-13 Midwest Conference, Chicago, IL

Jay Blumenthal – AFM International Secretary-Treasurer

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When Crisis Is Opportunity

Whether it be on a local or national level, changes in industry practices—or in a union that represents the employees in that industry—generally come slowly. An institution with many constituent parts will rarely move far from the status quo, lest that institution get too far away from its perceived existential center and thereby alienate the constituency. Any rapid and significant change usually only arises from a crisis or constituent revolt.

Such a revolt occurred in the 1950s when the Hollywood recording musicians decertified the AFM as their film and phono union rep after then-President Petrillo, against their wishes, diverted their wage increases to the Music Performance Trust Fund. It took several years to repair that internal damage, but the event itself, and the solutions arrived at, rewired the AFM’s DNA so that recording musicians’ rights today are firmly embedded in the bylaws, practices and culture of AFM national contract bargaining.

Another such revolt occurred in the early 1960s in the symphonic world. Back in the day, the Almighty Music Director was the sole decider of who to hire and fire in “his” orchestra; contracts between the union and management were settled out of sight of the musicians; player committees were unheard of; and the phrase “ratification vote” was absent from the glossaries of the day.

Then the musicians of the major orchestras organized themselves into an action-oriented conference, positioned themselves to assert control of their contract negotiations, and gained job security through bargained audition, tenure, and fair dismissal procedures. Those achievements became a plateau of stability and security upon which many have counted on now for several decades.

The sexual assault and tenure issues recently reported involving the New York Philharmonic, however, have shaken that comfortable underpinning. The reporting and social commentary has exploded into full public view systemic harms that often plague the music world—namely, sexual harassment, peer pressure, bullying and intimidation, discrimination and retaliation, gender and race-based workplace toxicity, management indifference, and contract administration that makes the aggrieved musician the problem, instead of the actual problem itself. These issues are often widely known about but suppressed out of fear of retaliation and the need for “proof.” As an industry, as musicians, and as a union, we have been called out.

This is a crisis that requires all the interconnected parties—union, employer, and musicians—to do some rigorous self-examination and undertake serious (and probably multi-layered) actions for change. Union leaders and rank-and-file musicians—with management firmly in tow—must collaborate to make meaningful changes in our contracts, labor-management practices, values, and assumptions. And for that change to have real meaning, the silent musicians who have borne the brunt of those harms—the harassment, pressure, discrimination, toxicity, and indifference—must be consulted and heard.

Every musician deserves a safe working environment. After all, what’s a union for, if not for at least that one basic thing?

Alan Willaert and Victor Fuentealba

This issue is partly devoted to the lives of AFM Vice President from Canada Alan Willaert and President Emeritus Vic Fuentealba, whose deaths last month saddened us all. I add my own thoughts here.

I’ve known Alan Willaert since the day he was hired as an international representative for Canada over 30 years ago. Through thick and thin, hot and cold, up and down, Willaert was a rock. Always calm, cool, and collected. Always steady. Always funny (for which he often ended up in Facebook “jail”). His intelligence and experience operated to the benefit of all his bosses—from J. Alan Wood to Ray Petch to Dave Jandrisch to Bobby Herriot to Bill Skolnik—and prepared him beautifully for when he became the boss himself in 2012. I will miss him greatly.

Vic Fuentealba was AFM president when I got involved in local union administration. His tenure became the standard against which I measured all his successors. The 1980s was a tough decade in which to run this union—the challenges were immense, and he was not without his enemies, but his personal courage and feistiness powered him through it all. The most important pieces of advice he gave me as a union officer were: 1) don’t do something unless you have a very good reason to do it, and 2) take action only when you’ve done all the preparation.

Alan Willaert – AFM Vice President from Canada

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The Chess Match Between Canadian Airlines and Government

by Allistair Elliott, AFM International Representative for Canadian Locals

In 2019, a new Passenger Bill of Rights provided musicians some protection when travelling with instruments on airlines in Canada. This was a significant step that, for the first time, recognized musicians with instruments on Canadian airlines as a specific group. It created an accountability structure and compelled the airlines to publish guidelines specific to musical instruments as part of their tariff. Air Canada decided to include musicians with instruments as part of the preboarding process. Musicians with larger instruments, like cellos, had the ability to purchase a second seat for the instrument at a discounted price, if the primary ticket was purchased at a minimum fare rate.

