Music for America
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Music for America is a political organization which uses concert events and the social networks which surround bands and musical "scenes" as a way to promote progressive political values and participation among Millennial Generation Americans.
Music For America was founded as a Political Action Committee (PAC) in February 2003 to support the nomination of [Howard Dean] as Democratic Candidate for President vs. George W. Bush in the 2004 election. In October 2003, the organization re-formed as a 527 after securing major funding from the Rappaports. After the 2004 elections, the organization re-grouped as a 501c(4), which remains its current tax-status today.
[edit] Partisan Background
In contrast to many other culturally-centered youth politics organizations (e.g. Rock the Vote), Music for America was founded and continues to run on the principle that partisanship is an essential element to true political participation, and that an organization which failed to assume the responsibility of having a point of view would fail to make headway in galvanizing a new generation of citizens.
The organization was formed in the aftermath of the Feb 15th 2003 anti-war protests, which proved ineffective in deterring George W. Bush from launching an invasion of Iraq, a decision the founders of Music for America opposed from the outset. With traditional activism falling on deaf ears, the founders decided to try utilizing electoral politics as a means for achieving their ends.
[edit] Quotes
"We love what Rock the Vote does, but they're not allowed to take a stand. It's difficult to tell people to go out and vote if you can't get them excited about a particular issue."
-- Franz Hartl, Music For America co-founder and an ex-Metallica roadie
"We cccccame to tttttthe realization that physical protest is dead, and that we really wanted to communicate to young people in a way or a manner that worked for us and music was the medium, you know, the idea that there really is no difference between politics and culture. We wanted artists speaking about what's going on and how things can be changed and how people can participate, and that it's really not that hard for people to participate. It's basic steps like going to a show [and knowing the issues] and voting being the least that one can do."
-- Kevin Collinsworth, National Event Coordinator
[edit] 2004 Election Cycle
Music For America organized several thousand individual concert events in the 2004 Presidential election cycle, leading both to increased turnout among Millennials, and also to increased partisan identification. According to exit polling, in Swing States where Music for America (and other organizations) were most active, voters under the age of 30 preferred Democratic candidate John Kerry to Republican incumbent George W. Bush by a 3-to-2 margin.
