HINT at Pitchfork Festival

Attention musicians attending the Pitchfork Festival: Alex Maiolo, project coordinator for FMC's Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT), will be at Chicago's Union Park this weekend (July 17-19), to spread the word about FMC's free service for musicians.

HINT is an information resource that helps musicians learn about their health insurance options. After scheduling an appointment on the HINT website, artists get a call from health insurance experts (who are also musicians) who go over an individual's options on case-by-case, state-by-state basis.

In between catching some quality rock (it's a tough life), Alex will be talking to musicians and managers about HINT. He probably won't have time to do one-on-one sessions, but if you're a musician who's planning on being at Pitchfork Festival, you can shoot him an e-mail here to get set up for one of his informal group chats.

You can also check out an earlier podcast interview with Alex here, where he talks more in depth about the program and why health insurance is so important for musicians.

“HealthCare Remix” Discussion on Reform

Next week (July 8th, 2009), FMC Communications Director Casey Rae-Hunter will participate in a “HealthCare Remix” Discussion on Reform at the Service Employees International Union in Washington DC.

For our part of the conversation, we'll be talking about the issue of health insurance and musicians. Specifically, we'll describe the Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT) — a free service that provides musicians with high-quality one-on-one info about their health insurance options, from a fellow musician/health insurance expert. (HINT doesn't sell insurance or even make recommendations — it's an information resource for musicians to get a handle on what their options are).

The official media advisory is below:

“HealthCare Remix” Discussion on Reform

SEIU, Lupus Foundation for America Greater Washington, & Future of Music Coalition to hold open discussion on how individuals in the arts & beyond can benefit from reform

[Washington, DC] – In 2005, J Dilla was an influential hip-hop producer and rising artist whose promising life was cut short by complications stemming from his battle with Lupus. Without health insurance, the costs associated with his care reached triple digits. In the United States, 60% of uninsured Americans are self-employed or employed by a small business that does not offer health benefits. Please join us for a discussion on how healthcare reform can prevent the kind of financial stress and hardship the Yancey family has endured due to the high cost of medical treatment.

WHO: Mr. Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor, member of A Tribe Called Quest & Diabetes patient; Ms. Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, J Dilla’s mother; Dr. L Toni Lewis, President of Committee of Interns & Residents/SEIU; Reverend Lennox Yearwood, Hip Hop Caucus; Casey-Rae Hunter, Future of Music Coalition

WHAT: Roundtable discussion about healthcare reform and its implications for individuals in the arts and beyond.

Where: SEIU International Headquarters
1800 Massachusetts Ave, Washington, DC

When: Wednesday, July 8th 1 – 2 PM

To RSVP: Please RSVP to healthcareremix@gmail.com.

The event is planned in conjunction with the 4th Annual J Dilla Tribute & Fundraiser presented by SEIU, LFAGW & Hedrush Entertainment, hosted by Phife (ATCQ) & Grap Luva @ Liv Nightclub on Wednesday at 9 PM. Special guests include: J Dilla's mom, Ma Dukes Yancey, and his younger brother, Illa Jay. For questions or more information about the Tribute Event please call Elizabeth Muniot at 202.212.6760.

###

With 2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy.

Founded in 1974, the Lupus Foundation of America Greater Washington (LFAGW) Chapter, Inc. provides free, current information, education programs and outreach services to improve the quality of lives for people with lupus while also supporting research. Toll-free number in D.C., Md., Va. and W.Va.: 1-888-349-1167 or 202-349-1167. Web site: www.lupusgw.org.

The Hip Hop Caucus, founded on September 11, 2004, has developed a 700,000 member national database, and created field teams in 48 cities across 30 states. The mission of the Hip Hop Caucus is to work towards ending urban poverty for the next generation. We organize young people in urban communities to be active in elections, policymaking, and service projects. Through Hip Hop culture, celebrities, cultural media, technology, and grassroots organizing, we reach young people of color from low-income communities, who are traditionally unengaged in the political process.

About Future of Music Coalition
Future of Music Coalition is a national non-profit education, research and advocacy organization that seeks a bright future for creators and listeners. FMC works towards this goal through continuous interaction with its primary constituency — musicians — and in collaboration with other creator/public interest groups.

RIP Jay Bennett

You may have already heard the news about the unfortunate death of multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Jay Bennett, whose talents graced the Wilco records Being There, Summerteeth and the seminal Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. (Bennett's departure from the band is partially documented in director Sam Jones' Wilco documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.)

Post-Wilco, Bennett released several solo albums and produced and/or guest performed on a wide range of releases from other artists. Bennett died on Sunday, May 24, apparently in his sleep. While the actual cause of death is unknown pending autopsy, Bennett had some persistent health problems, and had recently posted on his MySpace blog about his need for emergency hip surgery and the difficulties in scheduling the operation due to his lack of health insurance.