Post pandemic, the airline industry continued to face challenges. Christmas 2022 exposed an industry that had lost staff. Manufacturers and governments grounded certain types of aircraft, and passengers were stranded. The press ran countless stories of negative passenger experiences. It was so serious that the government of Canada decided to re-examine the Passenger Bill of Rights.

In spring 2023, I was invited to a short online consultation by a completely new team of Transport Canada staff. The government focused on compensation for delay and cancelled flights, and nothing changed regarding musicians travelling with instruments. While the topic of musicians travelling with instruments is a small part of the bill, the fact we are recognized as a specific group in the Passenger Bill of Rights, gives us a voice.

Airlines Latest Move

Recent news in Ottawa has filtered out that airline councils have come together to appeal some of the provisions of the air passenger protection regulations in the Supreme Court of Canada. Canadian local officers keep me informed of any musician experiences with the airlines. A few stories over the last months, both with airline travel and going through security, have raised concern.

The news report of the airlines appealing to the Supreme Court prompted me to reach out to Transport Canada last week. There were two key takeaways that I want to share with you:

•I have been assured by Transport Canada that subsection 24(1) and (2), which pertain to musical instruments, are not being appealed, and until such time as a decision comes out, the current regulations remain in full force.

•If you are travelling with an instrument, consult with your airline of choice with respect to what their tariff states regarding musical instruments. If you encounter a problem that results in the airline not conforming to its published tariff, those concerns should be escalated to Canadian Transport Agency (conformite-compliance@otc-cta.gc.ca), which has the authority to determine whether airlines properly applied their tariffs in these instances. There is a specific department at Canadian Transport Agency that deals with compliance issues.

I also spoke with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) recently regarding some reports of situations navigating airport security with musical instruments. They were aware of the incidents and assured me the issues were isolated and specifically related to training new hires.

If you encounter a Canadian airline compliance issue, or an airport security issue, please document the specifics and forward to your local office. As we continue to keep an eye on this chess match, it is important for us to be aware of issues. If you have questions on how to navigate the process, we will assist. Please find resources for Flying on Airlines in Canada and Navigating Canadian Airport Security here: https://www.afm.org/what-we-are-doing/travel-resources/.

Safe travels.

Le jeu d’échecs entre le gouvernement et les lignes aériennes canadiennes

par Allistair Elliott, représentant international de l’AFM pour les sections locales canadiennes

En 2019, l’adoption d’une nouvelle déclaration des droits des passagers a offert une certaine protection aux musiciens qui voyagent avec leurs instruments sur les lignes aériennes au Canada. C’est un progrès important car, pour la première fois on reconnaît ces musiciens comme un groupe à part. La déclaration a créé une structure de reddition de comptes et obligé les lignes aériennes à inclure dans leur tarif des lignes directrices traitant précisément des instruments de musique. Air Canada a décidé d’inclure les musiciens avec instruments dans son processus de préembarquement. Les musiciens voyageant avec des gros instruments tels que des violoncelles ont l’option de se procurer un deuxième siège à prix réduit pour leur instrument si leur billet principal a été acheté à un tarif minimum.

Après la pandémie, le secteur du transport aérien était toujours aux prises avec plusieurs défis, et la période de Noël 2022 a exposé une industrie en pénurie de personnel. De plus, les manufacturiers et les gouvernements ont cloué certains modèles d’avions au sol et laissé des passagers en plan. Les organes de presse n’ont pas manqué de publier d’innombrables histoires au sujet des mauvaises expériences vécues par les passagers. La situation était si sérieuse que le gouvernement du Canada a décidé de réexaminer la déclaration des droits des passagers.

