Fair Play Pittsburgh is a musician-led initiative to bring all aspects of the music community together: artists, venue owners, promoters, media, and audiences. The mission of Fair Play Pittsburgh is to help each other thrive as musicians & music-related professionals and to promote the value of a strong, supportive, high-quality music scene. The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council convenes Fair Play Pittsburgh – in partnership with musicians Heather Kropf, Christiane Leach, and Lauren DeMichiei – through meetings, research, and policy recommendations. All are welcome!
We’re excited to be a part of Fair Play Pittsburgh’s Shop Talk series! Get more information and register for the free event here if you’re interested!
Shop Talk is a monthly series created in response to immediate educational wants and needs of the regional music community. It’s inclusive of all musical genres and music businesses.
So far Shop Talk has addressed these topics:
- “Taxes for Musicians” presented by Lauren DeMichiei – music producer, entrepreneur, and Fair Play Pittsburgh organizer;
- “Planning Your Album Release” with Jeff Betten – musician and general manager of Misra Records; and
- “Business Through Corona” with Justin Strong – family business owner, venue entrepreneur, and promoter of Justin Strong Presents.
The next Shop Talk event is “Dealing with Pressure: Stress-Relief for Musicians” featuring me and Sondra E. Woodruff II. Sondra is a musician, entrepreneur, and arts producer. Sondra studied at Columbia University, earning her bachelor’s with honors in Music ’19. While at Columbia, Sondra expanded her studies to include cognitive neuroscience to investigate the biological processes that occur when sound and music affect one’s behavior. With this insight, Sondra is working to create music and sound moments that elicit empathy and alleviate stress. I’m excited to hear more about Sondra’s musical experiences and experimentations.
We’ll share information on and talk about:
- Why musicians and other creatives are prone to stress, anxiety, and depression;
- How musicians can effectively manage music-related stress on a day-to-day basis and during social distancing through the pandemic; and
- Simple and effective techniques for relieving stress that you can start right now.
All attendees will receive a PDF guide of classes and holistic offerings from regional music-related businesses and community members. Very cool!
More information and registration (free to attend, but you must register to get the Zoom link and password) available here: Shop Talk – Dealing with Pressure: Stress-Relief for Musicians
Upcoming Shop Talk events will help you to learn about building an audience, music licensing, preparing for the studio, musician’s unions, and building relationships with local press. The events started off in-person, but have adapted to current conditions and are now accessible via Zoom. If you’re interested in learning more about Fair Play Pittsburgh and attending future Shop Talk events, subscribe to the mailing list!
As follow-up to the event, and because it’s an ongoing topic of importance on Of Music and Mind, we’re publishing new articles related to dealing with music-related stress, dealing with fear, loss, and change amid the pandemic, and much more this month! We hope you check them out!
Pittsburghers, do you know about Fair Play Pittsburgh? Have you participated in any of their events? Others, do you have something like Fair Play in your city? Would you like to? Let us know! Be well!
of music & mind 