No PUA Payments Anymore…What’s Going to Happen With Us Working Musicians?
“85% of people are more scared of financial ruin than dying of Corona.” – Keith Levenson Text by Dawoud Kringle On July 31st, 2020, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) or the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) $600 weekly payments to individuals who are unable to work because of a COVID-19-related reason but are not eligible…
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Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Extension: Call Your Senators!!!
Click here to tell the Senate to support critical pieces of the HEROES Act in the next COVID 19 relief bill including: Extending Pandemic Unemployment Compensation which provides an additional $600 per week that unemployed workers have been receiving since the CARES Act passed in March. Preserving healthcare benefits by passing a 100% COBRA premium…
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MFM PODCAST EPISODE 9: Mark Deutsch discusses the artistic and professional processes and aspects of his pursuit of a unique musical vision
In this episode of the MFM Speaks Out, Dawoud Kringle interviews California based musician, improviser, composer, and inventor of the Bazantar Mark Deutsch about his personal evolution from contrabass and sitar virtuoso to designing an unprecedented musical instrument, his artistic and spiritual philosophies on music, and the struggles of being an innovator and iconoclast. Mark started as a…
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MFM Endorses Musicians Public Event “For Our Courageous Workers a City-Wide Symphonic Fanfare”
MFM endorses this public musicians event on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at 7pm. For Our Courageous Workers a City-Wide Symphonic Fanfare was conceived by Frank London, Hajnal Pivnick and Dorian Wallace. Composers Frank London (of The Klezmatics), and Hajnal Pivnick and Dorian Wallace (of Tenth Intervention) have joined forces on this effort to bring the city…
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Call To Action: Sign the MWA Petition Endorsed by MFM
MUSICAL ARTISTS CALL FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE IN THE DIGITAL DOMAIN At market closing on April 10th, while tens of thousands of musicians and DJs across the country tried to access unemployment benefits, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Larry Page of Google/Youtube had earned $6.2 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively, for the week, according to Forbes.…
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MFM Public Musicians Forum #20 w. Guest Speaker Val Kinzler Report
REPORT: MFM Public Forum Meeting #20 By Dawoud Kringle On Thursday, February 27th, MFM held its monthly Public Forum Meeting #20 at Wingspan Arts (NY). After MFM President Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi opened the meeting, he presented the first speaker for the forum; Val Kinzler. A native of Queens, NY, Ms. Kinzler became interested in music…
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MFM Public Musicians Forum #19 w. Guest Speaker Michael McHugh Report
By Dawoud Kringle The first MFM Public Forum Meeting of 2020 ushered in the new year with a sense of optimism and forward thinking. The first speaker of the meeting was Michael W. McHugh. McHugh is a musician and booing agent with a long and impressive history. He’d primarily booked downtown NYC clubs such as…
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MFM and We, the World Fundraiser & Holiday Celebration
MFM and We, the World Celebrating Fundraiser Advocating #UnityInTheMusicCommunity and #MakingMusicIsAProfession By Dawoud Kringle Photos by Carla Maria Rupp On Saturday, December 21st, 2019, MFM and We, the World joined forces at Dardo Galletto Studios, NYC, for a holiday party and fundraiser, and to celebrate unity and solidarity. We, The World and MFM member Rick…
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2019 MFM Annual Membership Meeting Report
Date: December 4, 2019 Venue: WingSpan Arts (NY) By Dawoud Kringle On Wednesday, December 4th, 2019, MFM held its annual membership meeting. The purpose of this meting is to analyze MFM’s activities and progress for the past year, and plan for the coming new year. After MFM President Sohrab Saadat Ladjavardi’s opening address, the meeting began with…
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MFM Public Musicians Forum #18 w. Guest Speaker Michele Gambetta (ArtCondo) Report
By Dawoud Kringle On Wednesday, November 19th, 2019, MFM held its Public Musician’s Forum #18. In the past, these forums had dealt almost exclusively with music business. This forum was different; it focused on an entirely different business and how it relates to the music business. Michele Gambetta is a NYC-based artist who has been…
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