Every day millions of Americans turn on their radios, IPods, or some other device which allows them to listen to their favorite musicians and have no idea that there is a union standing guard to ensure the rights of those very musicians. The average American may think their favorite musicians are rolling “dough” and not realize that for the past hundred and fourteen years the American Federation of Musicians, aka AFM, has worked to improve the professional lives of musicians across North America. (American Federation of Musicians, 2010) AFM attracts its members with a mission to unite professional musicians which states, “We can live and work in dignity; Our work will be fulfilling and compensated fairly; We will have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect us; We will have the opportunity to develop our talents and skills; Our collective voice and power will be realized in a democratic and progressive union; and We can oppose the forces of exploitation through our union solidarity.” In working to fulfill their mission the AFM has developed a rich history, a diverse demographic which targets a variety of musical professionals, and strives to resolve current issues their members may face.
Established in 1896 by the American Federation of Labor, the AFM union has set precedent after precedent which ensures the fair treatment of musicians across North America. Between 1903 and 1907, the union accomplished at least one major step a year in its fight for fair compensation. In 1903, the union helped level the “competition” playing field by discouraging the organizers of the St. Louis World’s Fair from hiring bands that were not from the US. In 1904, the union helped musicians in shows and attractions such as orchestras trav...
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...urrent restrictions on the number of Low Power FM stations, allowing the creation of hundreds, if not thousands, of new local radio stations. This bill will benefit AFM musicians, because it is generally the small, local radio stations that promote new and local talent. There are many supporters of this proposal and will promote local artists increasing the involvement with AFM and create exposure for new artists.
Works Cited
(2010). Retrieved February 20, 2010, from American Federation of Musicians: http://www.afm.org
AFM - IEB. (n.d.). International Executive Board . http://www.afm.org/about/international-executive-board.
American Federation of Musicians - About. (n.d.). About . http://www.afm.org/about.
American Federation of Musicians - Why Join. (n.d.). Why Join . www.afm.org/Why join.
Austin Musicians. (n.d.). Local 433 . http://www.austinmusician.org/.
The paper will discuss minicases on ‘The White-Collar Union Organizer’ and ‘The Frustrated Labor Historians’ by Arthur A. Sloane and Fred Witney (2010), to understand the issues unions undergo in the marketplace. There is no predetermined statistical number reported of union memberships in this country. However, “the United Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) excludes almost 2 million U.S wages and salary employees, over half of whom are employed in the public sector, who are represented at their workplaces by a union but are not union members. Not being required to join a union as a condition of continued employment, these employees have for a variety of reasons chosen not to do so. Nor do the BLS estimates include union members who are currently unemployed” (Sloane & Witney, 2010, p.5). Given this important information, the examination of these minicases will provide answers to the problems unions face in organizational settings.
...trick to profit. Clear Channel has taken major college stations to bed, and it’s not a gentle lover. Thus, local stations must not be lured by Clear Chanel’s diabolical plan. Instead, the stations must look the corporate villain into their deceiving eyes, and inform them that their conglomerating ways will not be tolerated; we must preserve the last refuge of music programming and expression on the radio airwaves.
As the 1930’s began, the effects of the great depression still ravaged the United States, which in turned caused a dramatic change in the music industry. Membership in the musicians’
The music industry can trace its roots to the 18th century when classical composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sought commissions from the church or aristocracies by touring to promote their music (Boerner). By the early 20th century, recorded collections of songs were available for purchase for home listening. Towards the middle of the century, record album production had become the norm for getting new music to the masses and album sales had replaced sheet-music sales as a measure of popularity, with the first gold-recor...
Before the war started, a wealthy white man by the name of John Hammond worked to integrate black and white music.1 Since his childhood, he enjoyed the music of numerous black artists, and he wanted to share his love with the rest of America. He used much of his inherited fortune to make this possible. He went against the general opinion of society and his parents, who despised black people. Hammond refused to ignore black artists’ musical abilities because of their color, “I did not revolt against the system, I simply refused to be a part of it.”2 He used his money to organize the most eclectic group of musicians ever assembled, for an integrated audience of his time. Hammond’s efforts made an indelible impact on the music industry. The musicians Hammond introduced in...
The music industry is about selling the recordings and the performances of music among many individuals and organizations that works with musicians. The music industry has both the charm and the organizational architecture to affect the business and the cultural trends. There are millions of listeners and followers to the products of the music industry. The opinions of these listeners always change depending on what they see or hear. The music business or industries have been influencing generations of recording artists, business professionals and consumers. The music industries have been reinforcing questionable subject matter, music lyrics and business and social norms.
