The new Board of Directors of the Local 406 of the American Federation of Musicians, la Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec (GMMQ), was unveiled on June 2. Among the 13 elected members, the Board includes several new faces, including 9 women.

(New York, NY)  It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our colleague and friend Alan Willaert, American Federation of Musicians Vice President from Canada and Director of Canadian Affairs, on April 18, 2024.

Between now and June 2, you'll be invited to elect your organization's new Board of Directors. You'll also have the opportunity to put your knowledge at the service of the Quebec music community, by joining the Board of Directors. Here's a reminder of everything you need to know for this election.

Press Release. In reaction to the provincial budget tabled yesterday by Finance Minister Éric Girard, the artists' unions are delighted, despite the context of budgetary restraint, with the various initiatives and investments aimed at the audiovisual sector. We applaud the government's willingness to review the industry's funding models and mechanisms, and are pleased that our demands have been heard. We would like to thank the Minister of Culture and Communications, Mathieu Lacombe, for his ongoing commitment to artists and artisans, and his genuine desire to promote local culture. We reiterate our full cooperation and will continue our representations to ensure the defense of our members' rights and interests.

Quebec's largest cultural industry unions (UDA, AQTIS, ARRQ, DGC, GMMQ, SARTEC) have joined forces to call on the government to set up a consultation process to ensure the survival of our culture. Over the past few decades, the way we produce, broadcast and consume TV, film and music has changed radically, and our ecosystem has been turned upside down. Despite major investments in culture, artists and artisans continue to be impoverished. The public money invested does not trickle down adequately to artists, and many questions are being raised about the funding allocation mechanisms in place.

Montreal, February 14, 2024 - The Board of Directors of Local 406 of the American Federation of musicians (AFM), La Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec (GMMQ), is pleased to announce the appointment of Guy Bernard as CEO of the organization, effective February 27.

Montreal, December 5, 2023 - As part of the consultation organized by the federal government on generative artificial intelligence in the specific context of copyright, five professional associations representing nearly 20,000 Quebec artists are calling for caution, transparency and a protective legislative framework.

For several decades, the dominant model for album production has been the exclusive recording contract, also known as the album contract, record contract, exclusivity contract or phonogram production contract. Although this model has been considerably superseded by the self-production model, it is still very common and not a document to be signed lightly. Before you even enter the studio, it's vital to reach agreement with the production company* on the terms and conditions of your recording contract.

The 102^nd Convention of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada was held June 26 through June 29, 2023, at the Westgate Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theme “In Unity, There Is Strength” was reflected in the various discourse among the delegates and echoed by many guest speakers.

Often overlooked, collecting societies are important organizations that anyone involved in the music business should know about. As an artist, they can be a very important source of income.

The purpose of these societies is to manage rights that would be impossible or too complicated to manage alone. For example, it would be too difficult for a copyright-holding artist to go out and get paid by every radio station that makes a copy of his or her music to play it. Not to mention the fact that there are many songs to manage, and that rights are often shared by several people on the same work, it would be easy to get lost! It's in situations like these that collecting societies are a great help, if not a necessity, since they can do all the work for you that would often be impossible individually.

We are greatly concerned with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposal to triple the fees for P (including P2’s) and O Visa applications. If implemented, this will have a devastating impact on the mobility of Canadian and International touring musicians to perform in the US. It will also disproportionately impact the cost for indie touring bands. We want to assure you that we are working with the CFM to develop an action plan to fight back and will have more to report in the weeks coming. Please note that any fee increases are likely not to come into effect until the fall of 2023. Meanwhile, the AFM is actively lobbying Homeland Security and US government.

The AFM, along with many other, US-based arts organizations and businesses are lobbying against such a high increase (upwards of 251% - from $460 to $1615). These lobbying efforts started mid-January.

Quebec City, January 18, 2023 - The musicians of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec adopted an agreement in principle with the Orchestra last week by a clear majority. This negotiation process represented a turning point for the Orchestra's sustainability and future. Indeed, the musicians had been facing a virtual freeze in their salaries since their last collective agreement signed in 2015 and were hoping to obtain a salary catch-up so that they could earn a decent living. Considering that inflation alone was 6.1% for 2022 alone, it is clear that the 2015 wages were no longer sufficient for musicians to live decently. This new collective agreement allows musicians to achieve the key goals they set for themselves in this negotiation. The agreement will be retroactive to 2020 and will continue until 2024.