Although we’re not trying to make a connection between Bennett’s death and his lack of health insurance, we can say this continues to be a huge problem for American musicians, and the uninsured in general. It’s not hard to picture how the lack of health insurance could impact any one of us. You might delay seeking professional help for even the most minor medical or dental issues because the cost of care without insurance is so expensive. Minor issues can quickly become major issues, at which point you might be faced with a medical emergency, and no safety net. These conditions can be complicated in the life of a working musician, what with the constant travel, wacky hours, heavy equipment, and a typically unsteady paycheck. This makes health insurance even more important, yet sadly more elusive.

No matter how you slice it, not having health insurance is a recipe for tragedy. This is why we started our Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT) program in 2005 to help musicians understand their health insurance options. Now, we know the current system is far from perfect. But we also know that too many artists simply believe that health insurance is too hard to get or too complicated/time consuming to comprehend. We figured that if musicians had access to free, high-quality information about health insurance, it would be a start to addressing a major problem.

After scheduling an appointment on the HINT website (which also contains lots of useful, musician-friendly info), artists get a call from health insurance experts Alex Maiolo or Chris Stephenson, who go over an individual's options on case-by-case, state-by-state basis. Alex and Chris are also musicians who know what it’s like to juggle artistic ambitions with more mundane (but no less important) concerns like making sure you’ve got some kind of coverage in case of an unforeseen health crisis.

Click here to learn more about HINT, health insurance in general and to schedule an appointment with our musician experts.

Our sincere condolences to Jay Bennett’s friends, family and musical associates — he surely will be missed.

HINT at SXSW — Podcast Interview with Alex Maiolo

Just wanted to let all you Austin-bound peeps that Alex Maiolo, project coordinator for FMC's Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT), will be at South By Southwest this year, rocking out and spreading the word about this free service for musicians.

What's this HINT thing all about? Well, it's an information resource for musicians to learn about their health insurance options. After scheduling an appointment on the HINT website (which also contains lots of useful, musician-friendly info), artists get a call from health insurance experts Alex or Chris Stephenson, who'll go over an individual's options on case-by-case, state-by-state basis. Alex and Chris are also indie musicians — no stuffed-shirt nerditude here, just solid, (and free!) info.

So, as we were saying. . . Alex will be at SXSW this week, talking to musicians and managers about HINT. He probably won't have time to do one-on-one sessions, but if you're in Austin and want to to catch one of his informal group chats, shoot him an e-mail here.

Oh, and we almost forgot — Alex recently talked to us about HINT, why health insurance is important to musicians (even if you think you don't have time to learn about it), and why Austin during SXSW is probably the most unhealthy place in the world. Fun as hell, though. Check it out here.

Stimulating the Arts in America

There's been a lot of back-and-forth about lately about the proposed stimulus package for our ailing economy. It's also been said that you can judge a country's overall health by how it values the arts. Shouldn't any attempt at economic recover include the people who contribute to American culture?

That's precisely what Americans for the Arts — a 45 year-old nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in the US — is advocating for. In a January 25 article in the New York Times, AFTA president Robert L. Lynch says “the artist’s paycheck is every bit as important as the steelworker’s paycheck or the autoworker’s paycheck.”

Arts groups are urging federal departments like Transportation or Labor to factor culture into their financing. A transportation enhancement program, for example, could pay artists for related public artworks; through the Labor Department displaced arts professionals could receive new training to stay in the work force. “Every one of these places is a vehicle through which the money is going to flow, and we want to make sure the arts is part of it,” Mr. Lynch said.

One of the most pressing concerns for artists — including musicians — is a lack of health insurance. (FMC's Health Insurance Navigation Tool, or HINT is a free service for musicians to learn about their health insurance options.) But the market downturn has had an even more far-reaching effect, including job losses and the erosion of educational opportunities for those looking to hone skills or learn about American culture.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment bill that is currently winding its way through Congress includes $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts to be spread out among nonprofit arts organizations as well as state and municipal institutions. In addition, arts groups like AFTA are hoping to convince various federal agencies like the departments of Transportation and Labor to include culture in their agendas.

But don't call it a government giveaway: “I don’t think of this as a bailout for the arts,” Lynch says. “It’s an economic investment in the arts.” We at FMC think that's money well spent.

Joel Hamilton's Big Ride

Joel Hamilton

A handful of posts ago, we talked about NYC producer/musician Joel Hamilton's cross-country Vespa ride to raise money for his friend and fellow producer Scott Harding, who was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident while leaving a late night studio session. Joel's trek also benefits FMC's Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT) — a free service that provides information to musicians about their health insurance options.

We recently had the chance to catch up with Joel to talk about how the ride came together and why health insurance is such a crucial issue to the music community.

On the ride:
"Scotty and I had this big ride planned up the east coast. . . I was literally sending him Craigslist postings every day about these crazy Vespas, then suddenly the chance to do something fun like this as well as lots of other fun things were ripped out from underneath us. So I was still going to do some sort of ride in honor of my friend. Then someone brought to my attention the Scooter Cannonball Run, which is a ride across the entire country on highway 50. . . If I just sorta hopped in with the rest of these characters, I could do it for charity, for Scotty and for Future of Music Coalition — to bring awareness to people doing good things for musicians."

