Lilith Fair will be donating a $1 from every ticket to a local charity in each city the festival stops in.

Vetting the charities can be challenging and Lilith Fair is facing some scrutiny for a few of their choices.

The Chicago Reader reports:

”After becoming a fan of the fest on its official Facebook page, people can vote for which organization in their town they want Lilith’s bucks to benefit. The pulldown menu includes about ten choices for most cities, most of them women’s shelters or health centers for the underserved, with a synopsis of the services each offers.

Minneapolis and Indianapolis fans are given the option of supporting Metro Women’s Center and Indianapolis Life Center, respectively—institutions whose approach to women’s reproductive health services (especially birth control and abortion) is guided by an explicitly anti-choice agenda. Several other cities, including Atlanta and Seattle, have potential beneficiaries that offer so-called abortion alternatives and faith-driven pregnancy counseling.”

Read the full article here:
Anti-Choice Organizations Among Potential Beneficiaries of Lilith Fair’s “Choose Your Charity” Campaign
By Jessica Hopper on Tue, Mar 30, 2010.

ATC has over a decade of experience with charitable add-on efforts and vetting beneficiary organizations. Check out ATC’s Examples and Recommendations for Charitable Ticket Surcharges. ATC can also advise on how to do this for merchandise and digital downloads.

ATC has compiled quick facts and actions for musicians and their fans on how best to direct donations and support to two recent events: the BP oil spill disaster in Louisiana and the recent floods in Nashville.

BP OIL SPILL DISASTER

- British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and caught fire on Tuesday, April 20th, killing eleven workers. When the oil rig sank, the pipe that connected the rig to the well broke and fell 5,000 feet to the ocean’s floor with oil escaping from either end of the pipe and at two other points.

- BP Officials, the EPA and Homeland Security are scrambling to figure out how to contain the massive spill. New estimates indicate the spill will be the worst in history.

- The four states that will be impacted by the spill are Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

-Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency on Thursday as 10 wildlife management areas and refuges in his state and neighboring Mississippi are in the oil plume’s path.

-The Gulf of Mexico provides jobs, food, and recreation to millions of people. As a marine habitat, it is a national treasure that must be preserved.

-The oil spill threatens billions of dollars of coastal restoration projects — wetlands provide natural barriers that help protect communities. It is estimated that for every 3-4 miles of healthy coastal wetlands a storm surge must travel over, the surge is diminished by one foot. Additionally, levees fronted by wetlands and coastal forests are thought to have held up far better than those fronted by open-water.

Tweet or post the below links and actions:

Demand the government do more to stop BP’s massive Gulf oil spill: http://bit.ly/aWhtD4

Learn more about BP’s Gulf Oil Spill: http://bit.ly/at7wRV

FLOODS IN TENNESSEE

- Heavy storms battered the Southeast over the weekend, swelling rivers to historic levels. The storms and floods have caused 28 deaths, 19 of them in Tennessee, to date. Hundreds of people have been forced to evacuate.

- On Monday, May 3rd, the Cumberland River crested at 51.8 feet and flooded Nashville and the surrounding areas. By Tuesday morning the water level had begun to fall.

- President Obama declared four Tennessee counties to be major disaster areas and made federal money available for the areas.

Tweet or post the below links and actions:

How you can help Nashville flood victims: Link http://bit.ly/9w2oTB

Donate: Nashville Area Red Cross is accepting donations via text. Text to 90999 from your cell phone. You will be charged $10, and a $10 donation will be made to the Nashville Red Cross. You can also call 615-250-4300 to make a donation.

+++

Please feel free to contact us for further information.

One Night Only…

The Black Cat – Washington D.C.

October 4, 2010 - 8:00pm - 11:30pm

To mark the five-year anniversary of Katrina and the floods, dozens of musicians have contributed to the critically-acclaimed compilation, Dear New Orleans. The album benefits nonprofits working to support the region’s unique musical and cultural traditions and to protect and restore crucial community resources. This D.C. show pays tribute to the music and musicians of New Orleans with one-of-a-kind collaborations between album artists and celebrated New Orleans musicians with proceeds benefitting

Performing artists include:

Bonerama w/
Damian Kulash of OK Go
Jenny Toomey and Franklin Bruno
Hank Shocklee
Jonny 5 of Flobots
Wonderlick (and half of Too Much Joy!)
Rebecca Gates
Crossover Clarinetist Mariam Adam
plus special guests!

