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Speaker 1: Pushkin, I'm really grateful for you taking the time to

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Speaker 1: speak with me real quick about what you guys are doing.

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Speaker 1: I mean, Music Cares, to my mind, has always been

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Speaker 1: such a great resource for the music community. Many people

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Speaker 1: have many things to say about the big bad record industry.

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Speaker 1: I feel like Music Cares, though, might be one of

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Speaker 1: the true oasises within that industry where it's just like,

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Speaker 1: you know, you guys do so much good stuff. And

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Speaker 1: it's been a wild week in LA and everyone's affected.

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Speaker 1: But being as we're a music podcast and we have

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Speaker 1: people who are musicians who listen and people who are

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Speaker 1: in the area who are affected, I just thought it

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Speaker 1: might be nice to get a quick chat with you

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Speaker 1: about how you guys are helping and you know, if

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Speaker 1: anyone's listening who might need help that you guys are

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Speaker 1: a resource for them.

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Speaker 2: Well, first of all, justin let me just tell you

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Speaker 2: how much I love your podcast, and it means a

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Speaker 2: lot that you take a moment to bring us out

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Speaker 2: here and to feature us a little bit. Thank you.

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Speaker 2: You know, I'm amazed. You know who Music Cares is.

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Speaker 2: We don't really do marketing. We just started social media

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Speaker 2: what I think a year or two ago, you know,

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Speaker 2: so it's hard for us in an organization to sometimes

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Speaker 2: get our own story out there, So we really appreciate

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Speaker 2: you giving us an opportunity to speak. Yeah, we were

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Speaker 2: leading into a Grammy Week, which is normally a very

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Speaker 2: busy time of the year for all of the various

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Speaker 2: Grammy organizations. Music Cares was founded by the Recording Academy

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Speaker 2: thirty five years ago, and so we're one of their

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Speaker 2: affiliates if we are a five oh one C three charity,

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Speaker 2: and so we have our big fundraiser during Grammy Week.

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Speaker 3: It's called Music Cares Person of the Year.

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Speaker 2: It usually takes place the Friday before the big telecast,

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Speaker 2: so it's sort of like the charity gala of Grammy Week.

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Speaker 2: So it's already a taxing time period and Music Cares,

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Speaker 2: you know, over half of our operating budget is raised

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Speaker 2: that night. Eight you know, our ability to do our

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Speaker 2: year around Music Care's mission happens because of that charity

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Speaker 2: gala every year, so you can imagine the pressure around that.

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Speaker 2: And so the tragedy that started to unfold last week

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Speaker 2: has really been a massive pivot for the organization.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I guess, in one hand.

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Speaker 2: It's a beautiful thing that we're on the brink of

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Speaker 2: our fundraising gala because you know, the monies we raise

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Speaker 2: go directly back into the music community. But on the

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Speaker 2: other hand, it's just, I mean, there's no good way

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Speaker 2: to really look at it. It's just a terrible disaster and

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Speaker 2: it's terrible timing for everyone involved.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, what are some of the ways you imagine being

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Speaker 1: able to help because you know, of course there's like

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Speaker 1: the mediate disaster that's presently ongoing and hopefully getting on

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Speaker 1: the way to contend, but there's you know, a whole

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Speaker 1: multi year sort of fallout of this where you know,

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Speaker 1: people will just be out of homes and have lost

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Speaker 1: equipment and this is all new. But how do you

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Speaker 1: guys imagine you might be able to help? And who

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Speaker 1: are the kinds of people who's should be looking to

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Speaker 1: you guys for assistance?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, oh, good questions, justin and your instincts are right.

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Speaker 2: Disasters aren't just these moments of crisis where the disaster

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Speaker 2: is actually happening. Disaster relief. Unfortunately, it has a very

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Speaker 2: long tale. The stories go on because you know, crises

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Speaker 2: hit people in different ways.

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Speaker 3: There's not just you.

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Speaker 2: Know, one cookie cutter way and health in human services

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Speaker 2: organization like ours can help people. So what normally happens

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Speaker 2: is we have a first round of aid that goes

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Speaker 2: out and we try to standardize that as much as possible.

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Speaker 3: This, you know, we do that.

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Speaker 2: We've been doing disaster relief since Hurricane Katrina, and you know,

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Speaker 2: so this is very similar type of protocol we we

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Speaker 2: put into place. For example, we were already still doing

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Speaker 2: a disaster relief on Florida and the Carolinas for the

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Speaker 2: storms on this last ball. We did this during COVID

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Speaker 2: as well, and usually there's an initial relief effort, right,

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Speaker 2: so that's like a standardized in our case fifteen hundred

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Speaker 2: dollars financialists issiness grant.

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Speaker 3: And a five hundred dollars.

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Speaker 2: Grocery gift card that's ATF restricted which means you can't

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Speaker 2: buy things other than groceries with it. And we have

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Speaker 2: that first sort of standard round because we know people

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Speaker 2: are still in this case evacuated or you know, without

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Speaker 2: access to utilities, kids are out of school. Things are

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Speaker 2: different levels happening to a lot of people, and so

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Speaker 2: we just try to get out as quick as we

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Speaker 2: can those first initial rounds of relief and then you're right.

