SIXTEEN WAYS TO GET THE MUSIC OUT (besides singing in the shower)

Sometimes our culture, like our government or our economy, seems out of control, and we feel helpless to affect it. But just as each of us can make a difference in our political world, each of us can change our cultural environment, as well. One way is to make our own--our own songs, poems, drawings, dances, quilts. Another is to influence the mass media--what gets played on the radio, featured in magazines, reviewed in the newspaper. A third is to network with other activists and artists.

This is a list of ideas of how to get Fred Small's music out to new audiences. You can select the ones that sound like the most fun to you, adapt them to your special resources and opportunities, and add new ones from your own genius. Please share the ones that work with us at Songs for a Changing World--and let us know if any flop! Use them for your other favorite artists, too.

  1. Telephone your favorite folk radio programs and request Fred's music. If they don't have Fred's albums, let them know how to get them (Rounder Records, l Camp Street, Cambridge, MA 02140, Attn: Brad Paul.) Better yet, donate your own to the station! Folk deejays are especially sensitive to audience response, so your phone calls can make a big difference. Don't just call once. Call once a week--or once a day! If you're phoning a pledge for a donation to the station, be sure to mention Fred's music.
  2. Ask your local coffeehouse or concert series to book Fred. Next time you're there for a show, talk to the manager about Fred's music. Tell them how many people you'll bring along when Fred plays there! If Fred has already performed there, say how much you enjoyed it and ask when Fred will be back.
  3. Ask your favorite folk festival to book Fred. This one can be a little more challenging, since the people who do the hiring at folk festivals may not be easily identifiable. Usually, though, someone on staff can tell you. Ideally, talk to them in person. A good alternative is to write a letter after the festival saying how much you enjoyed it, then go on to say how much you think Fred's music would contribute to the next one. When Fred does perform there, write the organizers appreciating Fred's participation and expressing your hope that he'll return next year.
  4. Give Fred's recordings as gifts. Many people have enjoyed Fred's music for the first time as the recipients of gift LPs or cassettes. Think of friends and family who would appreciate Fred's songs on their birthday, holidays, Martin Luther King Day, Hiroshima Day, International Women's Week, etc.
  5. Bring your friends to Fred's concerts. This is an obvious but extremely effective one. Think how Fred's audience would grow if everyone kept bringing new people to hear him! Don't just bring "the usual suspects" to his concerts--bring the skeptics, the ones who say folk music bores them, the ones who aren't very political." Imagine their surprise (and yours!) when they have a great time--and maybe start thinking about a lot of things a little differently.
  6. Tell your out-of-town friends about Fred's upcoming concerts in their towns. When Fred's itinerary arrives in the mail, scan the cities where he'll be performing and alert friends there.
  7. Write to magazines suggesting an article on Fred's music. Can you imagine an article in Mother Jones, Ms., People, Rolling Stone, Sojouners, New Age, or, Changing Men (to name just a few) about Fred's music? About men's music? About peace music? About "the new topical songwriters"? Of course you can! They just need a little prompting from their loyal readers.
  8. Sing Fred's songs. Not just in the shower! At songswaps, campfires, demonstrations, picket lines, political meetings, summer camps, and schools. Don't wait for Casey Kasem to wise up!
  9. Suggest Fred's songs to other singers. There are a lot of fine singers out there, some famous, some not so famous, who are looking for new material. Talk to them after their concerts. Tell them you'd love to hear them sing one (or more) of Fred's songs. Do they know it? No? Well, you'll send it to them--what's the best address?
  10. Send Fred's recordings to key activists and leaders. Do you know--or even know of--Leo Buscaglia? Phil Donahue? Gloria Steinem? Ron Dellums? Jane Fonda? Bruce Springsteen? Does Leo Buscaglia know Fred's song about hugging? Why not?
  11. Ask your own organization to sponsor a Fred Small concert. Nearly everyone is affiliated with a group that could put on a concert--a school, college, labor union, church, synagogue, folk music society, community center, women's or men's group, or any other social, cultural, or activist organization. Suggest a Fred Small concert as their next cultural event or fundraiser. (Caution: You may be the best person to organize it. If so, go for it!)
  12. Ask your school, university, or public library to acquire Fred's albums and songbook so others can enjoy them.
  13. Request Fred's albums and songbook at music stores and his songbook at bookstores. Every phone call asking "Do you have . . . ?" influences their wholesale buying. The more stores stock and display Fred's work, the more people will buy it.
  14. Ask your local newspaper to review or feature Fred's music. Has your paper reviewed Fred's latest album? His songbook? The next time Fred is coming to your area, contact the arts or lifestyle editor (or both) and suggest a feature on Fred. (Lifestyle editors frequently go for the "lawyer chucks it all for folk music angle.) Songs for a Changing World can send publicity materials or arrange an interview. Or ask the paper to send a reviewer to Fred's next local concert.
  15. Write Fred a fan letter! Performing artists constantly place themselves in front of hundreds and thousands of people, offering themselves and their art, sometimes feeling vulnerable and alone. It means a lot to Fred to hear your appreciation of his work. You can write him c/o SCW or at his home: l9 Griswold Street, Cambridge MA 02138.
  16. Volunteer for Songs for a Changing World! As you can see by the SCW questionnaire, there are many other ways, great and small, to apply your experience and imagination to getting Fred's music out. Please write us if you'd like to do more.
Thank you.

SONGS FOR A CHANGING WORLD
P. O. Box 637
Cambridge, MA 02139