The Standards · IAPM
The IAPM Code
What every member affirms — and stands behind.
Ask a working musician what separates the pros, ask a client what went wrong the last time a booking soured, and ask anyone who has studied success what actually builds a career — and you get the same answer. Show up. Be ready. Communicate. Be easy to work with. Deal fairly. Respect the room. Keep doing the work. The musician everyone calls back is rarely the flashiest — it’s the one who makes the day easier. None of it is about talent; all of it is about how you carry the talent. This is that list, written down — and stood behind.
The Code
Members affirm and uphold these standards
01
Show up.
Arrive early and ready — for gigs, rehearsals, lessons, sessions, and calls. People build their work around yours.
02
Come prepared.
Know the material, bring what the work needs, make sure your gear works and you have a backup — and be ready to adapt to the room. Readiness is your job, not someone else’s problem.
03
Communicate promptly and clearly.
Answer bookings, clients, students, and collaborators in good time, and ask what they actually want instead of making them guess. Say yes, say no, or say when — but answer. How you communicate is a preview of how you’ll work.
04
Be easy to work with.
Leave the ego at the door and keep the drama offstage. The day belongs to the room — the client, the couple, the congregation, the bandleader — not to your spotlight. The musician everyone calls back is the one who makes the day easier.
05
Honor your commitments.
Take what you can keep. The person they booked is the person who shows up — don’t pass a gig to a sub for a better-paying one. If you genuinely can’t make it, give early notice and help find the cover.
06
Be clear and fair about money.
Be upfront about rates, fees, and splits, and put it in writing. Pay your subs and sidemen what you agreed, when you agreed.
07
Respect everyone you work with.
Colleagues, students, clients, and audiences alike. No harassment, no hate, no gatekeeping by level, instrument, or genre.
08
Build other musicians up.
Compete on your own work. No public, baseless smack-talk of other artists; criticize work in good faith, never trash a person to lift yourself.
09
Be honest in what you list.
Your credentials, experience, and directory listing should be real and accurately described — the player in the promo is the player who shows up.
10
Keep practicing.
Stay active and current. The mark describes someone who still does the work — and carries it like it means something.
Standing behind it
Holding the mark is a privilege, not a purchase. Members who break this Code may be warned, suspended, or removed. Removed members forfeit the mark and their directory listing, and are refunded their unused membership time — we keep the community, not the money.
The Pledge
“As a member of the International Association of Practicing Musicians, I pledge to show up early and prepared, to communicate honestly and promptly, to deal fairly with everyone I work with, to treat my colleagues, students, clients, and audiences with respect, and to build other musicians up rather than tear them down — and to keep doing the work. I’ll carry the mark like it means something.”
Every member affirms the Code on joining.
Become a memberIAPM Code v1.0 · effective June 2026