Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

American Federation of Musicians

How NOT To Use New Media

Mon, Jun 6, 2010
If you’re looking for a good example of how to use a new media platform in the worst possible way, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) International President Thomas F. Lee provides the best example I’ve come across to date with a series of videos the AFM released on YouTube. Everything in this video from the

AFM Poll Results

Fri, Jun 6, 2010
Last Wednesday’s poll asking readers if they thought orchestra musicians should leave the AFM produced an enormous response rate; at the time this was written, it had over 500 unique reader responses. The results were fascinating on several levels and since this poll allowed users to select multiple responses, it provided some equally fascinating opportunities

Should Orchestra Musicians Leave The AFM?

Wed, Jun 6, 2010
Adaptistration People 102
Yesterday’s post on the recommendation by the American Federation of Musicians’ (AFM) International Executive Board (IEB) to give officers an unaudited $10,000 discretionary spending account has generated a considerable amount of feedback throughout social network sites and private email messages. One item that repeatedly pops up is whether or not orchestra musicians would be better

Things That Make You Go Buh?!? AFM Leadership

Tue, Jun 6, 2010
What do you call a $10,000 discretionary spending account over and above existing annual compensation, travel expenses, and departmental budgets? Oh, and did I mention that each executive with the mad money privileges will not be required to make an accounting of what or how they spend those funds. If you’re the current leadership of

Something Every Good Manager Knows

Fri, Sep 9, 2009
Earlier this week, the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) published a copy of the comments delivered to the American Federation of Musicians’ (AFM) International Executive Board (IEB) on 7/27/2009 by its chairman, Bruce Ridge. ICSOM describes the comments as “critical of the delayed and subverted process through which the President of the
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