The American Music Center is dedicated to building a national community of artists, organizations, and audiences creating, performing, and enjoying new American music. Since its founding in 1939 by composers Marion Bauer, Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, Harrison Kerr, Otto Luening, and Quincy Porter, AMC has been a leader in providing field-wide advocacy, support, and connection.

AMC advocates for the community through NewMusicBox, its award-winning web magazine, and Counterstream Radio, a 24-hour online station broadcasting music by a broad range of United States composers. AMC supports the community by making grants to composers and ensembles each year, and by offering professional development resources for new music professionals. AMC connects the community through an array of information services, and through engagement with the broader performing arts field,  including the AMC Online Library, a vast, searchable database of more than 50,000 works by American composers; publications compiling opportunities in new music and other information useful to industry professionals; and benefits and services for nearly 2,400 members in all fifty states and twenty-five countries around the world.