Musicians helping more musicians get here.
By Erin Land (cross-posted from yegmusicclub.com)
If you had all the money in the world, and could do anything you wanted, what would you do? That is precisely what James Seabrook of Two Bodies of Water Productions asked himself when he came up with the “Pay it Forward” program.
“Why wait until I’m rich? I have unique opportunity right now. I have something that is needed and the means to give it, something I’ve never had before in my life. I guess I just feel it’s my turn to give back,” Seabrook explained.
Pay it Forward is a new initiative, aimed at helping local talent achieve their dreams of recording in a professional setting and perhaps launch a career that will span a lifetime. Completely free of charge!
Seabrook’s studio has been growing a Community Fund since the beginning of June. Artists that pay for studio time are asked where they would like to donate 10% of their purchased time. Some choose to donate the funds to friends, whereas others have chosen to donate the time back to the studio – for newer artists or projects within the community that can take advantage of the cache.
Back on September 1st, a submission form appeared online for the opportunity to use studio time for your recording needs. A panel that consists of Edmonton music industry professionals and local music lovers have volunteered their time to review the submissions and award the studio time to artists or groups they feel are the most deserving of the opportunity.
There are going to be four allotments of five hours awarded; two sessions in November, and two in December.
What will happen in 2012? Seabrook says he’d really like to see the program turn into a regular grant or bursary that can have a much larger impact. Ideally, the program would expand across the prairies, perhaps all of western Canada. Without any corporate sponsorship or investors, the program will continue to grow based on current recording artists contributing to the Community Fund, as they have since June of this year.
The deadline for the first round of submissions will be September 29, 2011. For more information on the Pay It Forward program, or to create your online submission you can view the Two Bodies of Water website.
