THE INDIGENOUS MUSIC PRESERVATION SOCIETY - Essay Example

? PLANNING AND RESOURCING IN SOCIAL ENTERPRISE, VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS AND NGOs THE INDIGENOUS MUSIC PRESERVATION SOCIETY (IMPS A BUSINESS PLAN FOR SUPPORTING WORLD MUSIC TRADITIONS Name: Class: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 1. Introduction 2 2. Summary 3 3. Vision statement 6 4. Mission statement 6 5. Objectives 6 6. Background 7 7. Constraints 9 8. The Team 10 9. Services 10 10. Markets 11 11. Costs and Prices 12 12. Finance 14 13. Conclusion 15 14. References 15 1. Introduction This business plan is for an indigenous music support group which will focus on working with native musicians from around the world with the aim of recording, preserving, and transmitting traditional cultural music in digital formats. The aim of this group is to register and establish a NGO that will be able to operate internationally from an office in the United Kingdom and manage a website that will publish information on indigenous music traditions around the world, as well as offering downloads of traditional music recordings via MP3 on the web. The NGO will seek to develop projects in indigenous communities with traditional musicians to directly record, publish, and archive culturally significant songs in native or tribal languages. Some of the main reasons illustrating the need for these types of programs and publications have been given by Richard Herz in his study “Legal Protection for Indigenous Cultures: Sacred Sites and Communal Rights” (1993), where he wrote, “Indigenous cultures throughout the world have faced eradication by discrimination, assimilation, genocide, and most recently, the accelerated pace of economic development.” (Hertz, 1993) Innumerable indigenous tribes have lost their traditional way of living to modern development, seen their communal cultural values deteriorate, and suffered the effects of military, social, and economic violence upon their civilization. Because of this, the Indigenous Music Preservation Society (IMPS) will work to assist these groups in documenting their cultural music tradition through recordings, educational publications, development assistance, and social exchanges aimed at the preservation and documentation of minority cultural traditions around the world through music. BUSINESS PLAN 2. Summary Aims To document, record, and publish music works including songs, chants, and instrumentals from indigenous communities around the world. To establish and develop long term educational and social development programs in indigenous communities internationally. To build a website to publish information and MP3 recordings on these native arts traditions. To publish CDs, LPs, MP3s, and books related to indigenous music traditions and “World Music” in the English language to build awareness of these issues. Objectives To assist indigenous peoples around the world to document, record, and transmit their musical heritages through digital technologies. To provide developmental assistance programs in indigenous communities internationally related to local needs such as clean water, electricity, sanitation facilities, education, and technology exchanges. To assist indigenous musicians, groups, and bands to travel internationally to music conventions, concerts, and other meetings for cultural exchange. To document indigenous values, religions, languages, and cultural works on the web, in print publications, and other forms of media to build the context for cultural understanding of the music recordings. Customers & Market Our customers will be music fans based predominantly in the U.K., U.S., and Commonwealth countries with an interest in “World Music”. Our target market includes the pop, rock, jazz, and electronic music communities as well as the formal or classical tradition and its related study. Our donor community will also support the organization and development of programs worldwide through grants, donations, and volunteer service. International CD sales, LP distribution, and MP3 downloads. Location The NGO will be headquartered in London, England in a single office to be secured with our initial grant funding. Office should have recording, digital mastering, and sound editing studio. Company Type NGO – Non-Governmental Organization. Staff: Includes paid staff and volunteer workers. Funding required for first year: Office Rental (London): ?12,000 Music Recording Equipment: ?2,500 Computer Equipment: ?5,000 Program Development: ?12,500 Web Development: ?3,500 Marketing, Advertising, & Promotions: ?10,000 TOTAL: ?45,500 Social Outputs To build collaboration and partnership agreement between record labels and music publishers for the distribution of indigenous music. To promote indigenous knowledge, values, traditions, and culture in the Western social context through education initiatives. To promote co-operative programs in indigenous communities internationally designed to reduce poverty through sustainable development. To build an online social network and community dedicated to the popular appreciation of indigenous music in the West. 3. Vision statement The Indigenous Music Preservation Society (IMPS) seeks to work collaboratively with native musicians around the world in developing a digital archive of indigenous music, educational material, and cultural documents which assist in the preservation of these traditions. 4. Mission statement The Indigenous Music Preservation Society (IMPS) is dedicated to the recording, transmission, and distribution of “World Music” internationally through the building of long-term, sustainable relationships between native musicians, their communities, and a social network of activists and volunteers working to assist these groups in socio-economic development. 5. Objectives To record the music of indigenous peoples in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Oceanic Islands. To build a website with a database of indigenous music that is searchable and downloadable in the MP3 format. To build partnerships with record labels and music publishers for the featured distribution of these recordings. To make available educational materials relating to the indigenous groups listed in the database and catalogue online. To publish books, magazine articles, pamphlets, and online materials representing indigenous issues and cross-cultural understanding. To organize volunteers to travel internationally to indigenous communities for the purpose of recording and publishing their traditional music. To provide developmental assistance, educational support, and other social programs in sustainable agriculture, clean water, sanitation, and technological exchanges. To invite and assist indigenous musicians in travelling abroad to promote their music and cultural traditions. 