Detroit Federation-Musicians

The Detroit Federation of Musicians is an esteemed organization of professional musicians who have contributed to Detroit's rich cultural heritage since 1881. As part of the American Federation of Musicians, we represent nearly 100,000 professional musicians across the United States and Canada.

Our Mission

Our mission is to unite the musicians of Detroit and vicinity by establishing and maintaining minimum prices for all engagements, enforcing the terms of all contracts made and properly filed by our members, advancing and conserving the individual and collective interests of our members, promoting and stimulating a true fraternal feeling among the membership as a whole.

Our History

We were founded in 1881 as the Detroit Musicians' Mutual Protective Union. Since then, we have been an integral part of Detroit's cultural landscape. We affiliated with the American Federation of Musicians in 1903 and became known as the Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local #5. We are proud to be affiliated with the Michigan and Metro Detroit AFL-CIO.

Our Members

We have approximately 830 members, making us the 10th largest local union of the American Federation of Musicians and Canada among those located in the US, and the 12th largest overall. Our members are professional musicians who have worked in various capacities, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Michigan Opera Theater Orchestra, the Fisher Theater and Fox Theater Orchestras, as well as legendary jazz, studio, and commercial recording musicians. We are the musicians who created the original Motown sound.

Our Services

We offer a variety of services to our members and the community. Our online service, Detroit Musicians Entertainment Presents Live Music Detroit, allows you to see and hear the finest musicians in Detroit and audition them at your leisure in the privacy of your home. We also have a referral agent available Monday-Friday, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, who can assist you in finding the perfect music for your special occasion.

Music Performance Trust Fund

For more than 50 years, the Detroit Federation of Musicians has helped enrich the lives of the people of Metro Detroit by partnering with the Recording Industry's Music Performance Trust Fund. By providing live, admission-free, quality music, performed by professional musicians to the public of all ages and backgrounds, the Music Performance Trust Fund has helped increase the public's knowledge and appreciation of music and has brought exciting educational programs to thousands of schools so that music can be part of every child's life experience.

Detroit Musicians Fund

The Detroit Musicians Fund, a charitable corporation, was founded in 2003 by the Detroit Federation of Musicians for the purposes of assisting union musicians in dire need and of providing scholarship assistance to college music students.

Join Us

If you are interested in joining our local, please visit our Join Page. We are truly the professionals in the live performance music business and would be happy to have you as part of our community.