The DMA is a professional labor organization which comprises over 660 professional musicians throughout Colorado, southern & central Wyoming, and eastern Utah.

When the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) was formed in 1897, it was resolved that “any musician who receives pay for his musical services, shall be considered a professional musician.”

Through the combined efforts and resources of our DMA Members and the American Federation of Musicians, we continuously strive to improve wages and working conditions.

The DMA is a democratic institution. The DMA membership elects officers to manage the daily affairs of the DMA, and elects a Board of Directors to provide oversight to the officers. When there are changes to our Bylaws, they are subject to a vote by the DMA Membership.

The original AFM charter for the DMA is from 1897; the DMA has been serving the musicians of Denver (and Colorado) for 119 years.

Fun fact: There is an earlier incarnation of the DMA from 1890 called the Musical Protective Association of Denver; and recently we found extant directories for the Protective Association dating back to the early 1890’s!

1) Your membership in the DMA allows you to be a part of the process that establishes wages, standards, etc., for musicians in our region.

2) Your DMA membership grants you direct access to the vast network of over 70,000 professional musicians all over North America. You also have access to the resources, benefits and services offered through the AFM and the DMA.

3) If you are a member of the DMA and you file a union contract, you are guaranteed payment according to our scale of wages for an event, even if the client does not pay. The DMA will follow through with our legal resources to recover the payment.

4) If you work under a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), you are required to belong to the Local per the union security clause.