AFM - Seeking Input From Wally and Other Members

[davio]

After reading the Tucson thread...here we are.

 

So now that I'm starting to get calls for paying gigs and whatnot I've started wondering about the benefits of joining AFM. One or two orchestral gigs I've been hired for have actually asked once I got there if I was part of any unions. I was talking with another bass player I've played several gigs with now (also in his mid-20s) last night about it because he seemed to have marginally more info about it than I did. I checked out the AFM website and Boston's local website and read up as much as I could before bed but I'm still wondering (much as picker was/is, but I think I'm in a different position) "How can it help me?"

 

I'm not a band and I don't consider myself an "Artist"...an "artist", yes, but not one who people care if I'm playing (other than friends and family). I know it's an odd distinction, but still... I have no interest in being in the spotlight or making a name for myself outside of the circle of people who have worked with me and would hire or recommend me. I play a variety of music from classical to rock, jazz, blues, R&B, funk, blahdeblahdeblah.

 

I've had little birdies tell me that many of the classical musicians I gig with are members (I saw the concert master of the Boston Civic Symphony on the local list when I was skimming it last night) and that it's a great source for gigs but I wasn't able to find much info other than that AFM offers assistance with a bunch of stuff (sorry if that seems to belittle a lot of great stuff that's available but it's not what I'm looking for at the moment) and some insurance and retirement benefits, etc.

 

I think what I'm getting at is that since I'm not touring, negotiating contracts (haven't yet anyway) or playing with a pro symphony...how can AFM help a small-time, non-pro freelancer like myself?

 

There's a lot of info available on the website, but what I'm interested in are answers to questions like: What would being a member mean as far as what gigs are available to me? Would it open new windows I didn't know were there before? Would it rule out some of the crappy, one-night $50-$75 college orchestra gigs that mean I can take the gf out to dinner that weekend? Is there a $$$ minimum to accept a gig or something? What does AFM offer for networking? If I join the disco band that I've been subbing for, are there any potential issues if I'm a member but neither the other individuals nor the band as an entity is?

 

Is there a way to get a hold of the bylaws to look over before joining?

 

Sorry for the length of the post. If it was hard to read it's because I'm just typing all stream-of-consciousness-like. If you got through it, thank you. If you're a member or just happen to be Wally Malone please feel free to chime in.

[jeremy c]

Not every local has it, but I am now getting health insurance through the musicians union. This feature alone makes being in the union worthwhile.

[Wally Malone]

davio, I'll chime in later in the week after I get home from Tucson.

 

Wally

[Eric VB]

Ok, just pulling some numbers from the NYC site (local 1000), the first year costs you $250 just to join. (Following years are only $150.)

 

If you pick up gigs through the union at small clubs as a 4-piece ensemble you have to pay an additional $5.50 per gig in "work dues". (If I follow their discussion correctly.) I'm guessing that gets split 4 ways? So for 12 gigs (gigging once a month) that's 12*$5.50 = $66 (for the ensemble) and then $66/4 = $16.50 (per individual).

 

Total dues for the first year are then $250+$16.50 = $266.50.

 

It appears the minimum scale pay is $275 for such an ensemble per gig. So at the very least you make $68.75 per gig (assuming an equal 4-way split). 12 gigs comes out to $825.

 

So you're looking at about a 32% "booking fee" in that scenario ($266.50/$825). That's 20% in following years ($166.50/$825).

 

But realistically you should be able to make more than the minimum. I'd think you'd make more like $100 per gig so then the "booking fee" is only 22% in the first year (14% in following years). That's still quite a bit more than an independent booking agent that charges a 10% fee. (For $1,200 gross you'd net $933.50 with the union and $1,080 with an independent booking agent.)

 

If you were to take on 2 gigs a month, though, you're looking at 12% (8%) union fees, which makes the union a better long-term choice.

 

In general the more union gigs you take the better off you are. The tipping point in favor of the union over a 10% booking agent is 30 gigs/year the first year (2.5 gigs/month average), and 18 gigs/year thereafter (1.5 gigs/month average).

 

Of course if you can get that many bookings on your own that's a different story.

 

But wait, there's more!

 

You also get between 8-15% extra per gig towards your retirement fund. So, assuming you go with 2 decent ($100/man) gigs a month that means you put away between $192-$360 a year towards retirement. This is on top of the $2,400 you grossed.

 

So, disregarding the retirement benefit, the question remains: can you find 30 union gigs a year? Or an average of 24 union gigs a year for 2 years? Or ... an average of 18 union gigs a year for 20 years? (Note that this all hinges on the conditions above as well as the assumption that neither dues nor pay increase over time.) If not you're better off hiring an independent booking agent if the only union benefit of value to you is booking gigs through them.

 

The monkey wrench is the possibility of the corporate gigs you can only get through the union that pay, let's say, $1,000 a person. Without a thorough analysis, one of these is as good as 10 of the small club gigs. Now you're only looking at doing an average of 2 corporate gigs a year for 5 years to end up in the same place monetarily. Of course it's not a fair comparison because the independent booking agent can't get these gigs for you.

 

OTOH if you form an independent wedding band, handle all of your own bookings and command top dollar, you could do rather well.

[Eric VB]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that my analysis was based more along the lines of a 4-piece cover band. I do know a guy in town whose cover band gets work through the DFM (local AFM chapter). Of course they are full-time musicians and probably work 5 nights a week.

