Mission: Music Aims to Provide Relief to Local Musicians

Those often forgotten in situations with economic strife are the independent workers- artists who sustain their living based on live performance and profitable community engagement. With the world in a tailspin, it has become difficult for these performers to continue spreading their releases. This is where Mission Music comes in. 

The Boston-based project is a coalition of Union Sound, Dust Collectors Records, and Flagg Street Studio. It originated with an idea from workers at Flagg Street Studio, who came to Erik Sarno, founder of Union Sound based in Somerville, inspired by the UK where royalties from old musical releases were being put together for a COVID-19 fund. The group “pushed the idea further”, according to Sarno. “While they were spinning up that piece, I began reaching out to musicians, producers, and Bret Silverman at Dust Collectors.” They began calling for music to be submitted on April 21st.  

With this outreach, the team compiled Unbeatable, their first playlist that funnels all of the streaming revenue for the tracks directly into The Record Co.’s Boston Music Maker COVID-19 Relief Fund. The fund has already raised over $100,000, with 568 local artists receiving grants. Twenty-three artists have signed up to donate all royalties to the fund through Unbeatable, mostly from the Boston hip hop community. Sarno shared, “While it doesn’t span genres, there are various styles and subgenres of hip hop showcased in the music.”

The immense aid comes at a time of devastation for the community. On April 15th the Massachusetts Cultural Council released a report highlighting that 62% of cultural organizations who primarily employ musicians and artists have had to layoff or furlough employees, totaling in 15,381 impacted workers. These organizations lost $$264,799,746 in revenue. Sarno pointed out that DJs and artists who were excited to perform this past weekend at Boston Calling were placed in a difficult situation, forfeiting a huge milestone in their careers. 

However, when asked if he envisions live acts returning, Sarno was quick to answer positively. In the meantime he advises audiences to continue to stream the work of their favorite artist. “Purchase their music on Bandcamp”, he instructed. “Buy merch. Share releases on social media. You can do all this from the safety and comfort of your home!”

You can learn more at missionmusic.org and contribute what you can to the Boston Music Maker COVID-19 Relief Fund. Unbeatable is available on all streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify.