What Does the Make Music Alliance do?
Each Make Music chapter is independently organized. Often it’s a local community group, music institution, or civic leader who champions the musical holiday in their hometown.
What ties everything together is the nonprofit Make Music Alliance.
When musicians and locations join Make Music, they go to their local city’s website and register using customized matchmaking software, provided by the Alliance to each member city.
Using these tools, any musician can sign up, describe their music, and request performance space; stores, buildings, gardens, and other locations register to host these musicians, providing electricity, equipment, and promotion. Like an internet dating site, musicians and venues search through the listings to find each other and make arrangements for June 21st concerts.
The software then creates an interactive map with searchable listings and dynamically generated digital marketing materials for each city, displayed on each local site.
The Alliance also brokers sponsorship arrangements with national partners – such as Alfred Music, D’Addario, Hohner, MPTF, Rhythm Band Instruments, and Vic Firth – to provide benefits for each city, and coordinates creative national programs like Mass Appeal and Sousapalooza.
Finally, the Alliance spearheads the overall PR effort for Make Music Day, and leads the charge in expanding Make Music to new markets.
Who can join the Alliance?
Membership in the Make Music Alliance is open to organizers who coordinate events that are:
- free (no tickets, no musicians or audience members are charged), and
- participatory (open to any musicians at any level who wish to participate),
- featuring live music performances
- for all ages and genres (no restrictions on kinds of music)
- at multiple venues (not just one concert in one location)
- in public spaces (that are accessible and welcoming to everyone)
- on June 21
While our current focus is on North America, we welcome members from all over the world.
Membership Benefits
Make Music Alliance members each receive:
- A complete software package to help manage the event in your community. The package includes an online matchmaking and registration tools for participants, a complete listings platform, and more. (Contact us for a demo of the software.)
- A customized, elegant website for each city, integrating the software tools, hosted on our site and controlled directly by each member
- Tech support and general consulting via phone from the Alliance’s professional staff
- Weekly and monthly mentorship via phone for new cities from experienced city organizers
- Admission to the annual two-day Make Music Alliance conference in January
- Assistance with Mass Appeals and other national creative projects
- Access to a library of materials from other cities, including sample press releases, legal contracts, e-newsletter language, production timelines, sponsorship decks, and grant applications
- Assistance with grant writing and sponsorship opportunities
- One year of fiscal sponsorship for new U.S. organizations awaiting 501(c)(3) status
- Your own Make Music chapter logo, and inclusion in promotional campaigns to benefit member cities.
Membership benefits are good for one calendar year upon payment of dues and signing a membership agreement.
Membership Dues
Dues are set on a sliding scale, based on each organization’s Make Music budget. Non-profit organizations receive discounted rates.
| Budget | Non-profit | For-profit |
|---|---|---|
| Under $3,000 | $350 | $390 |
| $3,000 – $5,999 | $500 | $600 |
| $6,000 – $7,999 | $675 | $810 |
| $8,000 – $9,999 | $850 | $1,020 |
| $10,000 – $14,999 | $1,250 | $1,500 |
| $15,000 – $19,999 | $1,750 | $2,100 |
| $20,000 – $24,999 | $2,250 | $2,700 |
| $25,000 – $29,999 | $2,750 | $3,300 |
| $30,000 – $34,999 | $3,250 | $3,900 |
| $35,000 – $39,999 | $3,650 | $4,380 |
| $40,000 – $99,999 | $4,000 | $4,800 |
| $100,000 and up | $5,000 | $6,000 |
For organizations that exist solely to coordinate Make Music celebrations, the program budget is considered to be the same as the organization’s full expense budget. For organizations running multiple programs, the program budget includes all specific Make Music costs, plus other expenses allocated to the project (such as staff salaries and overhead). We rely on members to provide the most accurate budget estimates they can.
Organizations in the process of non-profit incorporation are charged the non-profit rates. Organizations coordinating Make Music for the first time are considered to be in the lowest budget category.
International Partners
Those who are coordinating Make Music Day for a whole country are invited to become International Partners of the Make Music Alliance.
International Partners collaborate closely with the Alliance. They are featured on the Make Music Day website and in our press releases, and meet regularly via Zoom to collaborate and guide international Make Music Day initiatives.
Annual dues for International Partners are based on each country’s GDP per capita (PPP) determined by the International Monetary Fund, and divided into 8 levels by the International Music Council.
| Country GDP Level | Annual Dues |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | $225 USD |
| Level 2 | $200 |
| Level 3 | $175 |
| Level 4 | $150 |
| Level 5 | $125 |
| Level 6 | $100 |
| Level 7 | $75 |
| Level 8 | $50 |
Please note that other benefits listed above, such as software support and donated instruments, are only available to full Make Music Alliance members.
If you are interested in becoming an International Partner, please contact Aaron Friedman at aaron@makemusicday.org.