Click here for more details, tickets and VIP packages.

Voter registration deadlines are fast approaching for the November Midterm elections.

Here are some quick actions and suggested copy ATC & HeadCount have compiled for musicians and their networks.

Suggested Email/Web + Social Media Copy:
Please share with your networks by Sept 28th.

For Email/Web

Subject/Headline: Register to Vote

Body: A major national election will occur in November, and the deadlines to register to vote are approaching. Some state deadlines start October 2. Have you moved since the last time you voted? Or are you unregistered?
Click here to register online.

Relevant Links: http://bit.ly/czbZAi

Facebook
Register to Vote: Some state deadlines start October 2. Have you moved since the last time you voted? Or, are you unregistered? Register to vote today at http://bit.ly/czbZAi

Twitter
Voter registration deadlines start Oct 2. If you’ve moved or never registered, you can do it now at http://bit.ly/czbZAi

Click here for the full: 2010 Midterm Elections: Get Out The Vote & What Artists Can Do.

Please feel free to contact ATC with any questions or, for further information.

ATC has put together a twitter-ready election list for our artists to help get themselves and their networks registered for the  Midterms and ready to vote. The upcoming Midterms, and the outcomes, will effect government and policy for years to come.

Twitter-ready election calls-to-action. Simply cut, (customize) and tweet:

1. Voter registration deadlines start Oct 2. If you’ve moved or never registered, you can do it now at http://bit.ly/czbZAi
2. We plan to vote on Nov 2. You can too. Pledge to vote here + receive free music + an election reminder from a musician. http://bit.ly/9U7zyl
3. Find more information about the candidates and issues up for a vote on Nov 2: [links can be to either http://www.nytimes.com/politics/ or http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/calendar]
4. Want to vote early? You can in 32 states: http://bit.ly/9FqFVJ
5. Find your polling place: http://www.vote411.org
6. Watch out for & report on voting irregularities in your community: http://www.866ourvote.org/ or 1-866-OUR-VOTE

L.A. based Ozomatli, the Grammy-award winning multicultural band, partnered with National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans, to leverage the release of their bilingual song, “Respeto” and promote the need for Latinos to participate in this year’s midterms:

“The simple act of voting has proven to be an important tool in the shaping of my surroundings,” said Ozomatli’s Raul Pacheco. “As a modern American Latino, it is a meaningful step to counter the specifically hateful and hurtful rhetoric that has been aimed at Latinos throughout this country.”  Pacheco adds, “Voting demonstrates self-respect. It is the dream of many that all who are eligible to vote do so on November 2. Vote for your family, vote for Respect!

Users can receive a free copy of the Ozomatli song “Respeto,” and find information on the Latino vote and NCLR’s Vote for Respect campaign, here:  www.nclr.org/vote.

Today marks the 6 month anniversary of the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Restoration Network, a New Orleans based environmental organization we have worked closely with this past year, has been following, monitoring, reporting and activating concerned citizens since day one of the disaster. Here is their recent post to mark the anniversary:

October 20th marks six months of BP’s oil drilling disaster in the Gulf. The disaster has taken its toll on the coast, and impacts will be felt by real people for decades. Reforms are urgently needed to prevent future disasters, and the Gulf’s people and places need lasting, continued support to recover. Take action today at http://BPdrillingdisaster.org

“We have to make ourselves heard with one voice: the oil is still here, and so are we,” said Cynthia Sarthou, executive director of Gulf Restoration Network. “The recent gathering of groups working on issues surrounding the BP drilling disaster was a major step forward in the fight to ensure full and fair restoration of Gulf communities and natural resources.  We all came together, from local fishermen to Greenpeace, to send a unified message to the Administration and Gulf state governors that the oil is not gone and neither are the affected communities.”

On October 4-6, 2010, ninety-five people representing forty-six community, local, regional, national and international environmental, social justice, and fishermen’s groups met in Weeks Bay, Alabama to draft  The Weeks Bay Principles for Gulf Recovery , a set of goals and principles to guide the recovery and restoration of the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf coast and its communities in the wake of the BP drilling disaster.

The diverse communities that live, work, and derive benefit from the Gulf call on government to take responsibility to:

• Make coastal communities whole again;
• Commit to cleaning up and restoring the Gulf;
• Hold BP accountable;
• Ensure local participation in decision-making;
• Conduct short and long-term monitoring; and
• Invest in economic opportunities to support locally-driven, sustainable recovery that restores and enhances America’s Gulf coast.

