January 4, 2008

Friday’s Battle Cry: “Music News Day!”

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News 0104

  • Album sales in the US were down 9.5 percent from last year, even though digital sales rose 45 percent and “overall music perchases,” which include albums, singles, digital tracks and music videos, were up 14 percent.

  • The Foo Fighters will perform with an “unsigned instrumentalist” as part of an American Idol-style contest at this year’s Grammy Awards. The “My Grammy Moment” competition is open to string, woodwind and brass players, one of whom will join Dave Grohl & co. at the ceremony February 10th.

  • Swedish singer-songwriter José González is planning a “green tour” of North America, partnering with a company called Reverb to provide biodegradeable catering supplies and offsetting the tour’s carbon emissions. Tour dates include NYC’s Highline Ballroom on 3/11, LA’s Wiltern on 3/25, and SF’s Fillmore on 3/27.

  • I’m not talking about Britney Spears.
    •

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    WE CAME UP SHORT.

    We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

    That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

    So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

    Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

    And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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