BACKGROUND

Following a series of tornadoes across Texas and Oklahoma, a powerful tornado hit the suburbs of Oklahoma City on May 20, 2013. The tornado swept through 20 miles in the area and, measuring 2 miles wide with a peak wind speed of 200-210 miles per hour, destroyed most everything in its path. It’s the deadliest tornado since 2011′s Joplin tornado, and considered one of the worst in the past 20 years. With the death toll at 24 and likely to rise, President Obama signed a disaster declaration for Oklahoma. First responders are currently searching the debris field for survivors. ATC is working with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and other experts to provide updates on how to help affected communities.

BEST PRACTICES WHEN DISASTER STRIKES

After disaster strikes, the aftermath is broken down into 3 … Read More »

“Since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman, and our game from a woman, I wonder why we take from our women?”

-Tupac Shakur, ‘Keep Ya Head Up’

Oftentimes, we only hear about how popular culture, in this case music, can negatively impact how women are perceived in our society. Musicians have a long history of addressing women’s rights and women’s issues in their music in ways that have both empowered and disempowered women and ATC has seen how artists who have addressed women’s rights in their music have inspired and sparked conversations around issues of equality. This post highlights just a few of these stories and we want to hear more! Let us know what has moved you on this issue: a song, a lyric, a video, a musician and/or story. We want to document … Read More »

Today, over 100 artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, comedians, directors, producers, and performers, have signed a public statement addressed to President Obama and members of Congress calling for them to pass just and humane immigration reform:

“For the first time in a generation, legislators have a real opportunity to acknowledge the complexity and truth of the American immigrant story, which is one of hope, dignity, and faith in democracy. Immigration reform should reflect our shared belief in fairness and inclusion. We believe immigration reform must:

Ends the detentions and deportations that cause separation and suffering for families;
Preserves families by expediting the visa process and retaining long standing policies that reunite and stabilize families;
Ensures all immigrants have basic workers’ rights;
Provides equal immigration rights to LGBTQ individuals and families; and
Creates a clear roadmap to citizenship that includes all 11 million undocumented immigrants.”

The statement and the … Read More »

“As individuals in this ‘free’ country, we must have the right to choose when that time is right…Decide on the issues and vote — male or female — for this is not just a women’s issue. It’s human rights. If it were a man’s body and it was his destiny we were deciding there would be no issue. Not in today’s male dominated society.”

-Eddie Vedder, SPIN Magazine

Access to abortion services in the US has become increasingly restricted due to attempts to regulate abortion at the state-level. In 2013, the focus has shifted to complete or near complete bans on abortion, often in the form of personhood amendments, and ever shortening time frames on when abortion is allowed, including “heartbeat bills” — bills related to unsupported medical theories on when a fetus begins to feel pain, as well … Read More »

On April 18, ATC hosted a conference call for our network on climate change and how artists can engage on the issue. This conference call provided important issue updates from some of the leaders in the movement as well as ways for artists and fans to engage and support the issue.

For anyone who missed the call, here is the list of speakers, their affiliated organizations, Twitter handles and the actions highlighted during their presentations. If you would like for ATC to facilitate an introduction to any of the presenters, let us know.

You can listen to a recording of the call here: http://bit.ly/17xIeVR

Monday, April 22 is Earth Day and April 22-26 has been designated as Earth Week. Check out our blog post loaded with relevant information, actions you can take, … Read More »

“If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.”

- James Hansen, NASA

From NASA scientists and leaders of island nations to sea-level city dwellers and the creative community, the alarm about climate change has never been louder. For Earth Day this year, April 22, 2013, activities will be more focused on action and less celebratory than years past. While the majority of the US population agrees that global warming is happening, the question now is what are the best and quickest ways to address it. What experts and activists do agree on is that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline is not … Read More »

“What’s great about a liaison like Air Traffic Control is that they know what is needed in each area and we can be more effective with our philanthropy.”

-Patrick Hallahan, My Morning Jacket

ATC works with artists of any size and at any point in their tour/album cycle to help them raise funds for a cause, organization or issue area they care about through creative fundraising mechanisms including: ticket add-ons, inviting organizations to collect donations at shows, digital download fundraisers and more.

WHAT YOU (ARTISTS) CAN DO NOW

Ticket Add-Ons. Add a small surcharge to each ticket sold during a tour, or apply a surcharge to the price of pre-sale tickets offered to fan communities.

Digital Music Projects. Offer original content as a download and have the proceeds benefit charities.  Learn more about how to raise money when not on tour here.

Reach … Read More »