Music in every country has a history going back hundreds of years. It is an excellent type of entertainment that any person can enjoy. America being such a diverse country, any person regardless of race or gender needs to be given a fair shot in an opportunity to showcase his or her talent. However, there is a lack of Asians Americans represented in America. Asian Americans must go above and beyond on what is expected in the industry, compared to white and black Americans who seem to have it much easier. “Always, it is the Asian who assimilates, who must explain his or her prese...
The production and consumption of music has become a market of its own that has been growing and getting stronger every single day. Many companies have found their fortune in the music industry and have become part of the globalization by entering the worldwide market and economy.
The New York New Music Ensemble began with a bang, literally. This ensemble has been around for twenty-three years and it is considered to be “the raising standard” in contemporary chamber music. On Thursday afternoon, I saw the ensemble perform three pieces: Trio, Nutturno, and Marxville Songbook. These three possess very similar tone color and composition.
The music industry’s history is a convoluted mess. There is no real consensus on what the music industry IS and what paths it has taken. Were the Beatles the greatest band to ever exist? Maybe. Is there a hyper objectification of women throughout the “men’s club” that is the music industry? Probably. It’s this hard to define, frankly confusing business that is worth roughly $130 billion dollars today. With it’s flimsy and opaque edges, can the music industry ever be called into question on its wrongdoings? The racist undertone throughout its history may force it to. With the music industry as an ever growing business that seems to change almost every decade, the one thing that has not changed throughout time is an undercurrent of racism that
...frican American Musicians as Artists, Critics, and Activists. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2002. 54-100. EBSCOhost. Web. 8 May 2015.
“Music is uniquely wonderful. It is incapable of being touched yet it touches everyone who is capable of hear sounds. It can seemingly evoke any emotion; we instinctively respond to happy tunes, mournful songs, beautiful melodies, inspiring anthems, stirring hymns, and majestic orchestrations.” (Doolan, Robert. 1985) There is no question that music is great part of society; it has been at civilization’s side whether it be the lyres and flutes of the ancient Greeks or how it calms or excites emotions and keeps armies in order during battle. Within society, there has also been social unrest and the desire for change. Protesting is the expression of a society’s concerns on current events of which they feel affected by whether it be through public rallies, picketing, riots or even bombings. Protest through music is one powerful medium for engaging people. Amidst what life throws at individuals, music has comforted the soul, provoked individualistic thought and opinion, and music draws people together through groups alike who have the same attachment or concerns with their surroundings. Whether it be rock, jazz, blues, rap, hip hop, dance, spiritual, or world, music has inspired artists to spill out their expression and views of society. Music is a universally effective tool of protest in generating social change and unrest as it continues to unite those with like ideas.
The most significant down side to technology is the loss in revenue from album sales. Illegal downloading of music has become prevalent in today’s society, and many artists—major or independent—receive little to no profit from album sales. Many companies, such as Apple, have tried combating the issue with protected file formats, but a loophole has always been found to bypass the protection. Unsigned and independently signed artists hurt the most, as they pay almost everything out-of-pocket to produce their music. The only feasible response to the loss in revenue, artists have found, is to increase tour dates. In today’s age, it is not rare to find artists who tour more than eight months out of each year. Touring has become one of, if not the only, reliable source of income for many
Music has always been a basic form of expression. From Antonin Dvorak, to Eminem, to even ancient, tribal music, it has been a medium through which individuals convey their thoughts and expressions. Today this medium is under attack. Everywhere we turn, everything we do and say is being scrutinized. We are being told what to say. We are being spoon-fed our emotions. No longer are we allowed to think freely, openly. All the censors out there are on the prowl for another piece to rip to shreds because it doesn't fit their description of what is decent and moral. What they fail to realize is that we don't make the music for them... We do it for release.
The music business entered a dramatic change in the 21st century. These changes appear in the way of how people access and consume music. According to Hull, Hutchison and Strasser (2011) the music business has developed throughout three stages. While moving from the agricultural age, where the music business made its revenues through live performances, troubadours and patronage, the industrial age introduced new innovations that were assumed to be associated with long-term economic growth. Commencing the year 1950 sound recordings experienced a drastic raise in sales by an average of 20% a year (Krasilovsky and Shemel, 2007). While the music industry was dominated by six major record lables (Time Warner, Disney, Vivendi Universal, Viacom, Bertelsmann, and News Corp.) (Hull, Hutchison and Strasser, 2011), further growth in the industry has been recorded in the 1970’s, where record sales “rose from less than $2 billion at the beginning of the decade to over $4 billion in 1978”, which took a sharp turn entering the Depression around the middle of the 20th century (Krasilovsky and Shemel, 2007:5).