INTRODUCTION
Future of Music Coalition is conducting the “Money from Music” survey, a groundbreaking research initiative to document the complex nature of being a musician and composer in the 21st century. This is a broad and comprehensive national study that examines the complex reality of musician and composer income. We are looking for robust participation from the jazz community in our case studies and the September 2011 survey. You can read more about the survey here: http://futureofmusic.org/ars
GOALS OF THIS STUDY FOR JAZZ
We hope with this project to build an essential data set that will allow the jazz field to begin benchmarking how artists’ income streams are changing in the digital age, and particularly how jazz musicians are faring compared to other genres. Having qualitative and quantitative data documenting how the digital transition impacts musicians’ income streams will make the jazz field more effective in advocacy on digital rights issues. This will also help the jazz community understand how to build sustainable business models that maximize the amount of money paid directly to artists, rather than to middlemen and intermediaries in the digital marketplace.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
“Money from Music” is an anonymous, online survey open to US-based musicians and composers available September 6 to October 28, 2011. This survey will give musicians and composers a way to:
* let their voices and stories be heard
* learn how other musicians and composers are earning money in the digital era
* provide media outlets and public with empirical data vs. anecdotes
* show policy makers how revenue has been affected
PSA SCRIPTS FOR YOUR SHOW
As you can imagine, jazz musicians are a difficult population to reach. There is no directory of all the jazz musicians in the United States. They don’t all belong to the same union or association. FMC is partnering with conservatories, national membership organizations, clubs, festivals, and reaching out to radio stations for help spreading the word. We know that jazz musicians listen to your show, and we would appreciate anything you can do to get the message out.
—
Hannah Byam
Communications Associate
Future of Music Coalition
1615 L Street NW, Suite 520
Washington, DC 20036
202.822.2051 ext. 121
hannah@futureofmusic.org