6. Background Indigenous peoples are found on every continent and in most nation-states worldwide, but have suffered the effects of colonization, industrialization, and Western expansion to have the majority of these communities threatened with cultural extinction. Globalization presents increased challenges for indigenous communities in preserving their traditional values, languages, religions, customs, and identities against the hegemonic influence of Western mass-media forms. (Smith & Ward, 2000) As a result, many of the indigenous groups who have not yet become “extinct” culturally through forced or gradual assimilation into the mainstream national culture over generations are struggling with the issues of cultural preservation. (Cayuqueo, 1999) Numerous international treaties related to human rights, biodiversity, and indigenous peoples guarantee traditional peoples the right to preserve and transmit their traditional culture, yet the effects of modernization is inherently destructive to these attempts. Consequently, the Indigenous Music Preservation society (IMPS) will work with tribal leaders, indigenous rights groups, and native community organizations in order to develop programs that will seek to record and transmit traditional music from these communities, and to simultaneously offer support from a solidarity basis in meeting the challenges of economic and educational development in indigenous communities in a way that is consistent with, rather than destructive to, indigenous cultural values. Why is there a need for the Indigenous Music Preservation Society? The Indigenous Music Preservation Society (IMPS) is needed to provide activism and build awareness in Western communities of the indigenous value systems, religions, languages, and cultural traditions due to the threats that the processes of modernization and globalization have inflicted upon these communities. The Western youth are highly educated and interested in music as a form of cultural expression. Therefore, in presenting the traditional values of the indigenous peoples in combination with music recordings published online and in featured CD releases, IMPS intends to raise popular awareness among the Western youth as to the historical suffering of these communities, their current economic plight and disadvantages faced by the communities, as well as to raise money for social development programs in these communities that are directed and led by the native leaders and elders themselves. These collective efforts should be long-term in vision and compassionate in nature, seeking to increase awareness about both the benefits and disadvantages that are found in indigenous communities and the alternative solutions that these leaders suggest for global problems. Services to be offered: 1. Music Recording and Archiving of Indigenous Music in Digital Formats. 2. An Online Database of Recordings and CD Publications. 3. A News and Information Service related to Indigenous Rights and Culture. 4. Volunteer Organization and Travel to Foreign Locations for Music Recording. 5. Social Development and Economic Assistance Programs in Indigenous Communities. 6. Partnership and Media-Sharing with other NGOs working in the same Areas. 7. Creation and Management of an Online Database of Indigenous Music. 8. Support and Assistance for Indigenous Music Groups to travel to International Performance Events. 7. Constraints SWOT Strengths Works directly with Indigenous Groups and Tribal leadership. Assists in the preservation of Indigenous culture. Uses technology to the advantage of Indigenous groups. Seeks to build Awareness in the young generation in the West. Combines Popular Media with Educational Programs. Weaknesses Language difficulties in Cross-Cultural Exchanges. Requires grant funding to begin. Relies on the use of donations and CD sales for expansion. Cannot expect large-scale market penetration or support. Project scope is large while resource base is financially limited in organization. Opportunities Travel and Volunteer opportunities for Staff to “make a difference”. Build partnerships between indigenous groups. Historical and Cultural Studies. Support the religious, linguistic, and music traditions of Native peoples. To promote social development on a small scale in manner consistent with indigenous values. Threats Potential dangers in travel to Volunteers – theft, accident, disease, etc. Potential to fail to receive adequate funding. Danger of offending local values inadvertently by staff. Possibility to fail in making “a real difference” in light of the global scope of the problems engaged. 8. The Team Board of Directors: The Indigenous Music Preservation Society (IMPS) will seek to recruit established recording stars from the “World Music” tradition to sit on the board of directors. The established international identities of these recording artists will provide assistance in raising awareness for the cause as well as in seeking grants, donations, etc. for the start-up process. Staff Team: The core staff will consist of office managers, web developers, recording specialists, cultural experts, and a group of volunteers. The volunteers are expected to come primarily from University students, but will not be limited by age. The use of volunteers should decrease the costs related to operations and allow for raised funds and donations to support the indigenous communities and their goals. Key Partners: The key partners for IMPS will be found and developed from other NGOs and groups working in the realm of indigenous music, and seek to share resources in cross-publishing music recordings from collective source materials. These partnerships will allow IMPS to build a music catalogue from a large number of international indigenous communities without having to organize the time, staff, and resources to travel to the locations individually. 