Legendary singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell is widely considered folk royalty for her highly prolific, and widely acclaimed, decades-spanning career. Continue reading
#AFM47 member spotlight: Joni Mitchell
Category Archives: All News
H&W: Live Healthy!
Professional Musicians & Employer’s Health & Welfare Fund
Take Control of Your Health: Your Life Depends On It!
Taking care of yourself by exercising and eating well can make a big difference in your over-all health. If you are healthy, stay healthy by maintaining a lifestyle that promotes wellness.
It’s not easy to stop unhealthy habits and start healthy ones. Take baby steps; focus on one small area that you can improve. Adding exercise to your daily routine is one way to a healthier lifestyle. Continue reading
March 2019 Overture Online: All Music, All People
Overture Online
March 2019
All Music, All People
Music in Our Schools Month
Women’s History Month
Member spotlight: Linda Ronstadt
Awards Season 2019
The results are in!
Streaming is the Future
What are we doing about it?
and more!
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Overture Online is optimized for reading via smartphone or tablet. For those without access to a smart device, issues may be viewed on a web browser here. Local 47 members may download archived pdf versions from the members section at afm47.org.
AFM Western Conference 2019
AFM Local 47 was pleased to host the 2019 AFM Western Conference of Locals, where officers and delegates from AFM Locals in the western United States and Canadian provinces gathered to review common issues and organize for the upcoming AFM Convention. Continue reading
Streaming is the Future – What are we doing about it?
Negotiations between the AFM and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) begin on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. We’re taking on the most important aspect of the future of the recording industry: new media and streaming services.
Musicians working in all areas of the business are encouraged to attend these important contract negotiations that will affect all of us. Watch the video message from the AFM Local 47 Executive Board, and sign up below to stay informed on important updates and to RSVP to attend negotiations on March 13:
2019 Member Directory out now!
Copies of the 2019 Local 47 Member Directory are out now!
These books are published annually and made available exclusively to members upon request as a free member benefit.
Pick one up at the union or request a copy by filling out the form below or by calling 323.462.2161.
Super Bowl: Personal Foul
We have a very serious problem in Los Angeles, and there’s a certain project that’s on all our minds: Magic Johnson’s Super Bowl ad.
The music for this commercial was recorded non-union, by CMG. If the gig were union, these musicians would have been paid for the session, the airing of the ad on TV and internet, benefits, and sidelining. If this gig were union the musicians would have earned $933.82. Instead, the musicians were paid a paltry $175 in a buyout deal. Continue reading
Guest Column: My Personal Experience at the Celebration for John Williams
John Williams (left) and Gustavo Dudamel (right) shared the stage during an intimate concert series at Disney Hall in January 2019. [photos by Linda A. Rapka/AFM Local 47]
I read the glowing review by Mark Swed of the first night of the Celebration of John Williams in the Times last month, and was moved to have a personal kind of celebration; of knowing John Williams, from our time in Tucson in the 775th Air Force band, through my time as Union VP and President, when I presented both John Williams and Steven Spielberg a commemorative plaque on behalf of Musicians Local 47 at a scoring session of 105 players. The plaques were inscribed with our Local 47 musicians’ thanks for consistently scoring their films here in Hollywood, and thereby using our musicians in the resulting scoring processes. Mr. Spielberg told me at that time that he was genuinely touched by this recognition. Continue reading
Dr. Martin Luther King on the Importance of Jazz Music
Minister, activist, civil rights leader, visionary — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was many things during his all-too-short life. In addition to being all these things, Dr. King was also a huge admirer of jazz music; so much so, in fact, that he was invited to write the forward for the first annual Berlin Jazz Festival in 1964. Continue reading
Throwback: Beyoncé records national anthem
On Feb. 1, 2004, Beyoncé performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XXXVIII. The track was recorded in Los Angeles with a 69-piece AFM Local 47 orchestra contracted by Ernie Fields Jr. with Rickey Minor producing and Randy Waldman arranging. Continue reading