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Future of Music Coalition is a national nonprofit organization that works to ensure a diverse musical culture where artists flourish, are compensated fairly for their work, and where fans can find the music they want. More
FMC on Twitter
- @vdovault This Thanksgiving, we're thankful for all your RTs!1 day 22 hours ago
- FMC's Jean Cook on net neutrality: http://bit.ly/4nuXyz2 days 22 hours ago
- Here's our take on that NYT article about the drop in artist income: http://bit.ly/4AmkpF3 days 12 hours ago
- NYT story on major drops in artist income: "I live in a recession all the time" http://bit.ly/6BPBSg4 days 49 min ago
- @nycctechcomm Thanks for having us!6 days 46 min ago
FutureBlog
Artists Incomes Dip in Recession
It’s not exactly news that the economic situation has been pretty grim lately — turn on the tube or crack a newspaper and you’re sure to be greeted with yet another story of fiscal woe. Yet most of these reports don’t talk about artists, many of whom were already struggling to make ends meet before the Great Recession.
This article in New York Times is different in that it puts creators front-and-center. The article includes data from a new survey showing that more than half of American artists experienced a drop in income from 2008 to 2009. The study was commissioned by non-profit artist-support organization Leveraging Investments in Creativity in collaboration with Princeton Survey Research Associates International and the Helicon Collaborative, a non-profit consulting firm. read more
FMC at City Hall
Today, FMC’s Jean Cook spoke at a hearing on net neutrality that was held by the New York City Council’s Committee on Technology and Government. Jean was among several witnesses which included representatives from technology, the public interest, digital entertainment and the creative community. Her remarks, which you can read in their entirety here, demonstrated the importance of open internet structures to musicians.
The goal of the hearing was for the Committee to decide about sending a resolution to Congress in support of HR 3458 — the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009 — as well as the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on net neutrality. read more
LPFM Passes in Senate Committee!
Yesterday, we told you about an important vote in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on the Local Community Radio Act of 2009. Well, we’re happy to report that the bill passed in a unanimous floor vote and will now be taken up by the full body.
The House version of the bill has already passed out of two key committees and will hopefully come to a full vote very soon. At that point, it’s a matter of harmonizing both versions of the legislation and getting it passed into law. read more
Low Power FM Heads to the Senate
Tomorrow (November 18) at 10 AM, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will vote on the Local Community Radio Act of 2009 (S 592) — a bill that would allow for the creation of hundreds more Low Power FM (LPFM) stations in towns and cities across the country. We’re glad that the Senate has taken up the legislation, as it has already made it through two key House committees and looks to pass out of the full House very soon.
Low Power FM stations are 100-watt “micro-broadcasters” that have a range of about 5-7 miles. In today’s super-consolidated commercial radio market, these small stations can go a long way towards giving people in local communities a voice on the public airwaves. From civic debate to public safety, LPFMs provide an important platform for a range of community-oriented programming. And they’re great for local and independent musicians who probably have little chance — no matter how talented they might be — of getting played on their neighborhood commercial station. read more
Muscians & Health Insurance Op-Ed in Chicago Tribune
Midwestern readers may have already come across this Op-Ed in the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune about musicians and health insurance. The piece, authored by Nan Warshaw (co-owner of Chicago indie label Bloodshot Records) and Alex Maiolo (project coordinator for FMC’s Health Insurance Navigation Tool, or HINT), talks about how the lack of affordable insurance is having a devastating impact on the creative community.
We think the article is interesting because instead of a “pity the poor musicians” angle, it portrays artists as what they actually are: entrepreneurs who are trying to compete in an open marketplace, like Americans are encouraged to do. Yet because to the current health insurance landscape, it is exceedingly difficult for most musicians to pursue their craft. read more
