We Need a Union
Tino Gagliardi, President, American Federation of Musicians
The AFM (American Federation of Musicians) claims to represent all musicians. In practice, it doesn’t. AFM contracts with the major film companies and labels (UMG, WMG, Sony) provide excellent benefits. But the AFM has never challenged those corporations to extend benefits to those who create the indie sound recordings or film scores they distribute; and have failed to organize indie labels distributed by indie distributors (DistroKid, TuneCore, etc).
As a result, we have been powerless to fight back as musicians’ rights and livelihoods have been decimated. Spotify’s .0038 cent starvation wage has become the industry standard, and a generation of musicians have lived and died without basic Union protection.
We’re now facing mass displacement and devaluation via generative AI.
The AFM could fight this when it renegotiates its contract with the major labels in 2026.
But the elites who control AFM recording negotiations don’t believe AI affects them. The AFM betrayed indie musicians in last year‘s negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
And unless we UNITE NOW to demand that the AFM fight for indie musician issues in the upcoming 2026 negotiations — we'll be betrayed again.
For further information, please see Frequently Asked Questions
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Petition by
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To:
Tino Gagliardi, President, American Federation of Musicians
From:
[Your Name]
WE NEED A UNION
PETITION TO THE AMERICAN FEDERATION of MUSICIANS:
We the undersigned indie musicians demand that the AFM (AMERICAN FEDERATION of MUSICIANS - the “musicians union”): fight for indie musicians at the 2026 Sound Recording Labor Agreement negotiations with the major labels by demanding the following items:
No licensing of major label catalogue to any company for use in the training of generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) systems without consent of the musicians who created it;
That the Major Labels provide portable benefits (for example, health insurance) for musicians performing on all indie labels distributed by Major Labels (UMG, WEA, Sony);
Fix the term of the new contract to be negotiated between the AFM and the major labels so that it ends on April 30th, 2028.
(This will enable the AFM to participate in the United Auto Workers’s call for united action— possibly a general strike—on May 1st, 2028).
We also demand voice in all discussions pertaining to these negotiations, and that the negotiations with the Major Labels be open to all AFM members; i.e. NO “non-disclosure agreements”; NO extraordinary secrecy.
We stand ready to work with the AFM in building the power to leverage these goals. We believe achieving them is in the interest of all musicians, and necessary for the survival of the AFM.
However, indie musicians are a majority of working musicians. If the AFM is unable or unwilling to represent us, it must withdraw its claim of exclusive jurisdiction* over indie musicians’ work, and allow us to organize ourselves without threat of retaliation for those wishing to hold more than one musicians union card.** It would also clear the way for indie musicians to pursue labor rights and collective bargaining under state laws, something the AFM has failed to do.
*Jurisdiction - Currently the AFL-CIO recognizes only the AFM as the representative of all musicians
**According to current AFM rules, membership in an alternative musicians union is punishable by fines, expulsion, and blacklisting.
“This petition is sponsored by the “WE NEED a UNION” network: members of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), Austin Texas Musicians Organization (ATXMO), Indie Musicians Caucus of the AFM (IMC), Music Workers Alliance (MWA), who believe that WE, indie musicians, need their own union. The “WE NEED a UNION” network is open to the participation of all rank-and-file working indie musicians.
Contact: WNUcampaign@gmail.com.
For further information, please see Frequently Asked Questions:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/114utA--E956MkJWS-0kooD86VABLOQCMdt2o5ZpcUF4/edit?usp=sharing