9. Services Music Recording & Distribution Services The Indigenous Music Preservation Society (IMPS) will employ decentralized digital recording techniques that are laptop-based in order to encourage mobility and portability with volunteer staff. The estimated cost of each system is approximately ?2,500 for the laptop, soundcard, recording interface, and microphones. The travel and residential expenses for the recording sessions will be borne by the Society and derived from grant or donation funds. The web costs will be also managed by the Society under the same terms. Any recording contracts or record deals negotiated by IMPS will include full financial support for the indigenous musicians and their respective community. Education, Activism, and Social Service The education, social development, and economic assistance provided by IMPS to indigenous communities shall be funded out of the combination of donations, record and CD sales, and other grant funding. These programs should be developed with the direct influence and leadership of the local communities themselves, so that assistance programs should be internally consistent with local indigenous values. Competition Competition in the sphere of “World Music” or indigenous musical recordings can be found in other record companies and NGOs. Rather than viewing these groups as competitors, IMPS will develop a co-operative, collaborative, and sharing program that seeks to build sustainable relationships between these groups and the Society for the furtherance of mutual goals related to the preservation of indigenous culture, human rights, and social development. 10. Markets Our Customers The client base for IMPS recordings should be found in the popular music community that is already well established in the U.K., U.S., E.U., and other Commonwealth countries. IMPS will primarily target English speaking audiences with its recordings and websites, though these may also be useful for non-native speakers. The distribution of the recordings on the web should be free for download with donation opportunities provided through PayPal or similar services on the website. The sale of CDs and LPs produced by IMPS should lead to partnerships between established record companies and these funds should be put to a socially beneficial use within the indigenous communities from which the music derives. Selling What is our unique selling point? Our unique selling point is the indigenous music that is virtually unknown in the West and the educational materials that relate to its cultural translation. These educational materials can include religious, historical, or philosophical works from the native tribes themselves. The recording should also feature visual artwork from the indigenous communities that convey the worldview of the people as they have transmitted it traditionally across generations. 11. Costs and Prices Travel and Recording Costs The estimated cost for a 3 person recording expedition composed of volunteers and including travel costs such as accommodation, airfare, and vehicle rental should average approximately ?10,000 per month with shared expenses. This estimate will be used for grants and fund-raising purposes, with all costs being strictly accounted for and documented according to principles of transparency in all operations of the NGO. Website Development and Maintenance A budget of approximately ?3,500 per year should be sufficient for the web design, online development, and maintenance costs of managing a website that includes a database of indigenous music in MP3 format online for free download. This includes web traffic, remote hosting, hiring of developers and designers, as well as the initial start-up of operations. This budget will be reviewed on an annual basis with an emphasis on cost savings. Staff All staff including the board of directors, NGO president, and office staff should initially begin work on this project on a part-time volunteer basis and seek no personal gain or income from operations. Any income derived from grants, donations, or music sales should go to fund the office infrastructure costs and travel/recording expenses for IMPS projects. Price of product The price of CDs, LPs, or other music recording sold by IMPS in the UK or internationally should be related to current market prices and production costs, marketed in the range of ?5 to ?10 per CD. Training Volunteers should be selected for the programs based upon the existing skill base and talents held by the applicants in order to select people with existing knowledge in indigenous culture and music recording who wish to work in this field professionally. This policy should include on-site training in music recording, re-mastering, and studio production for volunteers seeking additional experience. 12. Finance Income from contracts in the first year The first year should be dedicated to building grant and donation funding from both public and private sources so that the office and website infrastructure can be secured. Additional income over the estimated ?25,000 required for start-up will be dedicated to the first recording projects at a cost of ?10,000 per one month recording trip of three volunteers. Income from grants The first year of start-up should also include focus on building partnerships between record labels for the production of “World Music” titles, and the estimated income will be used for social programs in the community that the music itself derives from globally. Therefore, grant income from the first year of operations should also be dedicated to building long-term social development and economic assistance programs with indigenous leaders globally so that these projects can be funded in accordance with the officially expressed needs of these communities. Annual Budget – First Year, Projected: Office Rental (London): ?12,000 Music Recording Equipment: ?2,500 Computer Equipment: ?5,000 Program Development: ?12,500 Web Development: ?3,500 Marketing, Advertising, & Promotions: ?10,000 TOTAL: ?45,500 13. Conclusion Music is an important part of the culture of indigenous communities around the world that are facing the threat of extinction of their languages, religions, and artistic traditions. Music provides a popular means to approach the youth in the UK, America, E.U., and other countries to educate them on native cultural traditions. The funds generated from music sales and other grants or donations can be used for social programs in indigenous communities that are dedicated to the protection and preservation of heritage. In this manner, the combination of research programs, music recording expeditions, and social service work in disadvantaged communities internationally can lead to a recognition of these traditions as a common human heritage, and the Indigenous Music Preservation Society (IMPS) can work in organizing in this sphere of activity for innumerable years, as the issues are not likely to be solved or resolved without these types of programs that are created with popular appeal. 14. 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