Anyone In A Musicans Union or A.F.M.?

[Sinner]

Can you get health insurance through them? Do they have a pension plan?

Also, are unions mostly for session players or do people in, say, a cover band that gigs enough and makes enough so the members don't need other jobs, could they be in a union also?

 

Thanks for any info.

[SomeGuyNamedRob]

I remember a thread like this popping up somewhere that had links to music unions and such.

[StratKat]

Havent been in the union for ages myself. But when i was , it was local 321 in ohio. Money sent right down the drain.... A complete waiste of time and absolutely no support form them at all. They are only interested in collocting your money and the big stars. Local people are small fry to them and they treated us that way.

 

So unless you HAVE to be union to play a gig then forget it. Or unless your ego thinks it would be cool to flash that card around... I used too myself, then i out grew it when my band needed help recouping money lost in a union club and the union refused to do anything about it.

 

Of course, that was eons ago... maybe they have changed

[BlueStrat]

I'm with StratKat on this . Back in the 70s and 80s I was in the union, and while I was on the road full time, you could always count on the little guy with the plaid pants and corduroy jacket to come around and collect job tax and trespassing fees, money they collect from you for playing in someone else's local. Here's how it breaks down:

 

They get: Dues, job tax, trespassing fees, and they prevent you from playing somewhere if the club is blacklisted. With few exceptions, anyone can join without so much as having to prove they can even hum a song much less play an instrument in a working band. If you do not get paid from a union gig, you still must hire an attorney to get paid, as they have no clout to collect. If you need gigs, you still have to have an agent, as they are not a booking agency. If you need musicians, they may have some on file, but you won't find many through the union.

 

You get: A little card to carry in your wallet. And that's about it. If you want to get a pension from them, good luck, as it depends on how much you pay into it. Better to take your money and invest it in mutual funds or something. Or just take 20 or30 bucks a month and throw it down the crapper. At least you'll save yourself postage it would take to mail it to the union.

[Sinner]

Hey, thanks for the info you guys Sounds like a bad idea all around!

[StratKat]

Welllll, the music union is a good idea... its just not run well in my opp. Could i do a better job? Doubt it... But im sure SOMEONE could.

 

And it depends on what type of music you play. If you are a sym[phonic or concert/opera artist you dont really have any choice since almost every group in those genres plays union gigs. But just to play in a badn in bars its a waiste of time UNTIL you start playing clubs that pay enough dough to get the unions attention. When that happens get in the thing and pay the dues. Get your card,use it at the gig, and then file it away...

[Botielus]

I'm a member of AFM #99 (Portland Oregon), and it's a pretty good deal if you use it to its fullest advantage. Now that is with THIS union, and I believe they vary by location, but here is basically the way it works now (1990's-08/12/02) and HERE: They usually have a special to join with no initiation fees, then it's about $38 every 3 months, and on any gig that you file a union contract (with the club/person who hired you), you pay a small fee ($3-6ish), BUT by filing a contract, you get somewhat of some security (like if the club/person doesn't do what they were supposed to, the union will come in and fight for you; this actually happened to a friend of mine in the union)....it's not like the old days (like the above posts), the union doesn't care about where I play, or if I file contracts (I rarely file them anyway...we work on the "do things on good faith until we get burned" principle , which hasn't had us burned yet! )....and you do get a little clout being a member, like when the average joe hires you, lots of them probably think a union member is a little safer/professional to pay their hard earned money to ....another big plus: they have a gig hotline, where you call in (and just now added an email list), and they list gigs every day they come in...what kind of act, contact, date...you call the client, work it, then on those if you get the gig, DEFINITELY file a contract ....blah blah, anyway the first couple of years, the gigs I got from union referrals, more than paid my annual dues, PLUS: we get free use of their rehearsal hall (big, stage, airconditioning, parking, kitchen, separate bathrooms, couch, pop machine, NO STAIRS...), free stuff from the AFM website (I used the free lawyer advice a few times)....they are real good when I needed to find a certain type of musician fast (gave me a list of dozens of TUBA players within 10 minutes)....anyway, that's the basics on the one here.

Bottom line: great deal if you work it right, but if you don't need rehearsal space, any contract protection, or don't have a variety of music skills (like if you only play one style of guitar...the gig referrals vary, but are mostly, small bands, classical instruments, steel drums, accoustic guitarists, etc.) it probably isn't worth it. It's not for lazy musicians (they don't just hand you gigs paying moola; you gotta check in, use their resources, then contact the client, and work the deal...but at least with that, you know what music they're looking for, what kind of event, and number of people , date, etc.). But hey, for the one here, it only costs you $38 to try it out for 3 months, then find out for yourself!

OK, finally done....whew, back to my Elton learning: Botielus