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 » The Right and Wrong Side of Artificial Intelligence


The Right and Wrong Side of Artificial Intelligence

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A new Beatles song and video, released 50 years after the band broke up, is just one note in a crescendo of AI and music.

The newly released recording that’s being called The Beatles’ last song now has a music video, and both elements used technology that wasn’t available during those heady days of Beatlemania.

The song “Now and Then” is a four-minute melding of archival shots of the Beatles with current ones of McCartney and Starr. Some scenes blend the two surviving Beatles with video from their heyday, so it appears that a young Starr and McCartney are playing music and mugging for the camera, right next to their 80-something selves.

While many Beatles fans might love anything that means seeing the group together, other instances of AI have not had the same effect. The song, Heart on My Sleeve, released by an anonymous creator who uses the name Ghostwriter, used AI to mimic the vocals of Drake and the Weeknd. Neither of the stars had anything to do with the song. It might have gone unnoticed, except that Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. weighed in, saying that it would be eligible for Grammy consideration. He backtracked, because he said the vocals weren’t “legally obtained.” Last spring, Universal Music Group, the parent company of the Weeknd and Drake’s label, requested it be pulled from major streaming services.







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