Read the full post on GRN’s Blog: Gulf Coast Communities Speak Out Six Months Into the BP Disaster

ATC is looking for a full-time administrative, finance, and research assistant who is part rock star and part Mother Teresa. The job responsibilities break down, roughly, as follows:

• 40%: Bookkeeping, including daily, weekly, and monthly in-house clerical work, account maintenance, coordinating reimbursements with staff, etc.

• 20%: On-going support for program managers, including scheduling, making travel arrangements, material production, event coordination, general research, data collection and organization, impact reports for donors and partners, social media content research, production of publishable written materials including calls to action, blog posts, emails, etc.

• 20%: Research, writing, and copyediting of publishable materials (blog posts, grant reports, articles, etc.)

• 10%; Development and grant-making assistance (events legwork, donor development and management, grant application assistance, maintaining database of beneficiary organizations, tracking incoming grants)

• 10%: Office Management (supplies, IT coordination, database and document management, etc.)

A successful candidate will have experience with nonprofit or small business accounting or bookkeeping procedures and software. They will also be strong writers and administrators with exceptional organizational, research, analysis, and critical thinking skills. They will also be flexible, amiable, and (above all) have a good sense of humor.

Qualities and Skills:

• Must be familiar with: QuickBooks (at least AP/AR and reporting, or be knowledgeable of major non-profit accounting software), Salesforce

• Must have: Strong written and verbal communication skills (can use email, but also knows the difference between when to send an email and when to pick up the phone, able to communicate with people from any walk of life, has a good sense of discretion).

• Familiarity with MS Office, Google Apps, Apple computers and OS, the Internet, etc. Knowledge of design programs like Photoshop is a plus.

• Strong creative problem solving skills and willingness to think on your feet.

• Collaborative spirit: good at coordinating with and reporting back to others. Not afraid to take on additional tasks to help out a coworker or coworkers.

• Task management and systems development.

• Experience in event planning and logistics.

• Flexibility, able to keep things moving within a fluid environment.

Must be able to lift 25 pounds, and be self-motivated. Salary and final job description is commensurate with experience.

* * * * * * * *

How to Apply: Email (no calls or email inquiries, please) a cover letter and resume to jobs@atctower.net. The cover letter should be no longer than one page, and should highlight your writing skills (unedited by others) as you describe the one or two most compelling reasons you are qualified for and passionate about this position. (Please do not tell us it is because you love music. Tell us something unique.) Include“ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR” in the subject line of the email.

ATC is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices and, in order to build the strongest possible workforce, actively seeks a diverse applicant pool.

ABOUT ATC: Air Traffic Control (ATC) exists to help musicians play an effective, unique, and vital role in the promotion of social justice. Musicians and managers established ATC six years ago to assemble an experienced and trusted team of leaders, resources, and tools that would help them to create more effective social change collaborations with each other and with social justice organizations. As a result, ATC became artists’ air traffic control—one that develops capacity, efficiency, and coordination to produce stronger and more creative social change partnerships. For more information, please visit: www.atctower.net

You’ve probably seen the National Security Agency has been caught spying on American citizens and collecting data on people who aren’t suspected of any crime. Lead organizations and issue experts are working to better understand the extent of the spying while alerting and raising the public’s awareness of this violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Based on our network’s efforts on related issues, we wanted to share this action alert and online petition with you. The goal for the petition is to call on Congress to take immediate action to halt the surveillance and provide a full public accounting of the NSA’s and the FBI’s data collection programs. Ai Weiwei, Daniel Ellsberg and Mark Ruffalo have all signed on along with over 530,000 individuals. More on the effort and the action can be found below.

Action Alert

American citizens, cultural leaders and artists, organizations, and business are telling Congress to Stop Watching Us. Here is how you can join:

• Sign the Stop Watching Us petition to tell Congress to take immediate action to halt the surveillance and provide a full accounting of the NSA’s data collection.

• Share this with your followers on Twitter and Facebook, using the suggested posts below.

• Note that the petition is an ongoing effort that will continue past July 4th.

