Member Benefits
Musicians For Musicians needs your participation in order to grow and make a difference. MFM will provide you with tools, resources, support, and a network of musicians who stand behind one concept: #MakingMusicIsAProfession.
Below are some of the benefits of becoming a member. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us! Or, skip the reading and register now.
We Are Advocates
We want to advocate for our members and their best interests. We also plan on working with venues in order to improve working conditions for our members, as many musicians are forced to perform for free or are sometimes promised pay that never materializes. We hope to mimic the success musicians have seen in Seattle, WA, where venues have signed a pledge to maintain standards, including written performance agreements, accountability and transparency, sound quality, and a mechanism to improve grievances.
Online Community
Our website serves as a virtual community for our members, creating a network and offering valuable information to those in the music industry. Our site will provide helpful resources regarding different aspects of the industry such as information on benefits (i.e. health insurance, pension, instrument insurance), intellectual property, venues, how to tour/travel as a musician, and links to recommended ‘musician- friendly’ businesses (i.e. rental & recording studios, instrument stores, publicists). Also, our site will feature a newsletter keeping our members up to date with upcoming events, relevant news, and features on what other members are up to. Further, our site will feature a referral section, which will connect our members to potential job opportunities such as performances or teaching music lessons. We plan on updating the site regularly and will use input from our members to ensure we are serving their needs in the best possible way.
Member Discount Benefits
MFM is a non-profit organization. We are always looking to partner with companies, organizations, and anyone who believes in our cause and advocates for musicians’ rights. Through these endorsements, members have access to exclusive discounts on a variety of items. These discounts, whether large or small (i.e. a free cup of coffee vs. 10% recording sessions) facilitate our members day-to-day lives and helps ensure that #MakingMusicIsAProfession. Some discounts include:
- Discounts on your utility bill
- Discounted fitness and wellness consultations
- Supplemental health insurance packages
- Audio and video production services
- Discounted affiliate memberships
- …and more!
Referral and Resource Network
The exclusive members-only portal is meant to engage our members and promote constant activity related to music. Within the portal, our members are able to:
- seek or find fellow musicians for gig opportunities
- find gear and instruments to rent, buy or sell
- review music venues and start open discussion
- review and book rehearsal spaces
- submit requests for venue and rehearsal listings
- find access to recording studios
- … and so much more!
Annual Music Festival and Mixer
Aside from having fundraisers throughout the year – once a year we will A) host a music festival to create awareness for our industry, which will feature our members, and B) throw a musicians mixer for all members and industry professionals.
There will be paid performances, speaking opportunities, networking events, and special interactive workshops throughout these annual events. Not only will these is be an excellent chance for our members expand their reach among our own community – it is also a great time to promote MFM and spread the word in order to gain new membership.
We will have our first annual festival in late 2019.
Informative Workshops
Our workshops are designed to encourage and enable our members to gain success in this industry. We cover a wide variety of topics tailored to the specific needs of working musicians and the issues facing our community. Our workshops allow us to disseminate beneficial information to our members face to face, with hands-on learning and the opportunity for open discussion. This will also allow our members to come together, get to know each other, and strengthen our community. Musicians are invited to speak about their music, instrument(s) and culture to the MFM community.
Some of the topics covered include:
- How to run your own (music) business: independent contractor status or LLC?
- Why a contract is a must-to-use document when dealing with club owners
- How to handle marketing, time management and cash flow
- How we can improve our relationship with clubs
- Copyright and performance royalty issues; YouTube-Spotify-Pandora payments
- How to work out your own specific PR strategy and how to deal with publicists, promoters, etc.
- What it means to be an independent contractor vs. an employee
- Networking and making connections in our industry