Chicago Federation of Musicians

What Chicago Federation of Musicians does

The Chicago Federation of Musicians (CFM) is a nonprofit labor union local — Local 10-208 of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) — that represents more than 2,000 professional musicians across every genre in the Chicago metropolitan area and North America. Headquartered at 656 West Randolph St., Suite 2E in Chicago and led by President BJ Levy, Vice-President John Floeter, and Secretary-Treasurer Dr. Karen Suarez Flint, CFM's core function is to negotiate and enforce collective bargaining agreements covering wages, benefits, and working conditions for musicians performing with major institutions such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, Broadway productions, recording sessions, and live venues. The organization traces its lineage to the 1864 Chicago Musicians' Protective Union and was reconstituted in its current chartered form in 1901.

CFM operates a suite of member-facing digital services and offline facilities, including the Band Profiles directory, Member Search by instrument and name, an online dues payment system, the bi-monthly Intermezzo newsletter (archived back to 2006), the Ed Ward Hall rehearsal space, and the #NotMe anonymous misconduct reporting program. Member resources are segmented by musician type — Symphonic/Opera, Theater, Recording, Freelance/Casual, Hip Hop/DJ/EDM, and Music in the Schools — reflecting the breadth of the represented workforce. The core technology stack is a union membership management and collective bargaining platform; no AI, proprietary algorithms, or API products are disclosed.

The business model is membership-dues driven. CFM collects recurring dues from its 2,000+ members in exchange for collective bargaining representation, access to negotiated contracts and wage scales, health and pension benefit programs, rehearsal facilities, and advocacy. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is direct: recruitment occurs through the website, community and member referrals, employer outreach, and the Intermezzo newsletter. There is no venture, private equity, or institutional ownership — the union is owned and controlled by its member musicians through elected officers.

Name

Chicago Federation of Musicians

Legal name

Chicago Federation of Musicians

Website

https://cfm10208.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1901

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Chicago Federation of Musicians (Local 10-208 of the American Federation of Musicians) is a nonprofit labor union representing 2,000+ professional musicians across every genre in the Chicago area, providing collective bargaining, contract negotiation, benefits, and workplace protection.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: CFM generates revenue through membership dues paid by represented professional musicians. Members pay dues in exchange for union representation, collective bargaining, health and pension benefits, and access to rehearsal space such as Ed Ward Hall.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Chicago Federation of Musicians is a labor union local that provides collective bargaining representation, contract negotiation, fair pay advocacy, and workplace protection to 2,000+ professional musicians in Chicago. In exchange for membership dues, members gain health and pension benefits, access to rehearsal space (Ed Ward Hall), a band profiles directory for gig referrals, and resources for touring, recording, theater, freelance, and symphonic musicians.

Product overview

The Chicago Federation of Musicians operates as a membership-based professional musicians union offering a unified member services platform. The organization provides a suite of digital tools including a Band Profiles Directory for hiring musicians, Member Search capabilities (by instrument and name), the Intermezzo newsletter publication, online dues payment, and the Ed Ward Hall rehearsal space booking. Member protection services include the Fair Employment Practices and #NotMe anonymous reporting program, health insurance options guidance, and COVID-19 assistance application resources. The union also maintains contract and wage scale resources, specialized resources for various music industry segments, and a historic documents archive.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Union Membership and Collective Bargaining Representation

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered moderate and core.

• Chicago SinfoniettamoderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2026The Chicago Sinfonietta and the Chicago Federation of Musicians negotiated and agreed to a one-year labor contract in early 2026, amid the Sinfonietta's ongoing suspension of performances since May due to financial hardships. The agreement covers wages, working conditions, and benefits for Sinfonietta musicians represented by CFM.
• American Federation of Musicians (AFM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFM is Local 10-208 of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, the largest organization representing musicians worldwide. CFM is connected to AFM's legislative, health & welfare, and job vacancy information networks. CFM's Secretary-Treasurer Dr. Karen Suarez Flint was elected International Vice President of the AFM at the 103rd Convention in Ottawa, Ontario in June 2026.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Actors' Equity Association: Actors' Equity is the labor union for stage actors and stage managers in the U.S., often collaborating with CFM's theater-musician members on Broadway and theatrical productions. Adjacent peer that shares CFM's labor-representation model for live entertainment professionals.
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE): IATSE represents backstage, theatrical, and entertainment-industry craft workers across the U.S. and Canada. It is a parallel labor union serving the same Broadway and theatrical productions in which CFM musicians perform, making it a closely adjacent peer in the live-entertainment labor space.
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): SEIU is one of the largest labor unions in North America. It is not a direct competitor but represents the broader labor-union operating model (collective bargaining, dues-funded operations, member benefits) that CFM operates within, making it a useful structural peer for understanding union governance and revenue mechanics.
• Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA): SAG-AFTRA is the largest entertainment industry labor union in the U.S., representing performers across film, television, radio, and recording. While focused on actors, its recording and broadcast contracts overlap with the recording-musician work CFM handles through the AFM's sound recording labor agreements.
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT): AFT is a national labor union with a substantial music-education constituency through its affiliation with music educators. While broader than CFM, AFT touches CFM's "Music in Schools" resource area and represents a comparable labor-organization model for professional service workers.

Direct peers

• Associated Musicians of Greater New York (AFM Local 802): AFM Local 802 is the New York City musicians' union, the largest AFM local in the country. It is the most direct functional peer to CFM, performing the same collective bargaining, contract negotiation, and member services for professional musicians in its metropolitan market.
• Nashville Musicians Association (AFM Local 257): AFM Local 257 represents musicians in the Nashville region, with a particular focus on recording and touring session musicians—a directly comparable role to CFM's recording-musician constituency and a peer local within the same AFM federation.
• American Guild of Musical Artists: AGMA is the labor union representing opera singers, ballet dancers, and other performing artists at major U.S. opera houses and ballet companies. It directly overlaps with CFM's symphonic/opera musician constituency and competes for representation rights at major institutions.
• Musicians Union of Los Angeles (AFM Local 47): AFM Local 47 is the primary Los Angeles musicians' union, covering one of the largest entertainment industry markets in the world. It directly parallels CFM's role as a metropolitan-level AFM local providing collective bargaining and benefits to professional musicians.

Broad incumbents

• American Federation of Musicians: AFM is the parent federation of which CFM is Local 10-208. It is the largest organization representing professional musicians in the U.S. and Canada, providing legislative, health & welfare, and job-vacancy infrastructure that CFM inherits as a chartered local.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ChicagoFederationofMusicians
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chicago-federation-of-musicians

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Chicago Federation of Musicians