MusiCares
Here Are All the MusiCares Person of the Year Honorees
Motown legends Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson are poised to make history as the 2023 MusiCares person of the year recipients. As we reported when the news was announced on Thursday Oct. 20, it’s the first time that two individuals have been co-honorees at the annual fund-raising gala. But that’s not the only way in which Gordy and Robinson will be making history. The two music greats will be the oldest person of the year honorees to date. Gordy turns 93 on Nov. 28. Robinson is 82. The oldest honoree until now was Joni Mitchell, who was 78 when she was honored earlier this year. And Motown founder Gordy will be the first non-artist to receive the honor, as well as the first honoree who has not won a Grammy in competition. Gordy has received just one nomination – as a co-writer of the Jacks...
MusiCares Launches Free Virtual Event Series for Mental Health Awareness Month
Mental health has never been more important in the music industry. After suffering blow after blow over the past two years due to the pandemic, music professionals around the globe were stripped of their income streams—and livelihoods. But as the music industry trends up, MusiCares wants the mental health of its professionals to grow in lockstep. The RIAA’s MusiCares program provides creatives around the globe with mental health awareness resources. In support of Mental Health Awareness Month, they’ve launched a free series of events that are open to all. You can check out the programming, courtesy of a press release MusiCares shared with EDM.com, below. Click the hyperlinks to register. Scroll to Continue Recommended Articles In addition to MusiCares̵...
MusiCares Hosts Series of Online Events for Mental Health Awareness Month
Throughout May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month, MusiCares will host a series of weekly virtual events on MusiCares.org dealing with such topics as suicide prevention, stress management and disordered eating. The sessions are open to all music professionals and creators. “The pandemic has left a lasting impact on the overall health and wellness of those in the industry and on their mental health in particular,” the organization said in a statement. “…Mental health support is an ongoing need within the music community and MusiCares is committed to delivering services to anyone in the community who needs it and breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health. The 2021 Wellness in Music survey, distributed by MusiCares, found that 20% of respondents reported moderate to severe level...
MusiCares Unveils Final, $2M Round of COVID-19 Relief Funding
The Recording Academy and MusiCares — its charitable arm providing health, financial, and rehabilitation resources to music workers in times of need — each made a $1 million base donation to kick off the fund last March. By one month later in April 2020, funds had been depleted. Now, the fund is once again open to music professionals who have had at least three years of employment in the music industry, or six commercially released recordings or videos. Anyone who has already received assistance from the fund is eligible to apply again. Once the final funds are distributed, MusiCares says it will continue to support the music community through “existing and new mental health and hardship grant programs and virtual support groups, among other programs.” MusiCar...
REZZ, Baauer, More to Perform at Porter Robinson’s 2021 Secret Sky Virtual Festival
Fans of Porter Robinson have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming weeks. We are finally reaching the highly anticipated pinnacle of the journey to his sophomore album Nurture journey, as the record is set to drop next Friday, April 23rd. To celebrate the release, Robinson has announced the return of his beloved Secret Sky virtual festival. The all-day digital music fest will go live the day after Nurture drops on Saturday, April 24th, and will feature a bevy of world-class artists. Featured on the lineup are Baauer, Boys Noize, Laxcity, REZZ, and Wave Racer, among other heavy-hitters. The event will be available to be viewed across any device with a web browser but has been designed especially for Oculus VR. The lineup for the 2021 edition of Porter Robinson’s...
Danny Trejo Joins OYLS for Music Video Aimed at Destigmatizing Mental Illness: Watch
With his starring role in a new music video, renowned actor Danny Trejo has at last added EDM to his stacked portfolio of artistic work. Released today via Handwritten Records, the short film is set to the tune of “Netflix (Your Product Is Too Good)” by electronic duo OYLS, off their October album OYLS (For Your Consideration). It is the third installment of the group’s seamless “Pop Opera” visual series, with episodes dedicated in order to the songs on OYLS. Directed by Nicole Lipp, “Netflix (Your Product Is Too Good)” is set in a smoggy 80s-era motel and follows Trejo through a Netflix all-nighter complete with microwave popcorn and canned soda. Sound familiar? Eerie lighting and jump cuts backed by haunting synths and sharp percu...
