Category: Misc.

MUSICIANS UNITE TO HELP COLORADO’S HOMELESS

MUSICIANS UNITE TO HELP COLORADO’S HOMELESS

Local non-profit, Musicians In Action (M.I.A.), is hosting, in conjunction with CBID (Colfax Business Improvement District) and the Upper Colfax Root 40 Music Fest and Outdoor Stage and Canned Food Drive for the homeless on Saturday 4/28/2012 in the parking lot of THE GLBT Community Center at Colfax and Lafayette. This will be an all day Music Fest from 11a-8p with bands volunteering their talent.

BANDS playing the M.I.A. Stage: NEMESYS, The Pirate Signal, MF Ruckus, Hot Apostles, Synergy, The Hits, Gription and more

There is an influx of canned food donations around Thanksgiving time. Local organizations that assist our homeless are running very low and M.I.A. would like to step up to the plate and donate.

The Gathering Place http://www.tgpdenver.org/ will receive the donations from this event. The Gathering Place is Denver’s only daytime drop-in center for women and children who are experiencing homelessness and poverty and provide free meals every day.

The homeless community is making the news on a regular basis, especially as of late due to the controversy of the proposed city ordinance to prohibit “urban camping” which would cause the arrest of many, simply for not having a more suitable place to sleep.

WHO Is M.I.A.? Musicians In Action (aka M.I.A.) is a Denver based nonprofit that mobilizes musicians to perform, collaborate and volunteer to help aid Colorado’s homeless population. Our Board of Directors consists of musicians and individuals passionate about making a contribution to the Denver Music Scene, as well as those concerned about philanthropic efforts for our community. We are out to raise awareness and debunk widespread myths about the homeless.

We work well with musicians because they tend to understand the plight of the homeless – many musicians themselves are “couch surfers” – sacrificing the comforts of a 9-5 job so that they can hone their craft and create freely. For that, we are of course grateful. They know what it means to stretch a dollar. We do what we can to promote and raise the visibility of the bands we work with. Showing an interest in the community helps artists and bands gain exposure. If you look at bands like The Flobots and Rise Against, you can see that they have had a great deal of success in this arena.

WHAT WE DO: The primary duties of M.I.A. involve gathering food, clothing, toiletries, diapers, linens and other needed items that are distributed to organizations in need.

You will see M.I.A. at shows across genres, working alongside artists to host “drives” for these items, as well as basic fundraising.

You will see M.I.A. volunteering at places like Senior Support Services, Urban Peak, The Empowerment Program, Joshua Station, The Gathering Place & The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless every month.

You will see M.I.A. at local high profile music events, promoting bands and raising awareness regarding the homeless.

BANDS playing the M.I.A. Stage: NEMESYS, The Pirate Signal, MF Ruckus, Hot Apostles, Synergy, The Hits, Gription and more

VITAMIN WATER will be Sponsoring and hydrating this event.

We will also have Live Artists performing and various other activities.

INFO ABOUT THE Events of the Week
http://colfaxave.com/events/upper-colfax-root-40-musicfest-2012
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1084535777#!/events/155391077922988/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Musicians-In-Action/308021513130

Biodiesel for Bands

Biodiesel for Bands is a non-profit organization that will process donated edible waste oil into top quality biodiesel. We will sell a portion of this biodiesel.

Mission
It is the mission of Biodiesel for Bands to help musicians tour more effectively and efficiently. We will provide high quality bio-diesel to local musicians and bands at a discount so that they can tour. Once we show how effective our program is in Fort Collins, we intend to expand operations around the nation, creating a network of cities that will allow bands to tour nationwide in an environmentally friendly and economically beneficial manner.

Company Overview
Biodiesel for Bands is a non-profit organization that will process donated edible waste oil into top quality biodiesel. We will sell a portion of this biodiesel to the public. We will then use the proceeds from these sales and the fuel itself to help bands tour more efficiently, economically, and with a lower carbon footprint.