Sample Social Media Posts:

• SIGN & SHARE: This 4th of July, stand by the Fourth Amendment & against mass #NSA  surveillance http://bit.ly/127hKqC @stopwatchingus
• Happy #July4th. I joined 530k+ people to tell the NSA to #StopWatchingUs. You can too: http://bit.ly/127hKqC #NSA #privacy
• #NSA spying violates our 4th amendment rights. This #July4th join me & the 530k+ others standing for #privacy http://bit.ly/127hKqC

Images to share:

#1: Fourth Amendment image

#2 Jimmy Carter image

Reverb recently announced their latest project, Green Music Group, a coalition of musicians, industry leaders and music fans working for environmental change within the music industry and around the globe.

Reverb founder and Guster guitarist, Adam Gardner, recently wrote about the new venture for The Huffington Post and noted the inspiration behind the new organization:

Reverb feels very fortunate to be working with so many great individual talents in the music community and leaders in the non-profit environmental world. We recently realized that we were in the unique position to bring all aspects of the music community together into a powerful coalition.

Read the full post here:

Introducing the Green Music Group
By Adam Gardner, Posted: January 29, 2010 12:46 PM.

We’re back with another incredible giveaway for our generous donors! This one is our biggest to date so don’t miss out.

Here’s how it works:
Anyone who makes a donation to ATC starting now (11/12) and through to 12/9, will be eligible for one of these incredible once-in-a-lifetime “Thank You” prizes:

Two lucky donors will receive a pair of tickets each to:

 Pearl Jam at the Oracle Arena in Oakland 
on Tuesday, November 26, 2013

And one lucky donor will clinch a pair of tickets to:

 Ozomatli with The San Francisco Symphony 
on Thursday, December 12, 2013

Make your online donation HERE & quickly. The first of these shows is less than two weeks away!

NOTE: You can give any amount, but the bigger your gift, the greater your chances of getting one of these awesome prizes. There will be three lucky donors: the two recipients of the Pearl Jam pairs will be chosen on 11/22 and the recipient of the Ozomatli pair will be chosen on 12/9, all will be notified via email.

Thank you for your continued support!

On November 13th, ATC hosted a conference call for our network on racial justice and implicit bias, NSA/privacy issues, and updates on the government shutdown and its effects on important issues including immigration and the economy. As with past conference calls we invited top experts and leaders in the field to provide us with important issue updates and to discuss ways artists can get involved.

The list of speakers, their affiliated organizations, Twitter handles, and actions highlighted during their presentations are below. If you would like for ATC to facilitate an introduction to any of the presenters, please let us know.

For anyone who missed the call or would like a refresher, you can listen to a full recording of the call below or here.

NOTE: As referenced on the call, here is ATC’s blog post on Super Typhoon Haiyan, including best practices and how artists can help.

SPEAKERS: Alexis McGill Johnson + Phillip Atiba Goff

Alexis is the Executive Director of the American Values Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to building upon extant research to identify new methods of reducing implicit bias and racial anxiety in our society and Phillip is the Executive Director of Research for the Center for Policing Equity and Assistant Professor of Social Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles

 Quotes from the call:

• We are currently in a racial moment — killings of Trayvon Martin, Jonathan Ferrell, Renisha McBride; and the racial conversation — have ignited countless debates on the topic of race with — what appears in the mainstream media — not much depth or understanding behind them

• We need new tools — in research and in our culture to drive more nuanced and humanizing depictions of people of color

• Bringing together artists, cultural influencers, and thought leaders together to re-imagine race and reduce our anxieties

 Actions for Artists and their fan networks:

• Watch and share Alexis’ videos on implicit bias:

  • Why Do People Stereotype Black Men? Ask Your Brain.

  • Are you biased? There’s a test for that

• Visit and share Harvard’s Project Implicit

Twitter: @alexismcgill @DrPhilGoff @AmValuesInst

SPEAKER: Ashkan Soltani

An independent researcher and consultant focused on privacy, security, and behavioral economics

 Quotes from the call:

• Since all our activity has moved online, they’re able to exploit ‘the internet’ and how digital communications occur in an unprecedented way to access information on everyone.

• We can put pressure on certain actors. Data is collected by a commercial entity, not necessarily a government spy and make the scale of this transparent

• We can also make the scale of this transparent and push people towards services that have different privacy values

 Actions for Artists and their fan networks:

• Read and share Ashkan’s recent articles:

  • NSA Collects Millions of E-mail Address Books Globally

  • NSA Infiltrates Links to Yahoo, Google Data Centers Worldwide, Snowden Documents Say

Twitter: @ashk4n

SPEAKER: Mike Lux

Co-founder of Democracy Partners and author of The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be

 Quotes from call:

• Storytelling is key, critical in issues. Most people are too busy. We live in an economically & culturally stressed society.

