today’s vegetable

Kristin Hersh is the heart of CASH Music. It started with an idea of hers, she helps guide the organization on our board, and her music serves as a pulse for our efforts. It is impossible for me to overstate how much she means to CASH and also to me personally. So I think it’s fitting that she be the first artist I talk about in my month-long series of daily posts.

CASH began with the first of Kristin’s Speedbath tracks, and at the time I barely knew her. We’re from the same part of the world so we had some friends in common, but that was about it. I knew a few Throwing Muses songs, but not more than three. Listening to ‘Slippershell’ for the first time it clicked. Here was this big sound full of guitar nuances against primal explosions. Right away I got it.

And that’s Kristin, to me. I get it, and I like to think that we understand each other. The way she thinks makes some kind of sense to me and I can hear it in her songs, just like she always understood what we’re building together with CASH — well before we had words on paper to explain it. What’s so great about Kristin Hersh — as an artist and as a person — is her perspective. She can see the world from another angle and manage to show that to you. It’s a rare quality in people, but she manages to do it with her songs, her words, and her guitar.

She and Billy have changed my life, changed my direction, and brought real meaning to my world. Simply put: CASH Music wouldn’t exist without them. And in an amazing act of support, Kristin has once again donated her time to support CASH. She’s given 5 pairs of tickets to a private studio concert for 10 as an entry in our raffle. (Location will be worked out between all the winners, and if anyone can’t make it they can grab a private feed/chat online.)

One last note. There are two things Kristin can do better than everyone on the planet: make spring rolls and play guitar. I’ll allow arguments about the former, but anyone arguing that there’s a better guitarist might have to fight me.

Kristin’s CASH fundraiser contribution
Kristin at CASH
50FOOTWAVE at CASH
kristinhersh.com

I’ve had a terrible time writing this post. The problem is that I’m so excited and we’ve been working so hard to organize a fundraiser for CASH that when it came time to put it into my own words…well…for the first time in my life I’ve been rendered essentially speechless. Or typeless I guess.

We’ve just launched a new CASH Music website featuring a month-long fundraiser and more information about the organization. The feeling is one of accomplishment, though this is really only the beginning.

The site describes the fundraiser better than I could, introduces the new “different currencies, different values” copy, and announces our board. So I’ll leave the ‘official’ communication there for now. Instead, I’m going to post here every day for the rest of this month, talking about specific artists and their contributions to our fundraiser, what we’re trying to accomplish, and how things are going.

(Be warned there may be an interruption at some point. For those that don’t know me personally, our second daughter is expected right in the middle of all this…so if I don’t write, well, it’s probably for very happy reasons.)

That’s the bulk of what I’d like to say for now, save one last sentiment:

Thank you.

Thanks to the CASH board who have been so supportive and helpful as we’ve been building this organization through sheer determination. Thank you to all the artists who have so generously contributed items, music, and art to this effort. It’s been unbelievably gratifying to gain the support of people who’s work and creativity I admire so much. And to everyone that has supported CASH Music, told your friends, or sent kind words — I can’t express just the difference that it makes. Thank you.

Much more coming soon.

“Brevity is the soul of wit”
— Shakespeare, as Lord Polonius in Hamlet

Unfortunately brevity is not my strength.

But I’m trying.

We’ve been working to craft the mission statement for CASH as well as find a way to describe our efforts in less than an hour conversation. I wrote a few paragraphs (below) that don’t accomplish either of those goals, but hopefully start both on their way. So consider it a really early draft, but here goes:

***

33⅓ is a number etched into vinyl and into our hearts as a link to a bygone era in music. It wasn’t just a play speed, it was a technological baseline that musicians could count on when it was time to release their music to the world. A release could be upgraded to a picture disc, a gatefold. It could be backed by the most PR dollars or airplay. But making it spin at 33⅓ was a constant that all artists could rely on to make their music accessible to all.

CASH Music is trying to create a similar technological baseline by building open tools and services. We are a nonprofit and all code is being written as open-source, and will accessible to all either through a hosted service or by taking the code and setting up a new server. We feel that artists should all be able to release, promote, and distribute their music in the ways that their audience wants to consume. We also strive to provide education and case studies, so artists can make informed decisions in the use of any digital-era tools, ours or otherwise.

