AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS. The American Federation of Labor recognized the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) in 1896. In 1900, the American Federation of Musicians modified its name to "American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada".

In the early 1900s, record companies produced recordings and musicians profited. However, around WORLD WAR I, general unemployment also affected musicians. Movies replaced some traditional entertainments and were silent films. Because of that, the declining economy, and other factors, many musicians were laid off

By the end of the 1920s, many factors had reduced the number of recording companies. As the nation recovered from World War I, technology advanced and there was diversity in recording and producing music. This encouraged the American Federation of Musicians. AFM was motivated to bring music awareness of music to the public. In 1938, the American Federation of Musicians established signed agreements with motion pictures companies.

Among the most famous AFM actions was the 1942–44 musicians' strike, to pressure record companies to agree to a royalty system more beneficial to the musicians. This was sometimes called the "Petrillo Ban", because James Petrillo was the newly elected head of the union. Petrillo organized a second recording ban in 1948 (from January 1 to December 14), in response to the Taft–Hartley Act.

The early 1960s marked a new beginning to the music industry. Rock and roll became mainstream and brought an explosion to the music industry market.

By 1970s, North American music divided into more genres than ever before. As more genres were entered the market, record sales accelerated. Earlier genres such as classical, jazz, and rhythm and blues contributed to new sounds such as gospel, rap, and hip hop.

At the AFM convention in Las Vegas on June 23, 2010, the organization elected Ray Hair for a three-year term as president. Hair was re-elected for an additional three years in July 2013 and for a third term in June 2016.

The AFM became active in preventing plagiarism and illegal downloading.

See: DUBUQUE MUSICIANS' PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION

The 1937 Dubuque Consurvey Directory listed the Eagle's Hall.

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Source:

"American Federation of Musicians," Wikipedia, Online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Federation_of_Musicians