Au printemps de 2023, j’ai été invité à participer à une brève consultation en ligne avec une équipe entièrement nouvelle d’employés de Transports Canada. Le gouvernement a choisi de se concentrer sur l’indemnisation en cas de retard ou d’annulation de vol et n’a rien changé relativement aux musiciens voyageant avec des instruments. Bien que cette question n’occupe qu’une petite partie de la loi, le fait que nous soyons reconnus comme groupe distinct dans la déclaration des droits des passagers nous donne une voix.

La plus récente initiative des lignes aériennes

Selon les dernières nouvelles qui ont filtré à Ottawa, les conseils des lignes aériennes se seraient concertés pour interjeter appel auprès de la Cour suprême de certaines dispositions du Règlement sur la protection des passagers aériens. Les bureaux de nos sections locales me tiennent informé de toute difficulté vécue par les musiciens avec les lignes aériennes, et quelques histoires, concernant autant le voyage en avion que le passage au contrôle de sûreté, ont soulevé des préoccupations au cours des derniers mois.

L’indication selon laquelle les lignes aériennes s’adresseraient à la Cour suprême m’a poussé à communiquer avec Transports Canada la semaine dernière. Il en est ressorti deux points importants que voici :

•Transports Canada m’a assuré que les paragraphes 24(1) et (2), qui portent sur les instruments de musique, ne font pas l’objet de l’appel et que, jusqu’à ce qu’une décision soit rendue, la réglementation actuelle reste pleinement en vigueur.

•Si vous voyagez avec un instrument, consultez votre ligne aérienne pour connaître sa politique relative aux instruments de musique qui figure dans son tarif. Si vous rencontrez un problème, que la ligne aérienne ne se conforme pas à son tarif comme publié, communiquez avec l’Office des transports du Canada (conformite-compliance@otc-cta.gc.ca), qui est habilité à déterminer en pareil cas si les lignes aériennes appliquent correctement leur tarif. Il y a un service au sein de l’Office qui se consacre exclusivement aux enjeux de conformité.

J’ai également communiqué récemment avec l’Administration canadienne de la sûreté du transport aérien au sujet de difficultés vécues dans le passage avec des instruments de musique au point de contrôle de sûreté des aéroports. On m’a assuré que les autorités étaient au courant, et qu’il s’agissait d’incidents isolés liés à la formation de nouveaux employés.

Si vous vivez un problème de conformité avec une ligne aérienne canadienne ou un enjeu de sûreté dans un aéroport, veuillez documenter l’incident et communiquer ces informations à votre section locale. Nous continuons de surveiller ce jeu d’échecs, et il est important pour nous d’être tenus informés des difficultés vécues. Si vous avez des questions concernant le processus, nous vous aiderons. Vous trouverez des ressources concernant les voyages aériens au Canada et la navigation de la sûreté dans les aéroports à l’adresse suivante : https://www.afm.org/fr/what-we-are-doing/travel-resources/.

Bon voyage.

This Spring, Focus on Improving Work for Musicians

by Tina Morrison, AFM International Executive Board Member and Local 105 (Spokane, WA) Executive Board

Spring is here and for many it feels like a time of renewal. Those of us who live in the northern regions venture cautiously outside, looking for signs of budding leaves, listening to birds’ spring songs, and noticing how the sun feels on our faces. The magic of spring demonstrates itself as landscapes are transformed by fresh greenery after months of winter gray.

In the spirit of spring, let’s do an exercise in magical thinking. Let everything we’ve been told about the music business drain away. Replace it with ideas of how you think it should be. Separate what we’ve been told from what we inherently know: music is necessary and has value. When music is made well it is transformative, magical.

Music cannot be separated from those who make it. The product is crafted, manufactured by workers. And what have we been hearing so much over these past couple of years? All work has value. Why have we been hearing these types of messages? Because working people have figured out the reason they haven’t been valued properly is because of made up messaging: work described as “stepping stones,” “unskilled,” or “meant as a first job to learn soft skills before moving on to a real job.”

Think about the reality of time and training it takes to learn the craft, and then having work hours that generally don’t fit with other types of jobs, which makes issues like child care and public transportation more challenging. I keep thinking about the struggles we had getting unemployment for musicians during the pandemic. Separate that from how often musicians are told we are lucky to be compensated at all considering many musicians are willing to perform just for the joy of it.

