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Benefit for you:
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You get to be part of an international community of volunteers who are working hard to build a great songwriting industry – on a non-profit level (our organization is a non-profit 501 c.3) public charity organization. We are all volunteer songwriters so your contribution is invaluable. You may find that you have more ideas than what we provide here which is great!
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Your membership with Songsalive! will continue free of charge (receiving all our benefits), during your Chapter coordination (it doesn’t extend beyond services though). You also get personal promotion through Songsalive! Read about the member benefits here.
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You can host your own events with the promotional muscle Songsalive! provides. It elevates you in the music industry instantly.
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You can feel like you are contributing to a worthy cause – supporting and promoting songwriters and composers, with a global mission in mind. Did you know that songwriters are the least “heard” people in the music industry? Yet we are the writers of the songs that make the industry successful. So why not assist and support songwriters and their rights, and at the same time, save a few rainforests!?
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You can create a songwriters community in your area, which is the number 1 reason why chapters are started: a place for songwriters to gather, feel supported, and get promoted. Many of our chapter coordinators join us because as songwriters or artists, they feel isolated or out of the loop. When creating a chapter, they attract like minded songwriters and a community is born!
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Some programs require money paid (fees) from non-members to participate. You can either keep the entry fee from non-members as your admin fee, or like the rest of us, put it into a Cash Box to use for any expenses you may incur on behalf of Songsalive! Please note that all our team worldwide work voluntarily with no salary, but if you feel you are deserving of some of the monies you generate, we will be supportive of that, such as gas, parking or meals reimbursement. (Sometimes the load can feel overwhelming in working for the common cause!)
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Try it for a year. It’s not a lifelong commitment.
Benefit for us:
We would like to expand our non-profit organization to many different cities and countries. The altruistic benefit for us is that we will know we have reached more songwriters, creating mini-songwriting communities (chapters) and provided opportunities for support, promotion and exposure. In turn, we hope to generate more financial members. By you running a chapter in your area, we are able to assist and promote more songwriters and composers, as well create awareness for larger global issues.
Mission: Encourage and foster all genres of original music and song expression within our songwriters' communities, in order to support and promote songwriters and composers worldwide, through critique workshops, showcases, events, educational seminars, conferences, and programs with continued development, annual reviews and expansion. Recently we have expanded our mission to include raising awareness about global, humanitarian and social issues affecting our world. We are doing this by collaborating with other non-profits specializing in these areas and also through the power of music and the music industry – staging concerts, events and programs that raise this much needed awareness.
Read more about us and our constitution >
Steps to take:
1. Join Songsalive! as a member, before we consider you as a chapter team coordinator. That way you get to know how we operate, and you abide by our terms and conditions of membership. JOIN HERE.
2. Read the Chapter Coordinator position description here
3. Familiarize yourself with Songsalive! and make sure that your goals are along the same lines as us. Make sure you read about us on the website www.songsalive.org and in our membership flyers.
Some pages to look at specifically:
4. Contact us when you are ready to get started. Email Mary Lemanski, our "Director of Operations" Read about her here.
5. Agree to our Formal Agreement - we have a formal agreement you would sign to participate in a new chapter setup program which basically protects our name and your rights. Know that being on the Songsalive team is a VOLUNTARY POSITION. There is no salary or payment, but fantastic opportunity for exposure, industry elevation and room for growth.
As the Leader/Coordinator of your Chapter you will manage the membership, programs, events, and team for the area. You will be the visible ambassador for Songsalive! You will represent us at local music industry conferences and events. You will heighten our presence in the community and will be charged with maintaining and growing a vibrant membership.
Agreeing to be a coordinator for Songsalive!, means agreeing to the following: Chapter Coordinator Agreement
Read more about the Songsalive! Coordinator Role.
6. Find a Venue to host a Workshop and/or Showcase.
Program 1: a Songsalive! Songwriters Workshop
At least once a month, on a recurring day or evening (eg first Sundays of the month, 3pm), you would conduct a Workshop where members and interested songwriters can gather, network and gain feedback from their songs. Click here for information about workshops.