On health insurance and musicians:
"It's not about how healthy you are. I have people tell me all the time, 'Dude, I don't even really get sick because I eat right.' Health insurance isn't about whether you're prone to getting colds. It's about the fact that you might end up signing your life away when someone else takes your health away from you because of some ridiculous thing like drunk driving. . . it's insurance against someone taking your future away from you — financially and otherwise."

Click here to listen to the podcast (right click or Option click to download). For more info on Joel's ride, visit VespaCoast2Coast.com.

Benefit for the Family of Drew Glackin and HINT

In January 2008, Drew Glackin, an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist and bassist for The Silos, died at 44 of an extremely treatable disease because, like so many working musicians, he couldn't afford (or thought he couldn't afford) health insurance.

Drew's friends want to do something in his honor, but for them, the never-ending story of musicians organizing benefit concerts to help ailing peers has gotten pretty tired. Everyone pitches in and works really hard; bands play for free. But the next morning, after the money has been counted and handed off, people are left to ponder the marginal dent they've made in the enormous debt that accumulates so quickly when the uninsured get really sick.

So Drew's friends and associates have decided to hold a benefit that does a little more. Fifty percent of the proceeds will go directly to Drew's family to help cover funeral costs and medical bills, and other half will benefit FMC's HINT (Health Insurance Navigation Tool) program — an initiative that provides free, professional guidance to musicians seeking advice about health insurance plans.

The two-day event, entitled Get the HINT: a Future of Music Coalition Benefit Concert in Memory of Drew Glackin will serve as a tribute to a great musician and friend. The event will also raise awareness about FMC's HINT program, which helps musicians navigate the health insurance landscape and find workable health insurance solutions.

If you're in the Raleigh, NC area, we encourage you to attend this weekend of events and show your support.

Saturday, May 3, 2008: The Pour House, Raleigh, NC
Tres Chicas (feat. mini Hazeldine reunion w/Shawn Barton)
The Silos
Chip Robinson w/Heavy Beat Outlet
Patty Hurst Shifter BJ Barham
Quarry Hill
Chris Mills
Tandy
Glory Fountain
Port Huron Statement

Sunday, May 4, 2008: Sadlacks, Raleigh, NC
Chip Robinson w/Heavy Beat Outlet
Kenny Roby
Lou Ford
Joe Swank & the Zen Pirates
The Cartridge Family

Proceeds will benefit the family of Drew Glackin and the Future of Music's HINT program.

Musicians face shorter life spans than general population

It's a bad rock n' roll cliche that many artists die before they're old, but surprisingly two new bits of information give credence to the notion that artists face more significant health problems than other people. Researchers at the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University have found that rock stars are 2 to 3 times as likely to suffer premature death as the general population.

The study looked at more than 1,000 artists from England and North America spanning nearly the entire rock era of 1956 to 2005. Sadly, more than a quarter of the deaths were related to alcohol or drugs.

"In the music industry, factors such as stress, changes from popularity to obscurity, and exposure to environments where alcohol and drugs are easily available, can all contribute to substance use as well as other self-destructive behaviors," the report said.

The study found musicians were most likely to die in the first five years after achieving fame. Death rates were three times higher than normal during this period. The study also found British artists risk of death remained high until 25 years after they became famous, but, interestingly, American artists chance of death continues to remain high throughout their lives. The lead author of the study said Americans stars continued high rate of death could be because of our country's penchant for reunion tours (seems dubious) or the fact that many older artists, who are no longer in the spotlight, don't have health insurance (seems more likely).

The second bit of information comes from New Orleans, where its musicians -- like much of the city -- still have not recovered from the tragedy of Katrina. They staged a march on Aug. 26. The musicians carried their instruments, but did not play a note. The protest was aimed at showing the city what it would be like without its musicians. Many players feel they will be forced to move elsewhere unless New Orleans does more to help them make a living.

The New Orleans Musicians Clinic reports more than 90 percent of the city's musicians live at or below the poverty level and most don't have health insurance.

Both the study of musicians' death rates and the New Orleans protest make clear that there is a health care crisis among musicians. An FMC survey from 2001 found nearly half of musicians interviewed reported they don't have health insurance. FMC has tried to address the crisis by offering musicians free health insurance advice via the HINT program. Musicians can call up and get health insurance advice from fellow musicians, who happen to be health insurance experts. Best of all it's totally free.

Yet Another Reason to Get Health Insurance

We were saddened to learn that Karl Alvarez, bassist for Descendents, ALL and The Lemonheads suffered a minor heart attack on August 11. Luckily he's recovering physically, but without health insurance he's also overwhelmed with medical bills.

Alvarez's friends have set up a MySpace page and Paypal account for donations to help him pay his bills. To donate via Paypal, visit this website.

Read the whole story on Pitchfork and listen to streams of Descendents and ALL's music.

Here at FMC, we hate that it takes health crises like these for people to think about health insurance. After all, benefit concerts are amazing events, but you don't want your future finances dependent on them.

If you're a musician and you've been meaning to look into health insurance options, check out FMC's Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT). HINT gives musicians FREE advice on health insurance from insurance experts who are also musicians.

Better yet, watch this quick video chat with Alex Maiolo, HINT's project director and learn all about how the program works.