Is it fun? Sometimes. Do we love our work? Most of the time. But the same could be said for many other types of work that are well paid. Musicians shouldn’t be penalized for loving what we do. We need to recognize there are words and phrases generated primarily to undermine our value and leave us open to exploitation.

We can change the narrative and improve the lives of musicians. The highest hurdle is carving out time. As musicians, we should be coming together at local union meetings and talking about our realities. Start with what can be managed internally: Are local scales appropriate for the types of work available in your area? Do you know which contracts are available for different types of work?

Next come the discussions about what else is needed to improve our lives. What issues can be identified that would improve the collective wellbeing of musicians in your area? Who is willing to chair a committee to work on child care issues or a committee to examine venues? Who can be a bridge to the rest of the labor community to raise awareness of musician issues and find assistance in the search for solutions? We are not alone. People outside of the music community are willing to help us, we just have to clearly communicate what we need.

All around us workers are organizing—banding together to make meaningful changes to improve their lives. We’re in a time of transformation and renewal for workers. We can take control of the narrative around music making. It starts with a question: What do we want to do together?

Thank you for your work!

There’s No Culture Without Artists and No Music Without Musicians

by Luc Fortin, IEB Officer and President of Local 406 (Montreal, PQ)

Often the music industry, governments, CEOs, or boards of cultural organizations consider musicians to be just another cog in a company’s wheel. Their logic seems reversed, placing the cultural product above the artist, as if the product existed independently of those who bring it to life. Let’s be clear: musicians are the music; they are the artistic product that the music industry is trying to sell. We must be at the center of the industry’s concerns and should be considered essential to the success of any cultural organization.

Despite this self-evident fact, all too often we are faced with a tendency in society, and among decision-makers, to overlook the fact that musicians are highly skilled professional artists who have dedicated their lives to perfecting their art. To do so, most musicians have had to make sacrifices in their personal lives and have gone through periods of economic and emotional stress. This must change, and we need to work together to make it happen.

As the primary and initiating element of the music industry’s value chain, musicians must be a top priority. We must constantly remind all levels of government and business that we are the foundation of the music ecosystem, and without us this system would collapse. To maintain an essential balance, we must always ensure that artists are well treated and have the right to the same social safety net as other workers in the economy.

Unfortunately, musicians don’t always have the same employment rights as the rest of the population. Without satisfactory working conditions and recognition of our worth, our profession becomes less and less appealing. Over time, the lack of recognition for our profession has led to disillusionment among some of our members.

Let’s face it, AFM membership isn’t what it used to be. Since my first AFM Convention in 2007, membership has fallen by almost 30%. We need to redouble our efforts to convince musicians that, united and in large numbers, the AFM will be stronger and all musicians, as well as society in general, will benefit. We are more than a union; we are a movement that not only demands better working conditions and benefits, but also wants the value of music and the indispensable contribution of professional musicians to society to be recognized.

We need all of you to help us recruit more members and work together to make our voices heard in our workplaces and communities. We need to help our members acquire the tools they need to make a difference in their communities as union activists, artists, and musicians and to encourage them to sit on committees and get involved at all levels of decision making.

In these very difficult times, as we strive for world peace, music takes on added importance as a universal language that unites nations. Musical expression and creation know no borders, and the musicians of the AFM are more important than ever.

Pas de culture sans artistes et pas de musique sans musiciens

par Luc Fortin, membre du conseil d’administration international (IEB) et président de la section locale 406 (Montréal, Qué.)

Cela semble si évident, mais… Trop souvent l’industrie de la musique, les gouvernements, les chefs de direction ou les conseils d’administration d’organismes culturels considèrent les musiciens comme un rouage parmi tant d’autres dans une entreprise. La logique semble alors inversée, on place le produit culturel au-dessus de l’artiste, comme si ce produit existait indépendamment de celui qui lui donne vie. Comprenons-nous bien : les musiciens sont la musique, ils sont le produit artistique que l’industrie de la musique essaie de vendre, nous devons donc être au centre des préoccupations de l’industrie et considérés comme essentiels au succès de toute entreprise culturelle.

