Artist Rights Alliance Presents: Words On Music Conversation Series

This pandemic is hitting the music industry with a viciousness we haven’t seen in generations. The short-term consequences are profound and the long-term will likely reshape the business as we know it. It is also uncovering and highlighting many inequities in the operations of the industry. Join us as we have frank conversations with key industry players from independent venue owners, to historians, to artists, publishers, and community organizers. In these discussions we look for hope in the past, resources for the now, and a new path forward.

In our first conversation in the series, Artist Rights Alliance own, Chelsea Crowell and Erin McAnally, chat with Telisha and Chris Cobb, owners of the iconic EXIT/IN club in Nashville, TN. We discuss how they are organizing alongside other independent venue owners and how they advocate for the club on a local level, as well as the challenges and rewards of being an independent venue regardless of the pandemic.

In our second installment, we speak with award-winning author, songwriter, and historian Alice Randall. Randall gives important and inspiring historical context regarding how music creators endure and recover from crises like pandemics, depressions, and the Civil Rights battle. The conversation includes focus on the specific hardships Black music creators faced throughout historical low points. We look for ways to rise from these current crises to find a new and equitable way forward in the music industry.