Don’t Let the Music Fade: Support MPTF and Local Organizers Behind Free Live Shows

June 1, 2025

Dan Beck  -  Trustee, Music Performance Trust Fund

Have you ever played a Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF) event? Perhaps you got paid to inspire school kids through a music education performance. Maybe you have experienced what it means for a resident of a senior center or assisted living facility to hear their favorite songs. We love to provide grants to bring the talents of professional musicians to young and old alike. The bonus is how good it feels to you, the musicians!

We enjoy the feedback we receive from admission-free events in parks, festivals, and public spaces that bring people together and strengthen the fiber of our communities throughout North America. You’re doing more than just playing another gig. You are representing your union and the music industry in building a better quality of life where you live.

We are grateful to provide funding to make these performances happen. However, it is the very hard work of the officers and active members of your local that bring our funds to your town or city. Organizing performances, coordinating with partnering organizations, and publicizing these events is a time-consuming effort. They never have enough help.

Thousands of these MPTF events happen every year and tens of thousands of payments are made to the musicians who bring their magic to the people who love to hear them! The funding is millions of dollars, yet it can easily be taken for granted.

The MPTF is living in better times these days. For the past few years our revenue has grown. As an individual, it’s easy to kick back and simply ask for more. However, we must remember the hard times. From 2000 to 2016, the MPTF’s revenue was crashing year-to-year. Digital disruption ripped the heart out of our funds. Then, ironically, just as streaming revenue began to flow in, COVID-19 brought our distribution to a dramatic halt.

The near future looks good for MPTF funds. Subscription payments to the streaming platforms are far more predictable (if still not fair to the creative community) than it was for physical products. Although artificial intelligence and other technological advances continue to challenge fair compensation to musicians, writers, and other creative contributors, the next few years of MPTF revenue appear to be stable. We can all exhale that momentary achievement. The challenge is to make a statement for the future!

What can we do on the street? What can we do as individuals when it comes to participating in an MPTF performance? I believe it begins with thanking those in your union local who organize these events. Then it is making some noise about the performance. Invite people out to the free events! Spread the word on social media. Spread the word at your local coffee shop. Don’t play by rote!

Why is it important? While the MPTF is steady, other resources for the arts are under attack. We need to emphasize the positive. We need to individually remind our neighbors just how important these performances are to our communities and quality of life.

Talk to your local about the plans for their MPTF allocations. Support these events and spread the word about how your local brings our funding to your community. Let’s not allow support for the arts to drift away or be diminished in their importance. Every performance is meaningful! You carry the instruments that make the difference. Live music is power!

---