It negotiates fair agreements, protects ownership of recorded music, secures benefits such as healthcare and pension, and lobbies legislators.

The first convention, upon which the American Federation of Musicians was founded, was held October 1896 at the Hotel English in Indianapolis, Indiana.

As the American music scene prospered and more symphony orchestras were founded, the need for a national organization for musicians increased.

By 1900, the union changed its name to the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada and was actively organizing on both sides of the border.

[7] Among the best known AFM actions was the 1942–44 musicians' strike, orchestrated to pressure record companies to agree to a better arrangement for paying royalties.

In 1918, two important legislative measures, Prohibition and a 20 percent cabaret tax to support the war effort, negatively impacted many musicians.

The Copyright Act of 1909 created the first compulsory mechanical license stipulating royalty payments be paid by the user of a composer’s work, but the law excluded musicians.

In 1927, the first "talkie" motion picture was released and within two years, 20,000 musicians lost their jobs performing in theater pits for silent films.

In 1938, film companies signed their first contract with AFM at a time when musicians were losing income as phonograph records replaced radio orchestras and jukeboxes competed with live music in nightclubs.

While musicians flocked to Los Angeles hoping for high-paying recording work, fewer than 200 new jobs were created by the technology.

While national scales were set for live musicians working on fledgling radio networks, some stations had already begun using recordings.

After 14 weeks, the stations agreed to spend an additional $2 million to employ staff musicians, but the Department of Justice later ruled the agreement illegal.

Pension funds were established and musicians also secured groundbreaking contracts providing royalties for digital transmissions and from recordings of live performances.

The Musicians Guild of America was defeated in a 1960 representation election and the AFM regained bargaining rights for motion-picture studios.

Amid the beginning of the British Invasion in 1964, Kenin lobbied directly to the US Secretary of Labor, W. Willard Wirtz, to place an embargo on rock and roll musicians coming to the US from the UK.

Kenin worried about British musicians taking away jobs from Americans, contending that there was little difference between their music, making it unnecessary for the Beatles and other acts to perform.

The federation cited its concern for preserving America’s cultural heritage and protecting the country’s less commercially viable styles: jazz, folk and symphonic music.

AFM president Ray Hair said: "Government arts funding is critical to the ongoing financial and artistic well-being of American professional musicians.

... For nearly 50 years NEA funding has enriched our communities, supported our jobs, and helped achieve cultural balance within virtually every congressional district."

[citation needed] Through much of the early history of the AFM, union locals were segregated for black and white musicians.

[12] Through lobbying efforts to amend copyright law and generate new, innovative agreements, the AFM continues its work to protect and compensate musicians in the increasingly digital world.

In 2020, more than 42,000 session musicians and vocalists in all 50 states and Canada shared $62 million in royalties collected by its Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund.

In early 2020, the AFM faced what would become its biggest challenge yet, when the pandemic and subsequent quarantines put thousands of musicians out of work and careers on hold.

The AFM quickly adapted agreements to allow live streaming of concerts and recording work to be done at home instead of in-studio.