• The passion that art can inspire is so powerful in activating people on issues.

• There is so much potential with modern tech and ability to cheaply produce videos, moving things out to mass audiences for cheap, artists can inject culture into explaining difficult issues. Projects with video content, music content, parodies of trailers, music videos, etc.

 Actions for Artists and their fan networks:

• Read and share this letter from Elizabeth Warren

• For more info about the stories project using culture (video, music content, parodies of ads, movie trailers, music videos) to explain complicated economic issues, visit here or ATC can put you in touch with Mike directly.

 Twitter: @ProgressiveLux

A big thank you to all of our speakers!

Reverb recently announced their latest project, Green Music Group, a coalition of musicians, industry leaders and music fans working for environmental change within the music industry and around the globe.

Reverb founder and Guster guitarist, Adam Gardner, recently wrote about the new venture for The Huffington Post and noted the inspiration behind the new organization:

Reverb feels very fortunate to be working with so many great individual talents in the music community and leaders in the non-profit environmental world. We recently realized that we were in the unique position to bring all aspects of the music community together into a powerful coalition.

Read the full post here:

Introducing the Green Music Group
By Adam Gardner, Posted: January 29, 2010 12:46 PM.

Lilith Fair will be donating a $1 from every ticket to a local charity in each city the festival stops in.

Vetting the charities can be challenging and Lilith Fair is facing some scrutiny for a few of their choices.

The Chicago Reader reports:

”After becoming a fan of the fest on its official Facebook page, people can vote for which organization in their town they want Lilith’s bucks to benefit. The pulldown menu includes about ten choices for most cities, most of them women’s shelters or health centers for the underserved, with a synopsis of the services each offers.

Minneapolis and Indianapolis fans are given the option of supporting Metro Women’s Center and Indianapolis Life Center, respectively—institutions whose approach to women’s reproductive health services (especially birth control and abortion) is guided by an explicitly anti-choice agenda. Several other cities, including Atlanta and Seattle, have potential beneficiaries that offer so-called abortion alternatives and faith-driven pregnancy counseling.”

Read the full article here:
Anti-Choice Organizations Among Potential Beneficiaries of Lilith Fair’s “Choose Your Charity” Campaign
By Jessica Hopper on Tue, Mar 30, 2010.

ATC has over a decade of experience with charitable add-on efforts and vetting beneficiary organizations. Check out ATC’s Examples and Recommendations for Charitable Ticket Surcharges. ATC can also advise on how to do this for merchandise and digital downloads.

NET NEUTRALITY

What’s Going On:

The government agency that controls the Internet — the FCC — has proposed damaging new rules that could turn Internet speed into a pay-for-play system where broadband providers charge those offering online content a higher fee for priority delivery. For artists, whose business and work is dependent on equal access, this issue is BIG.

What YOU Can Do:

A massive public awareness campaign is in effect from now until 5/15 when the FCC will hold its next open meeting. Call, write, sign, share, etc — the FCC needs to hear from you.

1. Call the FCC now using this super easy and helpful tool from Free Press. It takes 1-minute of your time. Share it with your fans via social media.
2. Join us for a 30-minute Power Briefing for Artists and Managers. Future of Music Coalition and top issue experts will help us to break down what the FCC announcement means for artists and what needs to happen next. RSVP for Friday, May 16th at 11am PT/2pm ET and we will send you more info.

More Resources:

1. This video chat with musician Erin McKeown and others explains why the issue is so important for the creative community.
2. Still confused? Check out this 2-minute primer video: What is Net Neutrality?

In order to convey the urgency of the climate change crisis, new voices, stories, and strategies are needed. Artists are uniquely poised to contribute to this with their creativity, communication skills, and unparalleled reach into communities.

Climate change is often depicted in melting glaciers and swimming polar bears, which can create an “over-there” mentality about the crisis. By bringing artists to New Orleans—the historic heart of American music—RPM takes a “right here” approach. We bring artists to the front lines to witness the effects of climate change and climate injustice in our own backyards, and then work to figure out new ways to communicate those effects and solutions to their fans.

