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 complete absence of production qualities, patronizing tone of his voice, ill-fitting suit, and circa 1962 copy (that’s only cool in Mad Men) is a gruesome train wreck of a product. But wait, there’s more…
American Federation of Musicians
AFM Poll Results
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 for cross tabulation. Read on to find out the recommend fate of orchestra musicians and representation…
Should Orchestra Musicians Leave The AFM?
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 served by staying within or leaving the AFM. Consequently, let’s find out what readers thin Sorry, …
Things That Make You Go Buh?!? AFM Leadership
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 the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), you call it Recommendation #24 for changes to the Federation bylaws…
Something Every Good Manager Knows
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 AFM hired the new director of the Symphonic Services Division (SSD).” We’ve examined this issue in two recent posts (here and here) and the publication of Ridge’s comments sheds additional light on what appears to be a growing struggle within the AFM over representation and services rendered.