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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Tag Archives: Americana

john prine

John Prine Honored at 2020 AMA Music Awards

January 1, 2021 IM

The Americana Music Association honored the late John Prine during the 19th annual Americana Honors & Awards on December 15, 2020. Prine, a member of Local 257 (Nashville, TN) before he died in April 2020 at age 73 due to complications related to COVID-19, was named the AMA 2020 Artist of the Year.

john prine — John Prine pictured at the AMA music awards in September 2019, where he won Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

The 2003 Americana Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting honoree became the first artist in Honors & Awards history to be posthumously nominated in this category and this was his fourth Artist of the Year win since 2005.

The Americana Honors & Awards program provides a unique platform for commemorating the best and brightest musicians in the Americana music scene. The awards are usually handed out during a ceremony at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, in an effort to preserve the safety of musicians, fans, and other members of the close-knit roots community, the Americana Music Association chose to forego having an in-person ceremony this year.

Woman Walk

Books-Resources, Products, Resources

Woman Walk the Line: How the Women in Country Music Changed Our Lives

November 1, 2017 IM

A celebration of women in country, Americana, and bluegrass music, Woman Walk the Line is a collection of deeply personal essays from some of America’s most intriguing women writers. From Maybelle Carter to Dolly Parton of Local 257 (Nashville, TN), k.d. lang of Local 145 (Vancouver, BC) to Taylor Swift of Local 257 to Rosanne Cash of Local 802 (New York City), Woman Walk the Line speaks to the ways in which artists mark their lives at different ages and in various states of grace and imperfection—and ultimately how music transforms, not just the person making it, but also the listener.