AFM (www.afm.org) is a labor union of professional musicians in the US & Canada, founded in 1896-the AFM is committed to raising industry standards and placing the professional musician in the foreground of the cultural landscape.
BENEFITS OF AFM MEMBERSHIP
Here are just a few of the benefits and services you are entitled to as an AFM member:
Contracts/collective bargaining. The AFM negotiates wages and working conditions in order to maintain minimum standards for its members involved in recording, TV shows, music videos, commercials, films, video games and traveling theatrical productions. The AFM also can provide a legally binding contract for any type of engagement, and when properly executed and filed with the local union, they allow the local officer to help collect payments in the case of a default.
Pension and Health. AFM members may earn credits toward retirement and, under certain conditions, health care each time they work. The AFM pension plan allows contributions for all working AFM members.
Insurance Programs You Can Rely On. The AFM is here to protect you and your valuable instruments by offering a number of low-cost options.
Referral Programs/GoPro. The AFM provides a host of referral programs and access to licensed signatory booking agents to help, including:
- www.GoProMusic.com. List your band on the AFM live music referral site.
- www.GoProLessons.com. This online resource enables consumers to easily locate and engage AFM member music instructors.
- www.GoProHosting.com. Professional web hosting services to help you develop the perfect web site.
- www.GoProAuction.com. Buy or sell the perfect instrument.
Subscription to International Musician. Stay informed with a free subscription to the AFM’s award winning monthly magazine, International Musician. In addition to fascinating interviews with some of the industry’s top names, each issue of the International Musician has news and information you need, industry employment and audition advertisements, and useful career advice.
History of the AFM
In the mid-1800s musicians in the United States began exploring ways to improve their professional lives. They formed Mutual Aid Societies to provide members with loans, financial assistance during illness or extended unemployment and death benefits. A number of these organizations became early unions serving various constituencies, but problems arose between them due to competition. In 1896, delegates from these organizations gathered at the invitation of American Federation of Labor (AFL) President Samuel Gompers to organize and charter a musicians’ trade union. A majority of the delegates voted to form the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), representing 3,000 musicians nationally. They resolved: “That any musician who receives pay for his musical services, shall be considered a professional musician.” Within its first ten years, the AFM expanded to serve both the US and Canada, organized 424 Locals, and represented 45,000 musicians throughout North America.
Sources:
International Musician, Centennial Issue, October, 1996, American Federation of Musicians; Harvard Dictionary of Music, Second Edition, Willi Apel, Belknap/Harvard, 1969; Music Matters; The Performer and the American Federation of Musicians, George Seltzer, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1989;
This Business of Music, Shemel Krasilovsky, Billboard Press.
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