We’re not trying to replace any industry or service. CASH Music is simply trying to provide a solid foundation upon which all artists and listeners can build while participating in the new music landscape.

“Why nonprofit?”

That’s usually the first question. The answer has a few parts, but starts simply: because it’s the right fit for what CASH Music is trying to do.

It’s important to understand just what it means to be a nonprofit. It doesn’t mean that the organization can’t make money, just that any money made must be put back into the mission. There can be no investors expecting returns, and a board is established to help set and oversee the organizational goals. There’s also a stack of paperwork, tax exemptions coupled with mandatory audits, and free lunch in the IRS cafeteria for the staff. Except not that last one.

My point is that we aren’t meaningfully restricted by being a nonprofit, aside from the lack of investment capital. (Okay, that is pretty meaningful but there are advantages to not being beholden to investors expecting a major return on their money.)

We explored business plans for both nonprofit and for-profit options. Some went further than others, but in the end we just had more ways to do what we wanted as a nonprofit. Yeah, it’s a harder road at first, but it allows us to focus on merit-based help as much as economically-driven initiatives. We can operate more openly going forward, and ultimately put effort into directly assisting/advising artists, reaching out to music lovers, and building tools that are driven by artists and the communities supporting them.

What we’re aiming to build isn’t a destination site, but a suite of tools, services, and opportunities for artists, listeners, labels, and anyone involved in the music ecosphere. We’d like all of it it be able to help build new music models, kick-start new businesses, and support existing organizations and artists. I know — lofty goals for a young organization. But taking an open, and open-source approach to tech allows anyone to benefit from our work, and will encourage all of the above. And while there are open-source models that make sense in some for-profit models, going nonprofit is a natural fit.

Nonprofit status offers other advantages as we grow and become more established. In many ways it helps us stay flexible in a complicated environment. We can suggest alternatives to our own technology if it’s a better fit for a specific artist or project. In the future we plan on putting major efforts into education, outreach, and even arts funding. These elements all complement the current technology push, and together form a more complete vision for CASH Music. We’ll provide case studies and research; grants for emerging artists or music/tech innovation. Knowledge and funding coupled with tech development.

This is a very simplified version of a not particularly simple idea. But hopefully it’s enough to understand our thinking and why we felt it was important to push forward as a nonprofit. More than anything this structure allows us to work directly with artists and listeners, everyone feeling true ownership in the project. Because it’s not mine. Not the shareholders’. CASH Music exists to serve music, and anyone that participates shares a claim.

Not to ruin a perfectly good hippie ending, but I wanted to say thank you to all the people who wrote in after my last post. Please feel free to keep emailing/commenting. It’s very important to me that this is as public a dialog as possible. On that note, one thing that was brought up by a few people who emailed was a lack of a specific call to action. They’re right. So we’re still working on details, but we’re planning to roll out a very specific awareness/fundraising campaign soon.

Just wanted to mention that. Now back to our regularly scheduled end-of-post. Thanks.

The short version: I need to talk about CASH Music more than I do. So I’ll blog at least once a week, and Twitter more openly. I’m swamped trying to keep up with the demands of CASH Music, but it’s the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. There are people ready to join the effort, but I’m still working on how to make that happen. And I’m asking for help — not just donations but belief and support in spreading the word. Thanks.

I spend a lot of time talking about artists, music that I love, and people that are involved with CASH Music. The artists, the music — they’re where the passion driving CASH lies, so I rarely talk about CASH itself. But that has to change if CASH is ever to realize it’s potential. I’m not always comfortable talking about myself, and to a degree I extend that to my organization. So today I’m making a resolution to talk more, tell the story behind CASH Music, honest for all the good and the bad.

That story needs to start with a simple, but mostly unknown truth: to this point CASH has largely been a one person effort. CASH Music and, well, me are fairly interchangeable.

That’s not at all to take away from the amazing support and help I’ve gotten from scores of people. (Scores. Really! I made a list.) A lot of people have played roles and theirs will be the stories that drive CASH going forward. I want to tell those stories, but it was suggested (strongly) that I start with the story of how we got here, lowering all defenses and talking about myself.

So hi. I’m Jesse von Doom. Nice to meet you.

I’m the Executive Director of CASH Music. I’ve also been the primary back-end developer. And the primary front-end developer. The designer behind every page except our current homepage. I talk to the artists. I talk to the managers. I talk to the labels. I talk to other companies. I write most of the copy. And you get the point.