Malgré cette évidence, nous faisons trop souvent face à une tendance dans la société et chez les décideurs de ne pas reconnaître que les musiciens sont des artistes professionnels hautement qualifiés qui ont consacré leur vie à parfaire leur art et qui, pour y arriver, ont dû faire des sacrifices sur le plan personnel et traverser des périodes de stress et d’insécurité économique. Cela doit impérativement changer et nous allons y travailler tous ensemble.

Comme élément primordial et fondateur de la chaîne de valeurs dans l’industrie de la musique, les musiciens doivent être au centre des priorités. Nous devons sans cesse rappeler à tous les échelons gouvernementaux et économiques que nous sommes à la base de l’écosystème musical, et que sans les artistes, ce système s’effondrerait. Pour garder un équilibre indispensable, il faut toujours s’assurer que les artistes sont bien traités et ont droit au même filet social que les autres travailleurs dans l’économie.

Malheureusement, les musiciens n’ont pas toujours les mêmes droits en matière de travail que le reste de la population, et sans de bonnes conditions de travail et la reconnaissance de notre valeur, notre profession deviendra de moins en moins attirante. À la longue, le manque de reconnaissance de notre métier a fini par créer de la désillusion chez certains de nos membres. Ne nous en cachons pas, le membership de l’AFM n’est plus ce qu’il était.

Depuis mon premier congrès de l’AFM en 2007, le membership a chuté de près de 30%. Il faut redoubler d’ardeur et convaincre les musiciens que, tous unis et en grand nombre, l’AFM sera plus forte et tous les musiciens, ainsi que la société en général, pourront en tirer profit. Nous sommes encore plus qu’un syndicat, nous sommes un mouvement qui revendique non seulement de meilleures conditions de travail et des avantages, mais veut aussi faire reconnaitre la valeur de la musique ainsi que la contribution indispensable des musiciens professionnels à la société.

Nous avons besoin de vous tous pour nous aider à recruter d’autres membres et être plus nombreux à travailler tous ensemble pour faire entendre notre voix sur les lieux de travail et dans nos communautés. Nous devrons aider nos membres à acquérir des outils pour faire une différence dans leur milieu en tant que militants, artistes et musiciens et les inciter à siéger à des comités et à s’impliquer à tous les niveaux décisionnels.

En ces temps très difficiles pour la paix dans le monde, la musique prend toute son importance en tant que langage universel qui unit les peuples. L’expression et la création musicale ne connaissent pas de frontières, nous sommes plus importants que jamais.

All Theater Musicians Should Be Protected by AFM Contracts

The musical theater theme of this issue happens to dovetail nicely with my focus during much of this year, negotiating local theater agreements as the president of Local 162-710 (Washington, DC). Our local administers a number of contracts with area theaters. This year, we were able to add a new agreement to that list, which is an encouraging development for our members. I wanted to share some thoughts I’ve had as a result of our recent theater negotiations, with the hope that they may be of benefit.

The participation of a theater orchestra committee in the negotiation process is invaluable. I know I am stating the obvious here, but I think it is important to reinforce this point. Ideally, every theater that has an agreement with an AFM local has an elected orchestra committee in place. Their representation is essential during the negotiation process and throughout the term of the agreement. That is not always the case in the theaters where we have agreements. The seasonal nature of the work and the shifting personnel hired for these productions don’t always lend themselves to the kind of identity you might find in other workplaces.

Nevertheless, when it comes time to bargain, there is no substitute for the perspective that an orchestra committee provides during the negotiation process. This element of rank-and-file participation is one of the most important aspects of union membership. A unified, collective voice will result in member empowerment through the collective bargaining process.

In the agreements that we administer in Washington, DC, the positions of music director, assistant music director, conductor, and copyist are not covered, with just one lone exception among our contracts. I have recently learned that our local is not alone in this regard. Conversations with Theresa Couture, principal theater business representative of Local 802 (New York City), have been extremely helpful in shedding light on the issues that these musicians face when they are contracted to work on productions at our area theaters.

