Charities’ saturation of the music sector

When National Lottery fever gripped the country in 1994, with millions imagining the giant finger of fate hovering over their heads, while hoping it ‘could be them’, critics feared that this would sound the death knell for charities and donations to good causes. Much like the Y2K bug these fears have been proved to sound like the end of the world rantings of the most extreme pessimist: fourteen years on the charity market has never been so populated. It is this saturation of good causes that is today’s biggest threat – how do you make a cut through in a market where every cause is worthwhile? How do you attract high profile ambassadors to support a project when people are inundated with requests for help?

One of the biggest growth areas is music performance for charity. Back in 1985 when Sir Bob launched Live Aid, the whole world watched and listened; now the list of music events in the name of charity is almost endless, Teenage Cancer Trust, Oxjam, Live 8, Live Earth, Diana Memorial...

Dan Jones of EMI Publishing says:”When I started out in music seven years ago we would get a request from a charity once a month and it was easy to find an artist on the roster that would be appropriate, now we get requests on pretty much a daily basis.” To make an impression in this environment it is essential that a charity creates a property that is unique and appealing, not just to the punters who will attend the events, but that will also strike a chord with the artists as something that challenges and inspires them.

In the soon to launch Ctrl+Alt+Shift film competition, filmmakers are paired with mentors from the world of film to help create their films as well as artists who score the soundtrack to the footage. When the films premier, the artists will perform their scores live to the footage, which appeals to the truly creative as a true test of their musicianship. Sure they will receive great PR for taking part but for this to work it will require genuine commitment, otherwise the artists are facing the prospect of looking foolish if they fail. This makes much more of a connection with the charity, with the musicians and with the audience than battling it out with other stars for the chance to sing Bono’s famous line.

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