Transmission Project - culture

Revisiting Honest Practice

Belinda Rawlins — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:44:01 +0000

Looking back through my writings about honest practice, I came across this piece originally published in the NAMAC eBulletin.

“You can’t copy your way to the top.”

This “meta lesson” from The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership struck me when advising a colleague on a grant that wanted applicants to document the use of “best practices” in their proposed project. The real kick was that the funder was only interested in new projects and proclaimed to support innovation.

My mind reeled. If “best practices” are the standards of excellence within organizations considered high performing, how can it be expected that those standards could be immediately implemented in startup programs? What of differences in organizational culture and constituencies, not to mention technical and information systems? Is innovation supported if funding follows conventional wisdom? How do we know that wisdom is valid when our industry is trained to share only the lessons of success and not of failure?

Organizations need support not just in their success, but also in their mistakes. Since the funding community is unlikely to be first jumping on this bandwagon, I propose cultivating space to learn from the honest practices we experience every day. Encourage reflection on reality when possible.

FUTURE OF MUSIC COALITION PRESENTS D.C. POLICY DAY 2010

Belinda Rawlins — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:52:50 +0000

National research, education and advocacy nonprofit Future of Music Coalition is pleased to announce its upcoming D.C. Policy Day, which takes place at New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. on May 4, 2010.

This year has already seen a host of policy developments that will affect the entire music ecosystem — from network neutrality and the FCC’s authority to regulate the internet to international copyright concerns to the impact of health care reform on the music community. D.C. Policy Day 2010 will bring these issues into focus through informed presentations and panel discussions. A live webcast will bring the conversation to a global audience of artists, academics, industry professionals, journalists, music fans and more.

Topics to be covered include the hotly debated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), the recent Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger, efforts to preserve an open internet and the health insurance landscape for musicians. Policy Day 2010 will also examine how the creative industries are faring under current Washington leadership as we head into a new election cycle.

Communications, Economics and the Internet

Ben Sheldon — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:05:31 +0000

The Center for Media Justice and the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net) have released a new brief on “Migrants and the Open Internet”:

As people move in search of work and a better life for themselves and their families, they retain their ties to their communities of origin. This desire for community is as crucial to survival as the need for work, or food and shelter. “The experience of hundreds of years of history has taught us that economic and social survival depends on maintaining the identity, language, and traditions that hold a community together.” [David Bacon - “Communities without Borders”] Communication technologies, like email and the Internet, lower the costs that migrants face to keep in touch with their relatives and friends, and help them to remain connected to their home country.

While this is written in the context of migrants, it can apply to any community, or individuals in search of opportunity.

“It is migrants, rather than geeks, who have emerged as the ‘most aggressive’ adopters of new communications tools. Dispersed families with strong ties and limited resources have taken to voice-over-internet services, IM and webcams, all of which are cheap or free. They also go online to get news or to download music from home.”— Swisscom Anthropologist, Stefana Broadbent

The Message is in the Music: Hip Hop Feminism, Riot Grrrl, Latina Music, and More

Belinda Rawlins — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:42:18 +0000

Twelfth Annual Women’s History Month Conference
at Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, New York

Friday & Saturday, March 5 & 6, 2010

Keynote speaker: Carmen Ashhurst, former president of Def Jam Recordings and Rush Communications, and author of the forthcoming book, Selling My Brothers: The Movement, The Media and Me

Music has long served social movements as a sound track, as a means of communication, and as its own arena for activism. While multiple generations of feminists have used music in these ways, it has played especially vital roles for those born since the 1970s. This conference will explore the ways in which young feminists have defined and expressed politics through music and musical cultures and communities. Among the questions we will ponder are: How does music reflect sites of agreement and conflict among different groups of feminists? How have movements like Riot Grrrl and Hip Hop feminism attracted young women to feminist activism? How do young feminists’ uses of music compare with those of earlier generations?

We invite activists, scholars and artists in all fields to propose papers, panels, workshops, performances, and exhibits.

Specific topics may include, but are not limited to

* Hip Hop Feminism
* Feminism in Latin Music
* Body Politics in the Music Industry
* Feminist Messages in World Music
* Young Feminists’ Musical Icons
* Women-owned Record Labels
* Zines in Feminist Culture
* The Riot Grrrl Movement Lesbian Music
* The Politics of Race in Feminist Music
* Misogyny in Contemporary Music
* Feminist Music Festivals
* Women in Music Videos
* Feminist Songwriters
* Legacies of Women in Blues, Jazz, Rock, and Folk