Musical Altruism

By now everyone has undoubtedly seen the footage of Hurricane Sandy and its impact on the Caribbean, Cuba, and the Eastern United States a couple of weeks ago.

Given that many of my readers (and many of my Think Like a Label colleagues) are from that region, many of you have probably seen much of it up close.

While so much of the time, the music industry is focused on trying to figure out how to get ahead of, or at least catch up to the digital age, it never fails that during a time of crisis business goes out the proverbial window and artists work together for the betterment of communities in need.

During the London riots of 2011, singer Kate Nash was on Twitter seemingly every minute organizing community meetings, setting up drop off points for those in need of food or other supplies if their homes had been damaged, and just acting the part of a good citizen. There was no ego involved, she wasn’t acting above it, and she didn’t leave it for others to take care of. Ms. Nash realized that London was her city and it was her responsibility to clean it up and take it back from those who had been wreaking havoc on it.

We saw similar behavior from many artists after the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks in New York City, as well as Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

While those are obviously very different events, after each the music community went to New York and New Orleans, respectively, worked in the communities alongside other volunteers and did their part to get the cities that they love back in order.

Additionally, artists donate their time and talents to numerous fundraising events. Many are the televised and publicized events that we can see on network television or catch photographs of in the morning newspaper or our Twitter feed, but many are private benefits and the artists who support them would rather not get a ton of attention for having been there. Rather, they perform a song or two to draw a large crowd, get donations coming in, and let the cause get the attention.

During the time of rebuilding cities after any type of devastation, artists frequently donate their time doing television adverts to promote tourism to effected regions. They also do what musicians do best; they write songs about it.

Songs about national tragedy, cities and nations in mourning, the helplessness and devastation felt after seeing your home and belongings carried away in a storm or destroyed in a wild fire are not only cathartic for the artist writing them, but they offer a means of support for anyone who listens.

The music community has such an inspiring way of uniting in times of sadness and crisis. It’s unfortunate that only under such trying circumstances do artists truly work together so willingly. Perhaps there will come a day when egos are always checked at the door and musicians can find themselves in a perpetual state of Bohemian rhapsody.

There are certainly a number of ways to help, and for those too far away to donate their time, there are many charities to donate to.  Many people have a favorite, and certainly the most important thing is that those in need get assistance, but if you’re looking for a suggestion,

Linkin Park started a charity several years ago called Music for Relief.  Since 2005, they have raised more than $5,000,000 in donations that have helped survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, as well as those effected by many hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires.

Information about Music for Relief can be found here: http://www.musicforrelief.org/main/

If you are a musician who is in need of help since Hurricane Sandy (or in general), the Musician’s Foundation may be able to help.

While they don’t provide long term assistance, the Musician’s Foundation provides emergency financial assistance to musicians who can’t meet their living or medical expenses.  There is an application process but it may be worth looking into.  You can find them here:  http://www.musiciansfoundation.org/index.php

For information on MusiCares Hurricane Sandy relief fund, go here:  http://www.grammy.org/musicares/hurricane-sandy-relief