One of our partners in this work is Gulf Restoration Network (GRN). They have been a part of the Artist Lab retreats we’ve done in New Orleans since early 2010—bringing artists in RPM’s network to see the disappearing wetlands on boats and airplanes, and giving issue briefings on the phone, in person, and backstage.

Artists that RPM has brought to New Orleans have gone on to amplify GRN’s message through social media, video, appearances on talk shows (warning, you won’t get this one out of your head for a while), and shout outs at concerts. Since 2010, RPM has raised and directed over $150,000 to GRN.

“Successful advocacy requires a compelling message, credible messengers, and effective delivery…RPM [and the artists it works with don’t] just understand this; they make it happen, and in doing so change the world for the better.” —Steve Murchie, Campaigns Director, Gulf Restoration Network

By bringing artists to New Orleans, RPM is putting what is happening there into the bigger context of climate change and climate justice. We are also helping artists understand what their role can be in restoring and sustaining New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, as well as in the greater climate change work and what they and their fans can do.

RPM also leads a working group looking at how concerts and touring can be most sustainable with artists like Jack Johnson, supports efforts of artists with securities to divest from coal, engages artists in social media campaigns to activate fans, and works with artists to implement philanthropic strategies embedded in their businesses that generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for climate justice organizations every year.

The post Climate Change In Our Backyard appeared first on RPM.

What is RPM and why do we do what we do?

• RPM is a nonprofit that provides strategy and support for musicians and comedians making change.

• Our work starts with the belief that artists have an unparalleled ability to affect positive change in the world. It is proven that music activates the part of the brain that governs optimism and humor helps shift perceptions.

How was RPM founded and why?

• RPM was founded in 2005 by musicians, managers and advisors from bands like Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and The Beastie Boys in order to share best practices and lessons learned so that all artists—no matter where they are in their careers and no matter what issues they care about—can have access to the resources they need to realize their full potential to create change.

Who is on your Board?

• The RPM team is made up of some of the most innovative and successful professionals in entertainment, activism, technology, and philanthropy. Meet the board, staff and advisory council.

How does RPM work? What services does RPM provide?

How we work is simple:

• We have a lot of online tools and resources that you can access anytime.
• We organize conference calls on specific issues or topics.
• We even offer peer meetings and retreats in various locations throughout the country.
• We can get on the phone for one-to-one advising.

Whatever you have time and need for, we can help.

Does RPM charge a fee?

• The short answer is no—we don’t charge artists for our services. We support ourselves through generous donations made by foundations, institutions, supporters, and members of our network.
• When we implement a philanthropic campaign or fund (where we are helping an artist raise a lot of money for a cause) we ask that 15% stay with us to support our mission and work. But that is money that we generate with the artist, rather than a fee-for-service or anything out of the artist / manager’s pocket.

How do I get started with RPM?

Contact us when:

• You are planning a tour or about to go on tour.
• You are about to record or release an album.
• You are putting together a digital strategy.
• You want to engage your fans.
• You want more information about an issue.

What are some examples of things that have worked?

• Artists like Bassnectar, My Morning Jacket, and tune-yards have raised over $2 Million for the organization that they care most about through our addRPM program, which helps them embed small donations on every ticket that they sell.
• RPM teamed up with Taskforce and HeadCount to flood social networks in the days before the 2014 election with #GoVote images, messaging and information. More than 500 artists—musicians, comedians, TV personalities, visual artists, and more—posted photos of themselves holding #GoVote/#Vota art, or just posted the art itself, along with vital voter protection and polling information.
• In 2012, Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon reached out to RPM after founding Artists Against Fracking (AAF) to engage like-minded artists from the RPM network who care about the environment. As a result, RPM connected 15 artists to the AAF effort who continue to take action, raise awareness, and inform fans about the dangers of fracking. An email from Yoko Ono in response to the help RPM provided attests to the importance of our work and the solid reputation of our organization:

“Thank you so much for your incredible help! Nobody was reaching out to them [the artists], since nobody could. You did it for us! We are very lucky. With love, yoko.”

See more strategies and results.

What do artists and managers say about your work?

