Support for Artists Raising Money for Causes
In the past fifteen years, ATC’s team has helped artists raise, direct and re-grant over $10 million to social change and social justice organizations. These donations go far beyond fulfilling immediate and dire monetary needs of great organizations. They also, and perhaps more importantly, inject energy and excitement into these organizations and the tireless efforts of their staff and volunteers.
This donation is more energizing to our movement than much bigger donations because of who it came from! –an Executive Director after hearing that a musician was giving her organization a small donation.
DAVID MATTHEWS PUTS CHARITABLE GIVING IN FANS HANDS
With the goal of inspiring charitable giving amongst his fans, Dave Matthews played two benefit acoustic shows in Seattle, WA on Dec. 6th & 7th, 2010 where concertgoers were given a full credit back of $150 for each ticket purchased to donate to a charity of their choice. Through a partnership with JustGive, fans were able to pick from the 1.8 million charities featured on the nonprofit organization’s online platform for giving. The two acoustic shows are said to have raised around $1 million dollars.
ATC HOSTS INAUGURAL “SUPPER CLUB” WITH THAO NGUYEN
ATC Supper Club is an intimate dinner event series designed with a guest artist with the goal of hosting an evening of music, food and community. Each event features a guest musician who curates and cooks a full dinner menu before giving a private acoustic performance.
ATC developed this idea with Thao Nguyen in the middle of 2010, after she attended one of our Artist-Activism Retreats in New Orleans. Thao piloted the first event, which sold out in a matter of days of its limited announcement and raised over $1200 for ATC and People’s Grocery. Future ATC Supper Clubs will be presented according to artist schedules.
OUR 5 FAVORITE WAYS TO SUPPORT CHANGE ON TOUR
Touring season is upon us and ATC is working with many musicians and managers to implement strategies that support the causes and issues artists care about while on tour.
If you are touring band or active manager and would like more information about any of these activities, please contact us.
1. Voter Registration + Engagement For Midterm Elections
Musicians whose audiences includes women, people of color and/or young people have a huge role to play in encouraging fans to vote in the Midterm elections. Midterms are the elections between Presidential elections and include federal, state and local seats and initiatives and always suffer from low turnout. Research has shown us that musicians can help fans—many of which were groups of people, like young people, that were critical to the 2008 election–to return to the polls on Nov 2nd. Here is how:
STUDY SHOWS CONCERTS AN EFFECTIVE PLACE TO REGISTER NEW VOTERS
A voter validation study by the New Organizing Institute on the work of HeadCount shows that 72% of the people the organization registered at concerts voted–11% more than the national average.
Registering people to vote at concerts appears to be a highly effective way to reach new would-be voters. In fact, the report cited that concertgoers were the second most unique group of would-be voters–meaning they more likely to have not been reached or previously registered at the same address.
The study won’t be public until next month, but here is some of the preliminary that HeadCount has posted to their website:
LIVE EARTH + THE TIBETAN FREEDOM CONCERTS: MUSIC’S ABILITY TO INFLUENCE
A recent study on the impact of the 2007 Live Earth concerts may lead some to deduce that large-scale concerts have little influence in social change. ATC’s research and experience shows the opposite: when done right, concerts can be an extremely effective way to build movements.
A recent report on the public opinion impact of Live Earth, the environmental concerts from 2007, drew the conclusion that the event and campaign seemed to have “no immediate impact on American public opinion” on climate change, but that it “did reinforce and amplify attitudes about global warming amongst those watchers who were already concerned”. Cynics are likely to throw the baby out with the bathwater and say that mega-concerts or musicians cannot change how people think or act.