X Japan’s Yoshiki Announces Annual $100,000 Mental Health Grant to MusiCares
Yoshiki, the leader of heavy metal legends X Japan, has announced that he will provide an annual $100,000 grant to MusiCares for mental health initiatives. The influential multi-instrumentalist has been one of rock’s most charitably musicians, even earning a Medal of Honor by the Government of Japan earlier this month. According to a press release, the annual grant will “help music creators and industry professionals affected by depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or other mental health concerns,” all issues that Yoshiki has faced within his band and his own life. “If I didn’t have music and my fans’ support, I could have easily been the one to take my own life like the people who were close to me, including my father and my band member,” said Yoshiki. “I’d like to not only contribute ...
MusiCares 2021 Person of the Year Gala Canceled, Replaced With Virtual ‘Music on a Mission’ Event
The event will feature never-before-seen performances — some live, some on tape — by Haim, H.E.R., Jhené Aiko and John Legend. (Haim and Aiko are album of the year nominees at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards; H.E.R. is nominated for song of the year. Legend, a Grammy event perennial, is an 11-time Grammy winner.) The event will also include video from the MusiCares vaults of performances at past Person of the Year galas by Stevie Nicks, Usher, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and “one or two artists” who MusiCares won’t name yet. (A photo of Lady Gaga appeared in an online ad on Wednesday, so she’s probably a good bet.) The event will also feature a pre-show DJ set by DJ D-Nice. Laura Segura, MusicCares’ executive director, told Billboard that the decision to make this year’s event a...
Recording Academy, MusiCares Cut 13 Staffers in Reorganization
The moves stem from a major reorganization the Recording Academy began this summer when it streamlined into three divisions: the entertainment/consumer divisions (led by new COO Branden Chapman), the trade/industry group (led by label veteran Ruby Marchand) and organizations/cross verticals (led by CFO Wayne Zahner, chief diversity and inclusion officer Valeisha Butterfield Jones and chief people & culture officer Shonda Grant). “We did our reorganization in July and as part of that, we really have been doing deep dives into all the verticals,” interim president/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told Billboard Friday night. “There’s some new alignment [and] some crossover in different sections and because of that we wanted to make sure the skill sets ...
Ad Space on an Album Cover? This Indie Electronic Duo Wants to Shake Up the Music Industry
An indie electronic duo is trying to introduce a new advertising medium that would make Don Draper proud—or cringe. It remains to be seen whether or not OYLS‘ new venture will stick in the music industry, but it sure is a situation to keep an eye on. In a landmark move, the Los Angeles-based band recently announced they are selling advertising space on the cover of their forthcoming album. For $4.99, brands can thrust a flagpole on the artwork, which will live on a slew of DSPs and streaming platforms. The self-proclaimed “profit conscious musical duo” are planning to release their debut full-length album on October 2nd, 2020. According to a press release issued to announce the initiative, the album art will be live on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Pandora, ...
MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund Now Depleted of Financial Resources
The charitable foundation MusiCares, an organization dedicated towards supporting music industry professionals in need of financial assistance, has run out of monetary resources. Amid the ongoing pandemic, MusiCares launched their COVID-19 Relief Fund last month, which has drawn an unprecedented influx of applications. The depletion of funds has now caused the organization to halt new applications for the time being. The fund, which was started with two $1 million donations from the organization itself as well as its affiliate, The Recording Academy, went on to raise $14 million in total. The resources were raised from individuals as well as charitable corporate partners including SiriusXM, Spotify, and Pandora. However, as the pandemic has persisted, the orga...