• “With RPM’s support, we funded and launched (and are now maintaining) a charitable fund. It has been deeply empowering to pair my music with my beliefs and to have a tangible impact on the causes I want to support. It’s given every show I play more meaning.” —Merrill Garbus, Tune-Yards
• “I thought I was the only manager who cared about this stuff–and now I am sitting in a room with 40 others!” —Jessica Weitz, artist manager
• “What’s great about a liaison like [Revolutions Per Minute] is that they know what is needed in each area [so] we can be more effective with our philanthropy.” —Patrick Hallahan, My Morning Jacket

What do the organizations that you work with say about your work?

• “Successful advocacy requires a compelling message, credible messengers, and effective delivery…RPM [and the artists it works with don’t] just understand this; they make it happen, and in doing so change the world for the better.” —Steve Murchie, Campaigns Director, Gulf Restoration Network
• “This donation is more energizing to our movement than much bigger donations because of who it came from!” —Jessy Tolkan, Executive Director of Energy Action Coalition about a $2,500 donation a musician made.

How do I support RPM?

• To quote Donna Summer, RPM “works hard for the money!” For every $1 that you give us, we will turn it into $2.60 of artist-powered contributions to social change. Donations of all kinds welcome.

I’d love to see RPM’s financials.

• Just email us and we’ll send over our most recent tax returns and audits.

Don’t see your question on this list? Email us or check out the video below.

The post FAQ’s ABOUT RPM appeared first on RPM.

This week is the 10th anniversary of Katrina and the levee failure that flooded New Orleans. From the earliest moments of Katrina and the levee failure in New Orleans until today, musicians have been a huge part of the response.

One of the ways they did this was through song. To show the depth and breadth of this creative response, here is a list of songs written about or in response to the devastating events following Hurricane Katrina (songs are listed in no particular order):

1. “Louisiana Land” by OK Go
2. “Mr. Go” by Bonerama
3. “Midnight in the City of Destruction” by Tom Morello & The Nightwatchman
4. “NOLA” by Mirah
5. “Help Is On The Way” by Rise Against
6. “Crescent” by The Wrens

7. “Lower 9th Ward Blues” by Al ‘Carnival Time’ Johnson

8. “Flood” by Luke Reynolds

9. “Move Around” by B.G.

10. “Where Were You” by Jackson Browne
11. “Flowers (this too will pass)” by The Dream Fighters
12. “Crescent City Snow” by Susan Cowsill
13. “Get U Down” by Warren G featuring Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and B-Real
14. “In The Night (I Can See)” by Gregg Cobarr
15. “The Katrina Song” by Subject to Change
16. “Mad Beaver Stump Grinding” by Amanda Lynn
17. “All Hands Together” by Mika Nakashima
18. “Home” and “The Avenue” by Cowboy Mouth
19. “S.S.T.” and “Brand New Orleans” by Prince
20. “Cry Out To Jesus” by Third Day
21. “Love is Free” by Sheryl Crow
22. “I Hope” by the Dixie Chicks
23. “Rockin Ralph’s Roadhouse” by the Squeezebox Stompers
24. “Help for Heros” by Xfactor
25. “Any Other Day” by Norah Jones and Wyclef Jean
26. “Washed Away” by Kokomo Joe
27. “Shelter In The Rain” by Stevie Wonder
28. “Hold Out A Hand” by Edwin McCain
29. “From The Bottom of My Heart” by Michael Jackson and All Stars
30. “Get Your Hustle On” by Juvenile
31. “Black Rain” by Ben Harper
32. “Resilient” by Teena Marie and Alia Rose
33. “Mother Nature” by Papoose & Razah
34. “Slabbed” by Jeffery Williams
35. “Pontchartrain” by Vienna Teng
36. “The Saints Are Coming” by Green Day & U2
37. “In the Sun” by Michael Stipe & Chris Martin
38. “Louisiana” by Hank Waite
39. “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On” by Jimmy Buffett
40. “The Little Things Give You Away” by Linkin Park
41. “Home Sweet Home” by Mötley Crüe featuring Chester Bennington
42. “Still New Orleans” by Bastian Foerstner
43. “Beneath The Tides” and “On March The Saints” by Down
44. “From the Eye of the Storm” by Ayatey Shabazz
45. “O Katrina!” by The Black Lips
46. “The Flood” by Eilen Jewell
47. “Knockin on My Trailer Door” by Weathered
48. “Gov Did Nothin'” by John Butler Trio
49. “Magnolia Soul” by Ozomatli
50. “George Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People” by The Legendary K.O.
51. “Wide Awake” by Audioslave
52. “The Long Black Line” by Spencer Bohren
53. “The Big Easy Ain’t Easy No More” by Mark Hummel
54. “Hell No, We Ain’t Alright” by Public Enemy
55. “Hurricane Song” by Allen Watty
56. “Minority Report” by Jay-Z
57. “Georgia… Bush” by Lil Wayne
58. “Dry Drunk Emperor” by TV on the Radio
59. “Dollar Day” by Mos Def
60. “Cry For Us” by Big Sty
61. “Day No One Needed to Know” by Moneen
62. “New Orleans” by David Rovics
63. “R.I.P New Orleans” by Meriwether
64. “Katrina” by Anders Osbourne
65. “Madman’s Dream” by Assemblage 23
66. “That’s Life” by Killer Mike
67. “Voodoo Mouth” by Alamantra
68. “Hurricane Katrina (The Ghosts of New Orleans)” by Frances Donnelly
69. “Rain” by Institution
70. “All These People” by Harry Connick, Jr.
71. “Washed Away ” by Kokomo Joe
72. “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?” by Bruce Springsteen
73. “Where Were You?” by Jackson Browne
74. “Tie My Hands” by Lil Wayne
75. “Flooded” by Behind Enemy Lines
76. “Houston” by R.E.M.
77. “Red Letter Year” by Ani Difranco
78. “Louisiana Sky” by The John Popper Project