Biodiesel for Bands will provide professional, clean and timely waste oil removal services for restaurants in Northern Colorado. Customer service to our donating restaurants will be our highest priority. Restaurants will receive a tax deducion for these donations. We are currently working with the City of Fort Collins and the State of Colorado to provide further incentives for restaurants that don…ate their “waste” to non-profit organizations. Restaurants that donate to BFB will also benefit from an increase in internet and social media traffic via our website, facebook and twitter feeds. They will also be helping to reduce petroleum consumption locally and helping musicians and bands to tour and return home with more money in their pockets. Bands and restaurants interested in partnering with BFB should direct their comments or questions to Eric or John at biodieselforbands@gmail.com.

BFB will provide high quality biodiesel to member bands at a subsidized rate. BFB will also provide technical assistance, consultation, and support for bands that are looking to purchase a touring vehicle. Some diesel vehicles are more compatible than others when it comes to using SVO and B100, so BFB will help members make good decisions when making their next vehicle purchase. For member bands …that do not own a diesel vehicle for touring, they can rent one from BFB at affordable rates. Currently, BFB has one bus that is ideal for a band and their equipment, but BFB will work to secure additional vehicles in the future. We are currently working on a membership benefits structure and will be providing more information soon.

Shall I Start an Online Radio Station?

I get asked a lot about how The Colorado Sound can be heard online.  I generally direct people to the websites of the stations airing the program.  But, that doesn’t do anything for those who wish to hear it on demand via current streaming technologies.

A couple of days ago I received an offer from Live365.  Here’s the content of the email:

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I know you have been thinking about launching your internet radio station. And I think I know some of your concerns namely; music licensing, easy to use software, low-start up costs with room to grow, and an awesome distribution system.

I think we have a solution for you that will have you covered for all these concerns.

1.     Music Licensing– we have you covered with full ASCAP/BMI/SESAC and SoundExchange coverage.  We report, pay, and manage all those licenses for you and its included in your monthly fee.

2.     Software– our easy Studio365 Basic cloud service along with our Studio365Live broadcasting system will keep your station sound good whether you are online or not.  Just look at our custom pro players – (http://www.live365.com/pro/embeddedplayer.html)

3.     Low Cost and Room to Grow- for the rest of April 2012 we are offering $0 set up fee on our 2500 monthly listening hour station.  That means you have room to grow and it starts as low as just $217 to get started.  (that’s for “fm quality” broadcasts [up to 64kb/s].  “Near CD quality” [up to 96kb/s] is $301.50 a month.  “CD quality” [up to 128kb/s] is $386 a month)

4.     Distribution– we are currently the ONLY internet radio service that is going to put your station in front of millions of potential listeners on day one.  iTunes Radio, mobile apps, Facebook player, Roku, Liveo,TiVo and Aha to name just a few – and all built into our system.  Here is an example of my facebook fan page set up – http://www.facebook.com/pages/wwwsmoothjazzbeachradiocom-Official/29461679016?sk=app_129982580378550

5.  New Desktop Player for your VIP listeners.

The $0 set up fee (normally $199) on the 2500 listening hour station is only available until Monday April 30th, 2012.

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The costs are not limited to the fees to run something like this.  There is also a significant time commitment on my end that has to be paid for.  Currently, I make NO MONEY from the stations that broadcast this program.  It’s provided for free, because I believe in the music and the stations airing the show. It requires almost an entire day to program, write, and produce a 2 hour show right now.  I’m now in my 6th year of producing The Colorado Sound.  Adding an internet based station to my schedule will certainly add many many more hours a week.  Even if I’m judicious with my time and resources, I estimate it would take $700-$1000 a month to accomplish this on my end.

Should the station exceed 2500 listener hours a month, there are additional listener hour fees.  If the revenue for the show exceeds a certain amount, there are additional fees.

So the questions that swirl around my head, and have for over a year now, are HOW will this station receive its funding, and is it sustainable?

I cannot afford to do this out of pocket – regardless of the limitless love I have for such things – Mrs Goat would surely kick my ass LOL.  I will simply continue to produce as excellent a weekly 2 hour radio program as I can, and continue to offer it for free to the handful (now at 5) stations that air it now.

If the idea is solid I estimate 1st year costs to be no less than about $15,000.  That may not seem like a lot of money, but to me it may as well be a million, it’s that far out of reach of my limited resources.