[Fmpro] why does AFM not include composers?

[Christopher Alpiar]

As always Mark, you bring an amazing knowledge to the table and  
provide the exact answers I was wondering about :)

As far as health insurance, as an AFM member in Dayton OH, I was only  
given "affiliation insurance" which is an AFM suggested policy where  
you get a small discount for being an AFM member, but it is not a  
group policy. And pre-existing conditions for sure are not part of  
getting insurance thru the AFM

I think AFM has definitely become run down, but with everything good  
that they do have in place, wouldnt there still be something to be  
said for an effort to rejuvenate the AFM with composer member base? It  
would seem the act of creating that type of membership would in itself  
force all manner of policy and concepts to be updated to benefit us.

As for the
> labor attorney in attendance said that if composers unionized,  
> performing
> rights royalties would likely become "negotiable parts of your  
> composer
> contracts" which immediately scared most of the composers in  
> attendance who
> made big $$ from ASCAP and BM


Well I think we can see that being AFM hasnt let performance royalty  
for musicians become negotiable parts of their musician contracts,  
have they?

Maybe its too far gone down a path with a history that shows it is  
from a different era. Maybe the mistakes it has made are irreparable .  
But it seems that having even the tired ol AFM backing composers is  
better than nothing. Or maybe its time for a new concept to rise?

Christopher Kennedy Alpiar
Cinematic Composer
937.294.0900 (Dayton Studio)
310.339.9603 (Los Angeles)
877.294.0912 (Toll Free)
www.alpiar.com








On May 27, 2008, at 3:59 PM, Mark Northam wrote:

> On 5/28/08 5:45 AM, "Chris Alpiar" <chris at alpiar.com> wrote:
>
>> Why has either the AFM historically not extended its membership to
>> composers? And if they have what happened that it didnt work?
>
> The AFM pitched this to composers in the mid-1990s through Shirley  
> Walker.
> The SCL had a couple of meetings, then dropped the issue completely  
> when a
> labor attorney in attendance said that if composers unionized,  
> performing
> rights royalties would likely become "negotiable parts of your  
> composer
> contracts" which immediately scared most of the composers in  
> attendance who
> made big $$ from ASCAP and BMI. The subject has been dead ever since  
> from
> what I can tell, based on the speculation of one labor attorney.
>
> At a Film Music Network meeting last year, AFM President Tom Lee  
> brought up
> the possibility of including composers on the AFM's new buyout video  
> game
> contracts, which elicited a positive response from many of those in
> attendance. These contracts provide for health & welfare and pension
> contributions, but no future royalties.
>
> My biggest concern about the AFM's current position is about health
> insurance - their plan with the motion picture industry says, in  
> short,
> limits the number of members that can qualify for the plan as  
> fraction of
> the number of members of the Local -this seems unfair to say the  
> least. And
> sadly, Local 47 in LA according to some reports has been dragging  
> their
> heels about allowing their Local to participate in a Kaiser-based  
> California
> PPO that has a special benefit for AFM members of not rejecting pre- 
> existing
> conditions, a huge benefit over individual health plans where the  
> slightest
> health history issue can result in not qualifying.
>
> Best,
>
> Mark N.