The recording industry’s Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF), a leading non-profit organization enriching lives and uniting communities through the power of music, is on track to distribute over $1,000,000 in grants for admission-free live concerts this April for Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM)
This is the second consecutive year that the dollar value of the grants, which pay professional jazz musicians to perform, will achieve that level. Last year, the funds supported 750 performances throughout the U.S. and Canada in April alone, including 75 that were live streamed through the MPTF’s Facebook page.
MPTF Trustee Dan Beck stated, “Regional pockets of live jazz are alive and well across North America, and it is fundamental to the genre. The local offices of the American Federation of Musicians do a tremendous job of organizing these performances for their communities and for their musicians.”
The MPTF plays a vital role in support of the music industry’s gig economy. Primarily funded by four major record companies, including Sony Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Walt Disney Records, the independently run organization has distributed millions of dollars in financial resources and grants, engaging professional musicians who are members of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) to perform live in admission-free events across North America. Since its founding in 1948, the MPTF has distributed more than $630 million (USD) in sponsorship money.
The annual campaign, themed by the MPTF as “Jazz Across America,” features the support of website partners www.allaboutjazz.com and www.jazznearyou.com, where performer and event location information for most of the performances are being listed. These websites boast the world’s largest jazz events calendars and reach a combined 240,000 viewers per month.
All live stream events will be featured on the MPTF Facebook page at https://facebook.com/the.mptf. Beck added, “Tuning in to live stream performance events as they happen is a unique way the public can experience jazz musicians from various locales throughout the U.S. and Canada.”
Jazz performances have been supported by the MPTF since it began more than 75 years ago, and over 1,600 regional jazz concerts have been funded since the end of the pandemic. With this year’s projections, the fund will have distributed more than $3.1 million in Jazz Across America grants to compensate these fine musicians.
Events will be organized by American Federation of Musicians locals to ensure fair compensation for all performers.