Although this list is long, there are inevitably many songs missing. Email us if you know of any others to include. And click here for more on how to mark the 10th anniversary of Katrina and the levee failure that flooded New Orleans. Or here for the Katrina 10 Fund, proceeds benefit RPM’s partners like Gulf Restoration Network & St. Bernard Project, as well as others.

The post Katrina 10: Songs for New Orleans appeared first on RPM.

August 29th is the 10th anniversary of Katrina and the levee failure that flooded New Orleans. Here are two things that you can do to mark the moment 10 years later and encourage your fans to take action.

1. Raise Funds. Share the Katrina 10 Fund and encourage fans to make a donation of any size. Proceeds benefit RPM’s partners like Gulf Restoration Network and St. Bernard Project, as well as others. These beneficiaries represent two important aspects of preserving New Orleans—protecting and rebuilding the wetlands and bringing remaining musicians home.

Sample Social Media Language (copy or customize and post starting now through next week):

Twitter:

• Support NOLA. This week marks the 10th anniversary of Katrina and the levee failure that flooded New Orleans #Katrina10 http://bit.ly/1DIy2Qp
• I’m committed to the NOLA community for the long-haul. Join me & donate to support local orgs on #Katrina10 http://bit.ly/1DIy2Qp

Facebook:

• Rebuilding takes a long time. Join me in my commitment to the NOLA community for the long-haul. Donate to support local orgs via the #Katrina10 Fund (powered by RPM) https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/Katrina10

2. Uplift the Cultural Communities. From the earliest moments of Katrina and the levee failure in New Orleans until today, musicians have been a huge part of the response. Help uplift the cultural communities commitment to NOLA by posting songs and other creative responses to the events surrounding Katrina. Share directly from RPM’s social media pages over the coming week (Twitter & Facebook) or see below for sample social media language, images, and suggested timeline.

Sample Social Media Language and Timeline: copy or customize language and post with or without images (see below).

Starting 8/24 and through 9/2:

• From the earliest moments of Katrina & the levee failure in NOLA until today, musicians have been a huge part of the response. http://bit.ly/1Kie5wQ

• One of the ways musicians responded to the events surrounding Katrina & the levee failure was through song. #Katrina10 http://bit.ly/1NhTw9S
• Wanna support New Orleans? Buy some #NOLA music. #Katrina10 http://bit.ly/1NFjtPY
• Wanna support New Orleans? Listen & support @wwoz_neworleans—NOLA’s community radio station. http://bit.ly/1hD81bH #Katrina10

On 9/2:

• “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” —KayneWest #10YearsAgoToday #Katrina10

Links to Important Articles:

• It Was New Orleans’ Musicians—Not Its Politicians—Who Saved the City Post-Katrina via The Daily Beast.
• Local musicians talk about how they evacuated, how they returned, and their perspective on the city 10 years later in OffBeat.
• Katrina Timeline by Think Progress.

The post Marking the 10th Anniversary of Katrina appeared first on RPM.