A CALL FOR HELP - SAVE LISTEN UP MUSIC
The Real Songwriters of Melbourne are absolutely heartbroken to hear that mental health music charity, Listen Up Music are facing financial hardship. We call upon our Community and the wider public to help save this important organisation so that they can continue to support the music industry during times of crisis.
It is no doubt that the past 3 years have been very challenging for everybody, in particular the music industry. However, what has been most prevalent is the amount of support that mental health services have provided to not just musicians, but to the whole world.
Listen Up Music, founded by Ali Taylor and Hank Paul in 2018 was born out of a passion for music and mental health. Their mission is to build a community, facilitate storytelling and promote positive mental health through the power of music. They seek to achieve this through a variety of events and services including the Songwriting Prize, a nation-wide songwriting competition in which many members of this community have been a part of.
“In a time where mental health awareness and action are paramount, the ability to put on these events for our most-at-risk demographic has become a near possibility,” says friend of Listen Up Music, Chrissy McHugh.
The last three years have seen the charity plan to run ten regional iterations of their Songwriting Prize Semi Finals and two Grand Finals. They were also due to run years 1, 2 and 3 of Torch Fest.
The result was that the charity has now suffered 11 postponements and 16 venue changes across that period and approximately 40% of their planned events went ahead despite them still being severely restricted, changed or cancelled entirely.
Whilst the charity was happy to hear that one season of Torch Fest could go ahead this year, they still experienced many obstacles including capacity and other government restrictions, last minute lineup cancellations due to COVID-19 infections as well as low attendance numbers due to low consumer confidence. Unfortunately with other costs including design, promotion, staffing, travel, development and other necessary costs needed to run these events, the charity are no longer able to remain confident as to what their future will look like.
“Despite their best efforts, 70+ grant applications, hundreds of sponsorship requests to keep them up and running, the sad reality is that at a time when the world needs mental health support more than ever, another initiative is going to have to fold as it simply cannot continue to put on these events without the support of the community in such a dire time," - Chrissy McHugh.
We here at The Real Songwriters of Melbourne are therefore calling upon our Community to please help Listen Up Music. A crowdfunding campaign has been set up by Chrissy in which aims to help the charity stay afloat.
As an organisation that also exists to support songwriters and create a community, we understand the time, love and dedication that is put in towards supporting the music industry and it is why we are standing strongly in support of this incredible charity.
We are very fortunate to have been involved with Listen Up Music at this year's Torch Fest festival in Melbourne and we have witnessed Ali's generosity first hand as well as the incredible impact that Listen Up Music has given to many songwriters in the industry. Ali is one of a kind and we are so lucky to have Listen Up Music as a resource and support network for anyone facing a mental health crisis.
"If you have ever lost someone to suicide, known someone with anxiety, depression or perhaps have suffered with these yourself, I implore you to help me keep this incredible charity alive by spreading the love, sharing this story and contributing anything you can. It all counts and we CAN make a difference for those who need it most," - Chrissy McHugh.
Thank you for your consideration and support.
Let’s join together and help Listen Up Music! You can help the charity by donating towards the crowdfunding campaign or spreading word about the campaign to your inner circle. Your act of kindness will definitely go a long way for this much-needed charity.
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