Workshops are where songwriters get together and critique their work, get feedback from the other songwriters. It's a closed group (not open to the general public) and can even be done in a house, or coffee shop on non-public hours. In Sydney we have presented them at Apra (the Ascap of Australia) in the board room. In Los Angeles we have presented them at a coffee house, out the back on the patio, and an art gallery that has been provided for us on Sundays when they are normally closed. In San Francisco, Nashville and Boston, often in the coordinator’s music studio. Other cool places are colleges, Ascap or BMI offices, halls, schools, clubs, churches. Wherever you can bring as little as 5 and up to 30 songwriters together, without much distraction. We are flexible where and when you host them but they are closed to the public (i.e an open coffee shop may not be the right place as it's not a concert for passers-by, but for attendees to the workshop). If there is a cafe that has low traffic, then that would be ok. The first half is dedicated to the workshopping/critiquing where one person sits up front in front of the horse shoe of the audience and presents their song either on cd, tape or live (acoustic). He/she gives out typed lyric sheets of the song to the others to critique either vocally, privately or writing on the lyric sheet. Then there is a break followed by either a guest speaker from the industry or a great discussion of a current music topic. We can send you more info about Workshops. It's $5 for non-members (i.e, new songwriters who haven't joined Songsalive! as members yet) and free for members of Songsalive! (also $2 for members from other associations. We encourage cross collaboration). This money stays in your petty cash fund box (see below.)
This is a Songsalive! blueprint. It’s our concept, and is unique. We hope that you keep to the formula.
Program 2: a Songsalive! Songwriters Showcase
Also, once a month, on a recurring night (e.g last Tuesdays of the month), chapters run a Showcase.It is ok if you choose a Workshop or Showcase, but it's great if you can do both.Sometimes both can be on the same night, but be sure that the first half (workshop) is closed to public) and second half (showcase) is open to public. Cafes are fine for this, or a small club. In L.A we have two venues, an elegant acoustic songwriter venue, and a cafe.Also in Austin. In Phoenix, San Francisco and Chicago a small club. In Sacramento, we used a guitar shop! We love to hear about new an unique venues to present showcases that focus on the "song" most of all. More about Showcases here.
More about our current Chapters and their events here
We only allow members to perform unless we know of some awesome talent we want to promote and they end up joining because they see what we are doing. Everyone can apply online to perform at a showcase at the Showcase application. It would also be listed on your new chapter page. You'll see that the Showcase Application offers artists an easy way to submit their application to the chapter coordinators online (through Sonicbids EPKs), via email, or mail.
If you feel it warranted, charge an entry fee at the door of the showcase. This money can stay with you at your chapter in a petty cash box fund (see below how handy that becomes.)
Why not consider a house concert? We call them Songsalive! Living Room SessionsTM
These are by far one of the simpler methods to host a music event, but avoid the hassle of dealing with venues. A house concert has a simple formula. You book 3-4 singer-songwriters with one hot well known featured headliner. Or, about 6-8 unknown songwriters. All should have a core fan base they can invite. Organize flyers and promote to your network of fans and friends. Offer pot luck food or put on a spread and charge your guests an entry that will cover the feed. You can either user a p.a sound system, or unamplified, depending on the acoustics in the house. Songsalive! Living Room Sessions are a fab way to go.
* * * * If you can only do either a workshop or a showcase, that’s fine too. Just let us know what you can do.
7. Help recruit members to join Songsalive! All details on membership here. We will supply you membership forms that you can give out, or they can join online. ALL MEMBERSHIP fees and details are sent to our Head Office in Los Angeles or Sydney.
8. Keep a petty cash box.Work on a cash basis, no need to set up a bank account. All monies transacted from programs and events (except membership which we handle in L.A) can be kept in a Cash Box safely with you. Keep a cash account book so that you can keep track of monies in and monies out. We may want to see this every year. Please know that any money you make above and beyond recruiting memberships (forwarded to head office), is kept with your chapter. That's why you need a petty cash box, like a piggy bank. You will need money now and then to cover your small expenses, and maybe even get entrepreneurial and host seminars and events that may need some money you generate. Read about the Cost Factors below.
9. Build a local mailing list. You can contact members and interested songwriters through our direct mailing list. Once you're set up, we would ask that you help build our mailing lists from our central location with your local emails.
