October 5, 2010
New York, NY – The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Phil Ayling, Bruce Bouton, Neil Stubenhaus, and Bill Foster to the Electronic Media Services Division (EMSD) Oversight Committee.

Phil Ayling of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) has served as president of the Recording Musicians Association (RMA), as well as a rank-and-file participant for several dozen AFM media negotiations. Ayling is a professional oboist who has recorded on the soundtracks for recent major films like Toy Story 3, Sex and the City 2, and Despicable Me.

Bruce Bouton of Local 257 (Nashville, TN) serves on his local’s executive board, was a two-time delegate for the AFM convention. He is currently vice president of the international RMA and a member of the musicFirst Coalition, Leadership Music, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), and the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). Bouton’s pedal steel guitar can been heard on hit records by legends like Garth Brooks and Ricky Skaggs of Local 257.

Neil Stubenhaus of Local 47 has been a player representative at every Phono (SRLA) negotiation since the late ’80s, and has been the chief player representative since 2003. He’s also served on the negotiating team of several jingles, live TV/videotape, and motion picture negotiations. Based in Los Angeles, Stubenhaus has played on several hundred records, films, TV shows, jingles, and live TV shows and has toured with Barbra Streisand, John Fogerty, Larry Carlton, David Foster, and got his start with Blood, Sweat & Tears in the late ’70s.

Bill Foster of Local 161-710 (Washington, DC) has been a member of the National Symphony Orchestra viola section since 1968. From 2003 to 2010 he served as a trustee of the American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund. He is currently the chairman of the Electronic Media Committee of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM).

A product of the 1990 Roehl Report, the EMSD Oversight Committee was convened as a way for rank-and-file recording musicians to have input with the International Executive Board and the Electronic Media Services Division. The Oversight Committee, consists of three RMA representatives plus one symphonic representative.

The EMSD Oversight Committee, provided for in the AFM Bylaws, was particularly effective during the AFM’s Mark Tully Massigli and Steve Young administrations. The reactivation of this committee, after seven years of dormancy, will enable the Federation to gather work information from field representatives.