[davio]

I appreciate the analysis, Eric. That saves me some hassle. But as I said, I'm not approaching this as a band would. I'm an individual, amateur freelancer. Since (at this point in my life) the most important (but not the only) union benefit that I'm worried about is booking gigs, I want to get some idea of what I can expect. How do you get "union gigs"? Is there a message board for the local where people post "Hey, I need XXX players for XXX date for XXX money"? Do people just look at the local's listing to find musicians to hire? Does the union say "You need a bass player? Call this guy (or these guys)"?

 

The Boston local's wage scale is viewable by members only. I don't really understand all of this but I'd think that that would be vital info as to whether or not I'd choose to join.

 

I need to see if there are any local members I know well enough that I can sit down and talk with.

[Wally Malone]

When doing any calculating one must remember the local autonomy aspect of the AFM. Dues rates and local wage scales are set by the local memberships. Local 1000 (a non-geographical local) was set-up by a group of traveling folk musicians and therefore a completely different animal.

 

There are also ways of joining without having to pay the initiation fees. The AFM initiation fee is $65 and the Local initiation fees vary and again are set at the local level.

 

You can go to afm.org to look at benefits that are available through the AFM and also by using "find a local" will be able to see what the dues are for the local in your area and also get a link to their web page.

 

As most may have noticed I don't have as much time as I used to spend here at the Lowdown. I've made a choice to give my practicing the needed time to surfing the web, still enjoying spending daily time when at home on my URB.

 

There are many benefits and services available and musicians join for various reasons. There are those that join for insurances, web hosting and for referrals. It is much easier to answer specific questions than general inquiries. I will do my best to answer specific questions.

 

Wally

[Eric VB]

How do you get "union gigs"?

Again, I'm not the expert here, but it seems there is a publication that is only available to union members that lists union gigs.

I'm an individual, amateur freelancer.

And a sideman. (And you know I don't mean that in a degrading way.)

 

I haven't seen a copy of that union publication but just by looking at the pay scales it seems that the model being used is a music director (MD) and sidemen.

 

I'm guessing any MD worth his salt already has sub lists for sidemen. So I'm guessing there wouldn't be a lot of ads for sidemen.

 

Are there union MDs out there who would like to have you on their bass sub lists, but because you're not union they remain hidden? I'm guessing you haven't run into many yet because you're in different circles.

 

There's no reason you couldn't MD from the bass chair. Yes, it's extra work, but it also equals extra pay.

 

This is the most specific way I can think of to frame this question for Wally:

 

How does a bassist get sideman gigs through the union?

[Wally Malone]

For sidemusician gigs when you join a local they should give you a list of the contractors and also their local directory. One should send out their resume to these contractors. If you have a web page you should include that link as well. Attend the local's meetings and network. Locals are required to have a referral service. Register with the Local's service and also the national service at www.gopromusic.com. You'll also see in the Local's directory the list of those that play the same instrument as you. Get to know them, go out and see them perform and if you can cut their gig ask if they are looking for subs. In other words, just don't go to the local and pay your money and sit back and wait. You must make your membership work for you.

 

Wally

[davio]

Thanks to both of you guys!

 

Get to know [other local bass players], go out and see them perform and if you can cut their gig ask if they are looking for subs.

This is the only thing I've done thus far and it's yielded decent results. If I can do better by becoming a member, I think the likelihood of me joining is very good. Especially since landing one good gig as a result of membership would pay for a year's worth of dues anyway.

 

I ran some quick numbers in my head yesterday and realized that if I could average 2 gigs a week at the pay that I got playing for a community choir this past week, I could make about the same $$$ as I did in the job I was recently laid off from (sad but true). Only problem is that (from what I've gathered) gigs completely dry up around here in the summer. That and the fact that not all of the gigs I play pay as well as this last one did.

 

Thanks again for the input, Wally. I'm going to try and talk to some local members to get their take on it and once I can form more intelligent questions I'll get back to you.

[nitewalker]

I'm from Las Vegas, and I joined the union for 7 years. I went to the same music school as the secretary of the local here, and he was one of the reasons I moved to Vegas. I heard that he could do good things for people from our school. I was working alot of day gigs, too, and travelling alot for them. They told me at the union to book my own work. They wouldn't help at all. Most of the bookings in Vegas are for 5 band for a buck clubs, unless you want to sign one of those rediculous booking agency agreements. I guess I should have tried a little harder, but I figured if I was going to pay the union all that money and follow their rules they should at least be able to do something. I took a 2 year job in China and quit in 2005. I recommend that if you find a group to play with that plays union bookings then join the union. They will sit there and collect dues until doomsday and you won't get the sweat off of their collars for it.

 

For sidemusician gigs when you join a local they should give you a list of the contractors and also their local directory. One should send out their resume to these contractors. If you have a web page you should include that link as well. Attend the local's meetings and network. Locals are required to have a referral service. Register with the Local's service and also the national service at www.gopromusic.com. You'll also see in the Local's directory the list of those that play the same instrument as you. Get to know them, go out and see them perform and if you can cut their gig ask if they are looking for subs. In other words, just don't go to the local and pay your money and sit back and wait. You must make your membership work for you.

 

Wally

[davio]

That's cool. I'm not a fan of sweaty collars. FWIW, it's not you paying the Union for getting you gigs...they provide you with access to the network that they've built (among other things). As Wally said:

 

In other words, just don't go to the local and pay your money and sit back and wait. You must make your membership work for you.