Dear Friends, IT'S FESTIVAL SEASON! It's that time of year again. Australia's festival season is now underway. We have been talking with festival directors and will be taking our campaign to stages and events around the country. We need your help to make this as effective as possible! We've held off for a long time, but finally, it has come time to ask you to help us by buying a t-shirt and/or donating to the campaign so we can raise awareness and cover mounting costs. We are a group of volunteers and have been operating so far with no financial resources. T-shirts are available for $25 each + postage. Bulk orders available. Breakdown per unit: $10 cost price T-shirt, $5 cost of printing and paint, $10 to #saveRNmusic campaign fund to help cover costs of printing posters, stickers, flyers, and postage for distribution at coming festivals, and for ongoing website and Facebook advertising costs. We are also anticipating future costs in regard to small expenses incurred for meetings and travel. If you are a musician or stage crew, T-shirts are available at a reduced price of $20 + postage. We'd love you to wear these while working and get the campaign visible to audiences. You can also simply donate. Please note that all fundraising in regard to this campaign is NOT FOR PROFIT, will be overseen by a chartered accountant and completely transparent. Any unused funds will be donated to www.supportact.org.au and/or to set up a database we can use for future music and ABC advocacy. T-shirts are being printed at Stitches & Prints, Tugleen NSW – a disability support enterprise. http://www.tulgeen.com.au/stitches-and-prints/ YOU CAN PURCHASE/DONATE HERE: https://savernmusic.bandzoogle.com/campaign-tshirts FACT SHEET/MISSION STATEMENT: We have just released a mission statement/fact sheet to clarify where we’re heading. Full document can be read here: www.savernmusic.com In essence: The Save RN Music (#saveRNmusic) Campaign remains committed to reinstating the music lost from ABC Radio in January 2017, with this guiding principle: 'No Net Loss'. In an ideal world, ‘no net loss’ would mean the reinstatement of the programs and presenters. This is still our highest aspiration. However, ABC Management has decommissioned the shows, implemented redundancies (that preclude reinstatement for at least a year), and reassigned savings to support their digital strategy. Given that, we are aiming for the next best thing. In this context, no net loss means: • There will be no reduction in Australian free to air music content or promotion (as measured by the number of hours prior to the January 2017 cuts that were devoted to broadcasting folk, blues, jazz, faith and world, and content not represented on other ABC formats). • Regional access to Australian music will not be reduced (as measured by the number of regional listeners able to access RN music programs prior to the January 2017 cuts in comparison to current figures). • Australian music and the public will not be worse off. This is difficult to measure without industry reports, though benchmarks include listener engagement with industry and financial and cultural impacts on artists, festivals, promoters, educators and culturally diverse communities. • Programs will continue to be presented by expert curators providing context to broadcast music. • The changes won’t reduce the diversity of music styles played. • The financial resources devoted to music on ABC radio will not be reduced. OTHER LINKS: A couple of YouTube links featuring short speeches by Stuart Coupe and Geoff Horsnell from last Thursday's joint media event with ABC Friends and CPSU. Please share in your networks. Geoff on regional reach and digital radio: https://youtu.be/EShBinEIWpQ Stuart Coupe on Australian music culture: https://youtu.be/x8TqwNKmzYg Hope you’re having a great weekend, From the #saveRNmusic Campaign Team