Appropriate compensation, along with the protections and benefits of AFM contracts, should be available to these deserving members. That, unfortunately, is not always the case. As a result, Local 161-710 will be seeking to address this issue in future negotiations. I am grateful to Couture for sharing information about how Local 802 agreements cover this work.

Technological developments such as Keycomp, which have the ability to utilize the recorded tracks of live musician performances in their programming, pose a new threat to musician jobs and the future of the live performance experience. In each of our theater negotiations, we have sought to raise awareness of this issue by proposing language prohibiting the use of this technology, while at the same time reinforcing the commitment to live performance—a concept which tends to be one of the easier points to reach agreement on.

Based on the changes we’ve seen in the orchestrations of theater productions in recent years, it seems logical that we should be engaging with employers to ensure that future audiences will not be denied the authentic live performance. It is my sincere hope that, by creating a united front against this technological abomination, we will chart a new future for our musicians and for our art form.

Learn from the Past—Transform the Future

by Dave Pomeroy, International Executive Board and President of Local 257 (Nashville, TN)

The AFM’s unique history demonstrates a steady pattern of labor and technology intersecting in ways that simply could not have been imagined by those who founded this union in 1896. The constantly evolving relationship between musicians and technology is well documented in our collective bargaining agreements.

As physical product sales continue to decline, and various forms of streaming become the norm, we have made crucial adjustments that have allowed the Special Payments Fund and the Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF) to continue to have a positive impact on our members and our communities.

Much of the invaluable work of the MPTF is performed under the radar. The MPTF’s co-funding of live performances in schools gives the AFM an important community connection, and inspires future generations of musicians. Eldercare facilities are also frequent partners for Trust Fund gigs. These events can have a profound effect on residents, adding to their quality of life and making them feel engaged. They also provide a rewarding opportunity for musicians.

Slowly but surely, we see the gradual evolution of our membership demographics. Members are becoming younger and more diverse, in parallel with the worldwide music industry. Musicians and vocalists no longer need to fit visual stereotypes of the past, and major labels no longer rely on radio as their sole promotion tool.

These days, a big budget record by a major artist can be displaced at the top of the charts by a project recorded in a bedroom studio by an unknown artist who goes viral on social media. The music industry is very different today. Yet, many basic realities remain, and the AFM is the glue that holds it all together.

The rise of home studios changed the way many people make records. But for years, there was no AFM agreement that reflected a per-song approach, as opposed to work done by the hour. With a few simple contract tweaks and approval of the AFM and Employers’ Pension Fund, we found a way to make the impossible possible. In 2010, the Single Song Overdub Scale was approved as a standalone national scale that can also be combined with Limited Pressing.

With a $100 song minimum, it is the only scale that allows you to negotiate a higher per song scale. You also have the choice to have the employer pay the pension separately. Or to make things simpler (with the employer’s approval), you can also pay into your own pension out of the total per-song amount.

Make no mistake, there is home recording going on all over the world. This agreement is being used more and more, which is good for everyone—AFM members and their locals. It is affordable for independent artists and small record labels, and most importantly, it fits today’s business model.

The pandemic could have taken the AFM down, but we circled the wagons and found new ways to keep musicians working. We helped them navigate unemployment benefits and more. Our legislative efforts in Washington, DC, and elsewhere are ongoing, and we have made a difference. Next up is the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), which is currently before Congress. It would be a game changer for AFM musicians whose work is played on terrestrial radio. It would unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in worldwide royalties for US musicians who have been denied what they have deserved for more than half a century.

It takes time to change things, but when we pull together, we can do it. These are challenging times, no doubt, but music has the power to bring people together and help them find common ground. We should never take that responsibility lightly and commit to doing all we can to help break down the barriers between us.

The future of the AFM depends on our ability to continue to adjust to new realities and lead the way toward a music industry that respects musicians. Most importantly, we must find new ways to reach out to the next generation and show them why and how the AFM is an invaluable resource. They are the future, and we must be ready to pay it forward by helping them find their own path to successful careers as professional musicians.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt