About The Recording Musicians Association
About us
The Recording Musicians Association (RMA) is a non-profit advocacy organization for the Recording Arts and the role they play in our country’s artistic and economic life. RMA counts among its members the most recorded musicians in the world. Whether you are listening to a Hollywood film score, a country record from Nashville, a TV show live from New York or a Latin pop record from Miami, you are without doubt hearing the skill and talent of RMA members.
RMALA, has many hundreds of members who are active in education and outreach to young composers, songwriters and instrumentalists through mentoring, scholarship programs and workplace training programs. Some of these projects been done in conjunction with ETM-LA, Harmony Project, YOLA, ASCAP, NARAS, The American Federation of Musicians, BMI and others.
RMA representatives are directly involved in every issue that that affects studio musicians and their employers – contract negotiations – monitoring royalty funds – pursuing copyright protections as well as educating the public and government officials on the State and Federal level about the damage that can be done to artists if film piracy and music piracy go unchecked.
Our voice is often heard in Sacramento where we are tireless supporters for the arts and music education. RMA leaders continue to work at the forefront of the effort to include musicians jobs and music scoring in the California Film & TV Tax Incentive program, in order to bring more employment to our musicians, strengthen our Pension Fund, and ensure the future of AFM recording in Hollywood.
Who We Are
The Recording Musicians Association is a Player Conference within the American Federation of Musicians, an entity recognized by AFM bylaws to serve and advocate for the interests of musicians who make recordings.
Put more simply, RMA is the recording musician’s “seat at the table” within the AFM. RMALA Officers meet regularly with Presidents of both the AFM and Local 47 to discuss day to day work issues, giving an irreplaceable window into the actual work that our contracts govern.
Our Board of Directors, as well as many rank and file members, form committees to work on issues ranging from research on contract compliance by our signatory companies, getting paid on time, diversity and inclusion, planning our Mixers and annual RMA Night Gala, and much more.
RMA membership dues pay for travel to contract negotiations, Conventions and Conferences of the AFM and fellow player conferences like ICSOM and ROPA, outreach within the labor community, and subscriptions to publications necessary to do research. We also rent an office within the Local 47 building, supply it with equipment, and hire an office administrator.
Ultimately the effectiveness of the RMA depends on the engagement and participation of our members. This moment in the history of our profession is particularly crucial as we face a sea change in media consumption with the transition to streaming platforms. We have to make sure that musicians don’t get left behind.
Every member of the RMA is a unique artist, but also part of a labor force employed by large corporations. That’s why we have to stand together for good contracts that allow us to make a career with some measure of security for our families now and in the future.
Christopher Anderson-Bazzoli,
President Emeritus – RMALA