To date there are over 30 artist projects on CASH Music using the code I’ve strung together.  That spans about 18 months, with a few of those projects in constant metamorphosis. Many of them have been pre-release projects for artists or labels to bring music to the press. Others are private projects shared between artists and select groups of fans. And then there are the public projects. All of them are tailored to the need, designed from the ground up, and extend the codebase. Throwing out a list of names:

50FOOTWAVE, Adam Gnade, Apollo Sunshine, Buraka Som Sistema, Colourmusic, Creative Commons, The Dandy Warhols, Deerhoof, Donita Sparks, Fischerspooner, Kristin Hersh, Learning Music, Lushlife, Marnie Stern, Portugal. The Man, RENMINBI, The Secret Machines, The Thermals, The Vines, Throwing Muses, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Xiu Xiu

In all honesty I’m listing names because I’m proud of them. But also so you’ll know that this work has all been done with high expectations. And its a lot of work. All-in it adds up to between fifty and seventy hours a week, generally trending towards the latter. Not all that different from anyone heading a startup, except for a few points:

• CASH Music is unfunded. No angel money, no investors, nothing.
   
• CASH Music is a nonprofit organization in the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and we’ve got pending 501(c)3 status on the Federal level. But until that status shifts from ‘pending’ to ‘approved’ there’s no grant money and fundraising is a lot more difficult.
   
• I need to work side-jobs, odd-jobs, and even odder-jobs on top of those hours to make ends meet.
   
• And building a nonprofit doesn’t come with an exit strategy. Unlike a traditional for-profit startup I don’t hold any ownership and can’t sell the business. The goal is to create an organization that I believe needs to exist, and my personal hope is that the organization will be able to pay me a livable wage.
   
• And one last point about artist projects: the most CASH has ever charged for a single project is $300, and more than half have been done for free because the music was worthy, the people involved had a need, and the work would further the platform. Yes artists are contributing to ensure our costs are covered, but some simple math shows that the livable wage goal is still on the to-do pile.

I’m afraid this is going to come across as me complaining. Nothing could be further from the truth…I feel lucky to have come this far with CASH. I’m just trying to create a backdrop. To show the harsh truth so as I write more people will understand why it’s so exciting for me to see CASH go from “me” to “we” as it grows.

I also want it known that this is a labor of love. No. A labor of need. Of demand. Something that has to happen and no matter how foolish it might look to someone, the mission had to start being served now. Immediately.

The vision for CASH Music isn’t easy to take in all at once. We (yes ‘we’) picture an organization that builds open-source software that handles media, manages people, drives campaigns, assists commerce, provides statistics, helps artists release music, and helps listeners enjoy music. No single model, but tools to enable models to be built bespoke for an artist. Or by an artist. We see the organization providing hosting for these tools as a cohesive platform, open and shaped by its users. We plan on studying what’s working and what’s not, providing analysis, thinking, and guidance in a public archive. And looking longer term we hope to establish grants for emerging artists, public music, and innovative projects.

The tech development started long ago. There are proofs-of-concept — some dating back almost two years — over 30 of them. Analysis and statistics have influenced each new project as it starts. And grants? We’ll get there.

The people are starting to come into place, and I’ll introduce them all here in time. CASH has an amazing board that I’m proud to work with. We’ve got the help of some great business thinkers, a few gifted volunteer developers, and people who are increasingly generous with their time. As a team takes shape, my job is to find a way to start paying us all. We’ve got a plan for revenue once the platform launches, so it’s just about getting there.

So why am I writing all this? Well, first to simply start the story. But also to ask for help. And I’m not talking only about donations though they are an amazing help and appreciated more than I can adequately express. I’m also talking about spreading the word. Tell your friends, Tweet about @cashmusic, find the Facebook group, talk about it on your blog. I’m asking you to start listening to this story. That’s the first step in believing. And I guess I was wrong above. My job isn’t to find money. It’s to make people believe in this project as much as I do.

I’ll write progress reports here at least once a week. If you want to know more, just ask. Or wait a few days and read more. If you have something to say, please say it.

I’m here to talk. You can write me at jesse [at] cashmusic [dot] org. You can drop me a line on Twitter @jessevondoom. And I promise I’ll even read the comments on this blog.

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. I know it’s a lot, but it was the least I could say.