Welcome to Artists for Media Diversity!

If you want to know why we are here and what we can do together, please read "An open letter to US recording artists and supporters of human rights."

We are currently fund raising for start up expenses. It’s time to hire an executive director, an artist and radio liaison and a project and intern manager so that we can implement our work. We also have development and technical expenses as we approach lift off.

If you can make a contribution, great or small, contact us.

If you are in a position to make a social investment in our start up phase, contact us. We’ll be happy to share with you our plan of implementation as well as a list of projects on the table.

Artists for Media Diversity is a 501(c)(3) federal tax exempt organization, donations and contributions are tax deductible.

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An open letter to US recording artists and supporters of human rights.

My fellow musicians and recording artists,

Five years ago in Europe, I can’t tell you how many times I was asked “How can people in your country be so stupid? How can they stand by when the US military’s abuses of human rights are not only documented, but these crimes against humanity are allowed to continue harming innocent people?”

Has that ever happened to you on your travels abroad, that people asked you about our country’s human rights abuses? Our foreign policies?

At the time, I answered that people back home were unaware of what was really going on. European standards for journalism are different than the corporate controlled media broadcasts that dominate the US.

But as songwriters and musicians, we can tune in to ‘the muse’. We rely on our hearts and our minds to channel inspiration. So five years ago, while walking between three villages, I ‘asked’ some questions and ‘received’ some answers:

How can unbiased journalism flourish in the USA?

‘Through non-commercial public media organizations.’

Is it possible to eliminate fear of funding cutbacks, fear that can create bias in a public media administrator’s decisions concerning on air programming?

‘Yes.’

How?

‘Provide a new, sizable and never ending source of support.’

What could possibly supply a new, sizable source of support for public media?

‘Music.’

Since ‘the muse’ was gracious enough that day to provide me with some pretty direct answers, I placed myself under a creative oath to ‘finish the song’.

I play guitar, I’m not an economist. But the sadness in knowing that innocent people are getting arrested, slapped around, yelled at, punched, kicked, intimidated, humiliated, raped, kidnapped, poisoned, falsely accused, in-terror-gated, tortured and murdered, at the hands of our tax dollars, is too much for this guitar player to bear. I would not want anything like that to happen to you or your loved ones or any body’s loved ones for that matter.

So what if, what if music could fund freedom of speech, freedom of the press, what if music could help to champion human rights by supporting unbiased journalism? Can we, as a music community, create unlimited potential for a positive global strategy to alleviate human suffering?

The Chart.

“How do you make a guitar player turn down?”

“You put a chart in front of her.”

Well, here’s a chart, inspired by ‘the muse’, that moved me to do a little reading over the past five years. A few friends helped me to figure out those IRS tax laws, FCC regulations and business entity structures. And, with the help of some experts, we established a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization. Artists For Media Diversity. A4MD.

** Net = Gross - cost of CD - shipping - credit card processing fees

Here’s the way it works: The artists and labels get wholesale prices for their CDs after donating a few to prime the pump. 50% of the net proceeds fund our organization’s operating and project expenses. 50% of the net proceeds fund the equipment and services requested by non-commercial radio stations and public media organizations who collaborate with us.

CDs are great. It’s a way we can support artists and labels who support freedom of speech and freedom of the press. And human rights.

But if we really want to crank it up to 11, then check this out:

A4MD’s Live Music Broadcast Archive

There’s an easy way we can create a national archive of original, exclusive performances of live music for broadcast and for sale.

We play live on the radio, and sometimes it even sounds pretty good, and the stations' engineers give us a CD of our performance. We can contribute songs from these performances in such a way that sales from the downloads support the stations.

The stations support musicians. We support the stations. Makes sense.

Here’s another chart:

Now, let’s take it 10 steps further. What if stations’ music programmers, (sometimes called DJs back when most of them could still choose what they wanted to play), what if they creatively sequenced our songs into some compelling, downloadable compilations for their listeners and station supporters?

The sales from that could generate something like this:

Does this look like the beginning of a new, sizable and never ending source of support for public media? Do you think this will have an impact on musical diversity? What do you think this will do for our local music scenes? Imagine, local DJs encouraged to discover new music and play diverse styles, not only because it’s cool, but also because it literally supports the station.

And if the station is supported, then the voices of the community are supported. And now we’re talking freedom of speech. Freedom of the press. Human rights.

Some folks still believe in the power of music.

Thanks for taking the time to read this all the way through. After five years, the song is written. It’s called Artists For Media Diversity. Let’s crank it up to 11.

With best wishes for all,

Barbara K

songwriter, guitar player (formerly with Timbuk3)

http://a4md.org/contact/