10. Market your events - We look to you to be imaginative and clever at writing press releases and flyers to promote your new Songsalive! events and programs. We would absolutely help you and can provide existing templates to work from. All promotional material is to be approved by head office via a quick email to us. We have a certain criteria on when we need press releases in and what we need from you (accountability) in promoting the events in an effective way. People don't just turn up. You have to let them know!
11. We will set you up with everything you need to run a chapter
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a Songsalive! email address for you. (either a separate gmail account or we forward it to your email. You would make sure you have www.songsalive.org in the footer for all your Songsalive! correspondence.
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a chapter web page for your chapter city. See our other chapter web pages here.
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Team member status - we'll change your member level to 'team' and it will never run out while you work with us Also you will be part of a yahoogroup just for our team worldwide to communicate with each other on the executive level. We will promote you as part of our team and introduce you to the other team members. You’ll feel welcomed and feel part of a bigger world!We will add a short bio and picture of you on our team page, and on a special chapter page for you, and connect you with the team at large to discuss, share, learn and impart.
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will supply you with promotional material: Membership forms (tri-fold pamphlets), postcards, an email address, business cards if necessary, a banner for your events, sample promotional flyers, etc. We also email you templates for making local chapter flyers, artist confirmations and press releases.
COST FACTORS
AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WE DO NOT PAY GUEST SPEAKERS. THIS IS A NON-PROFIT PUBLIC BENEFIT EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION (PRIMARILY) AND WE ASK SPEAKERS TO LEND THEIR TIME TO COME TALK TO OUR MEMBERS.
WE ALSO DON'T GENERALLY PAY ARTISTS TO PERFORM FOR US. WE SEE OUR PROGRAMS AND EVENTS AND AN OPPORTUNITY OF EXPOSURE FOR ARTISTS AND EVEN BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS TO SHARE, PROMOTE AND EXPOSE THEIR MUSIC OR SERVICE AND SO IT IS VERY SYMBIOTIC.
THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS, AND THAT IS WHEN THE CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GENERATE SOME PETTY CASH, FROM WORKSHOPS, SHOWCASES OR OTHER EVENTS AND CAN USE THEIR DISCRETION TO OFFSET SPEAKERS OR ARTISTS' COSTS IN ANY WAY.
THIS IS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL, YET NON-PROFIT, VOLUNTEER DRIVEN, ALTRUISTIC OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO CREATE AND BUILD A TARGETED SONGWRITERS' MUSIC COMMUNITY, PURSUE THE SONGSALIVE! AIMS AND OBJECTIVES, SUPPORT SONGWRITERS, HELP US PROVIDE SERVICES, PROGRAMS & EDUCATION TO SONGWRITERS AND ARTISTS, AND ELEVATE YOUR OWN ARTISTRY AND BUSINESS SKILLS (EVEN ATTRACT THE WORLD TO YOU IF SO DESIRED ;)
Some Conditions to consider:
Please also appoint 1 (minimum) if not 2 helpers and provide us their names and contacts. A chapter is best run with more than 1 person.
In the event that you resign from the Songsalive! team, all correspondence, monies and programs revert to Head Office where we will take over until we find someone else to continue the Chapter and/or programs. You cannot start something with us, resign off the team, and continue on the same programs under a different name.
We will not be obligated for any payments or incur any liability relating to your endeavours in setting up and running a Chapter in your area; You will fully indemnify and hold Us harmless against any loss incurred or payment made, including attorneys fees, by reason of anything to the contrary to any of the foregoing. By the way, we have an agreement that we’d like you to sign, if you choose to be a Chapter Coordinator.
The name Songsalive!TM is owned by Gillian Aliotti and will not be traded or used without permission. All events, ideas and programs must be approved by Gillian Aliotti, President (U.S/World) or Roxanne Kiely, Director of Operations (Australia) for use in your territory.
Ok! Are you up for the challenge?
Let us know your thoughts and start up ideas. We’ll try and help you as much as possible to get it going, get the word out there, and support you, also, as a songwriter.
Thanks for the interest, and energy!
Email Mary Lemanski, our Director of Operations
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