The past few years have seen a transformation in the AFM, and more than ever before, we are advocating for our members in many ways, both locally and internationally. We went to Beijing, China to take part in the developement of a United Nations international treaty to protect the intellectual property of our members. We work closely with Sound Exchange and the AFM & SAG/AFTRA Fund to distribute funds we collect for our members for Internet and satellite radio play. Local 257 lobbied the city to create Musician Loading Zones in 2010 and has gone to court with our members and successfully defended them against bogus traffic tickets caused by taxis parking in the loading zones. In 2017 we were happy to announce $5 parking passes for our members who play downtown venues.