General Music Chat

ahoy everybody....

just a quick question for you all....i dont know if any of you guys are members of any of the musicians unions here in the states...
the reason i ask is that im planing to join the local a.f. of m 136(american federation of musicians union) but im not sure what REAL benefits im going to get out of it....

so are any of you guys members of the union???? and if so has it helped to get more money and better venues???

please advise...

slain.

Anthony, I generally detest unions, I worked in a division of the OC&AWU for ten years, They did a great job of protecting the Corp. and screwing me. I would join a Nurse Union though if it was legal in Texas. The Healthcare Companies daily increase the workload to already unsafe levels. I have been doing some research on the union as suggested by Craig and Irminsul. I would probably join that one as well if it were not for the fact our music is free for the take. According to Irminsul the union has been usefull in his area.

cheers for the heads up sans i have to admit that there are some things in life i like to think i know something about and there are other things that i know very little about...american unions is well and truly in the "i know jack s hit about" file....

cheers again sans.....im looking forward to hear what everybody else has to say about it....union and non-union musicians alike...

and by the by im off on my way to join right now...for good or ill...
the reason im joing is thus.....
i was playing a gig a few weeks ago and after the gig a guy came over and introduced himself as "brad"...he said he really liked my set and to make sure i gave him some contact details before i left....
i made sure to thank him and he gave me his card which i put straight into my back pocket and i continued to pack up my gear....
when everything was packed away i joined my old lady and some friends for a drink and i pulled the card from my pocket..."brad" was none other than the president of the appalachian regional musicians union....guess how long it took me to make my way back over and give him my myspace/email phone number and just about everyting else...
all the big gigs here in w.v(from what i can see) are all union gigs,so im joining the union and getting to work...


slain.

Thanks to my dear old daddy's hatred & fear of unions, I have never joined, or wanted to support them in any way.

Over the last few years, however, my thinking about them has changed. I have a few good friends who have spent most of thier lives in the UAW or Merchant Marine Unions, & thier lives are much better than most other ppl's I know.

I have not yet looked up the local in my area. Let me know how things work out for you, Anthony. I am very interested in seeing if they can & will help you get gigs, find musicians, get better money, etc.

I do know that they can help you get insurance, but the quality of it, or the cost, I know nothing about, too.

Keep me posted, fellow WV'n!

Anthony: How could you resist? Go for it and cheers back at ya.

cheers phil and sans...ill keep you all posted with how its working for me...im now a member of the union...they do alot of legal and contracts to protect performers..all looks they way it should ....for now

i cant believe nobody else on the boards(so far) are in the union?????
i know its only for serious working musicians but anyone whos making money from music should look into the union....just for shits and giggles if nothing else...


the plot thickens..

im happy to announce that ive got my first "union" gig...and to tell the truth the money is very good...lets put it this way the money i get for one gig(and its a big support slot playing at the "live on the levy" festival in august, the main band are the "carpenter ants" ive never heard of them but some of you may have) my fee is double what i have to pay in union dues for a whole YEAR...already im in the black"money wise" and this is only the first union gig.....so its your call....if your making money from gigs you could be making a hell of alot more if your in the union...

its your call..


slain.

So how did they go about getting you that gig? How did they notify you.
Did you give sample music when you signed up? Or just fill out some formes R/T genre etc?

good question sans....
i was really lucky..as ive said i played a gig and the president of the union was there and he heard my set so it was like a live "audition".. he asked me to send him a press pack...this is what you will need.

1.a short bio of the act..who you are ,what style etc..but keep it short..i cant stress that enough.and include a pic or two.
2.a cd of your songs...covers/original whatever once its you playing..
3.fill out all the paper work and forms
4.union dues or...the "fee"

when you sign up they tell you all about the ins and outs of it all...
if your approved you will be contacted by email for any gig offers etc..
i got a mail asking if i wanted to play the "live at the levy" festival...
it had a time(half hour) a fee(nice) and three dates to pick from...
i replied with the date i liked and that was that...its all good with me ive had a very positive experiance since ive joined the local 136.

Sounds very good, indeed, Anthony.

I saw the Carpenter Ants about 10 years ago, & they were a top-notch act back then.

I'll be checking out the local up my way as soon as I get this domestical issue straightened out. My big question about it all is will they continue to get you gigs if you have to turn some of them down? I've heard it's very easy to get blacklisted if you go about getting too many gigs on your own, & don't just sit around waiting for thier referrals, & then they just don't send you any more offers at all.

Thanks so much for the info.

Anyone care to help my laziness and post a link to the "union" main site?

I am intregued by all this I wonder just how many "unions" there are?
Sounds like Anthony struck gold

Sounds very good, indeed, Anthony.

I saw the Carpenter Ants about 10 years ago, & they were a top-notch act back then.

I'll be checking out the local up my way as soon as I get this domestical issue straightened out. My big question about it all is will they continue to get you gigs if you have to turn some of them down? I've heard it's very easy to get blacklisted if you go about getting too many gigs on your own, & don't just sit around waiting for thier referrals, & then they just don't send you any more offers at all.

Thanks so much for the info.

yes phil i was very concerned to know if i could still source my own gigs or if i had to stick to union gigs...but as i was told..."whatever gigs you do yourself has nothing to do with us",im still covered legaly but its kind of like....what you find you keep....and that works for me...ive done more gigs in the last month than ive done in the first year ive been here...

and busy=money....and who doesnt want that...


slain.