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Speaker 2: We move into sort of recovery resiliency services in coming months,

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Speaker 2: even a year out longer than that. It really depends

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Speaker 2: because right now people are still evacuated. So one person

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Speaker 2: might go home and they've lost their entire home. Another

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Speaker 2: person might go back and realize, oh, my goodness, my

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Speaker 2: home was saved, but you know, I have smoke damage

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Speaker 2: or something else. Right, So the full scope of the

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Speaker 2: disaster that we're looking at right now is not We

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Speaker 2: just don't know. It's not been fully revealed to any

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Speaker 2: one of us that are involved.

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Speaker 3: So your instincts are right.

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Speaker 2: It goes on far more than just this moment of

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Speaker 2: disaster relief, where it's important just to think about people's food,

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Speaker 2: their shelter, their safety, things of that nature. And then

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Speaker 2: we move into services like mental health, addictionary, recovery, you know,

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Speaker 2: instrument and replacement, equipment replacement, we help with insurance claims,

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Speaker 2: things of that nature.

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Speaker 1: Wow, who are the kinds of people that I guess

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Speaker 1: can reach out to music cares for those kinds of

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Speaker 1: basic needs in the short.

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Speaker 2: Term, So our mission is specifically for music professionals. We

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Speaker 2: ask people to demonstrate in this in disaster relief scenarios

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Speaker 2: three years of working in music in any capacity. So

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Speaker 2: it doesn't have to be a musician or a creator

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Speaker 2: or a performer. It could be anyone who works in

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Speaker 2: some form or fashion in the music industry. So in publishing,

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Speaker 2: it could work in publishing, a label executive, they could

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Speaker 2: they could be you know, live tour crew, really any facet.

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Speaker 3: Of the music industry.

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Speaker 2: We can support with our services, and we ask people

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Speaker 2: to reach out to us at Musiccares Relief at musiccares

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Speaker 2: dot org. Just tell us your situation, let us know

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Speaker 2: what's going on. Where are you right now? Are you safety,

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Speaker 2: have your basic needs met? What is it that we

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Speaker 2: can help you with? If people are willing to share

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Speaker 2: a broader narrative of what's going on, If that maybe

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Speaker 2: they already know they've lost their homes, and then we

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Speaker 2: have sort of an approval and vetting process, and at

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Speaker 2: that point then we'll release those initial realms of relief.

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Speaker 1: There's another group of people who imagine might be listening

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Speaker 1: who aren't musicians, or they might not be directly affected

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Speaker 1: by what's happening, and they might be wondering where they

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Speaker 1: can give money. Do you guys accept donations?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we are public charity, so we accept donations. We

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Speaker 2: need donations. I mean, I think we already have well

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Speaker 2: over a two thousand people who have come to us

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Speaker 2: saying they need help, and we're still in the active

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Speaker 2: crisis currently, and you know, if we were to just

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Speaker 2: get out that first round of aid to them, I'm

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Speaker 2: trying to do that math in my head. You know,

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Speaker 2: there's at least four million dollars already right there in

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Speaker 2: just this first round of aids, So it definitely could

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Speaker 2: use support if people are in a position to give.

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Speaker 2: Our donation page is Musiccares dot org slash fire Relief.

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Speaker 1: Okay, amazing, Well, thank you so much. I don't know,

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Speaker 1: is there anything else that you think people should know

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Speaker 1: or anything that'd be useful for you guys to get

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Speaker 1: out in terms of your mission.

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Speaker 2: And well, one more thing I'd love to share if

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Speaker 2: I could, is just that you know, we're here all

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Speaker 2: year long and we work with music people in times

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Speaker 2: of their own personal crises or even just in the

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Speaker 2: you know, preventative healthcare things of that nature, or health

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Speaker 2: in human services organization.

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Speaker 3: So I just would love our community to know whatever

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Speaker 3: part of music you.

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Speaker 2: Happen to work in music Cares is there for you

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Speaker 2: and that you can come to us anytime. It doesn't

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Speaker 2: have to be disaster related moments. I just love people

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Speaker 2: to know that, you know, to check out our website

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Speaker 2: Musiccares dot org and and know that we're here for

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Speaker 2: anyone should they need.

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Speaker 3: Them that help.

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Speaker 1: Always really grateful that you guys do that work, because

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Speaker 1: you know, none of us get into the arts because

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Speaker 1: we're necessarily you know, financially, you know, financial wizards, that

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Speaker 1: we know how to take care of ourselves and plan

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Speaker 1: for retirement or handle health care needs. You know, it's

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Speaker 1: like sometimes we're just driven by a passion and all

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Speaker 1: these other things in life, of course come up, whether

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Speaker 1: there are moments of personal crisis or disaster events like

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Speaker 1: this fire or Krtrina, And so really grateful that you

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Speaker 1: guys exist and can help in times like this and

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Speaker 1: then more kind of mundane times.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, oh, so appreciate that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's not an easy path for sure, but

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Speaker 2: we need that passion. You know, that passion is what

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Speaker 2: makes music as an art possible. And so Music Cares

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Speaker 2: exist because we respect the power of music in the

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Speaker 2: world and we need people to keep making it. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: certainly let us know if anyone out there needs some help.

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Speaker 1: Incredible, thanks so much, Laura, And we'll have all this

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Speaker 1: information in the episode description, so if anyone who's listen

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Speaker 1: and wants to donate, they can. We appreciate it all,

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Speaker 1: check it out, or if they need help they can

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Speaker 1: they can reach out to you guys.

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Speaker 3: Great, thank you again for having us here, like we're

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Speaker 3: big fans. Very succeeded when you when you reached out.

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Speaker 3: Thank you.

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Speaker 1: No, no big fans of what you guys do, so yeah,

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Speaker 1: really grateful. Thanks guys,