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 6, 2019
IM -Ride Me Back Home, the latest album by Willie Nelson of Local 433 (Austin, TX) is a reflective, upbeat journey through life, of love and time’s inescapable rhythms, as viewed from Nelson’s inimitable perspective. The album finds the artist in full appreciation of every moment, sharing his experience in songs he’s written and songs he loves to sing.
Alongside his new compositions on the album, Nelson pays musical tribute to a variety of pop and country songwriters and performers, covering Billy Joel, Mac Davis of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA), and the late American country/folk artist Guy Clark.
Filling out Ride Me Back Home are Nelson’s interpretation of Buzz Rabin’s classic song, “Maybe I Should Have Been Listening,” his take on Skip Denenberg and Dan “Bee” Spears’ “Nobody’s Listening,” and the artist’s 2019 return to “Stay Away From Lonely Places,” an outlaw country deep cut Nelson first wrote and recorded for his 1972 album The Words Don’t Fit The Picture.