Can you name the organization that... ... has become successful by giving away its product for more than 50 years? ... is described as one of the finest examples of labor-management cooperation in the world - extolled by government leaders at every level and of every political persuasion? ... sponsors activities in which every participant goes away smiling? ... encourages others to share in the joy of doing good on a tax-deductible basis? We're not a household name, but we're not a secret, either. We're called the Recording Industries Music Performance Funds - MPF for short. Who Plays? MPF programs may be performed by a symphony orchestra or a three-piece combo. The music may be classical or country, rock or renaissance, show tunes or Dixieland, disco or blues, jazz or Latin, klezmer or other ethnic music. But no matter who plays the music or where it is presented, all MPF performances are always free and open to the public. Over 25,000 individual performances are enjoyed each year by more than 20 million people, presented in venues as diverse as parks, shopping malls, churches, concert halls, veterans hospitals, nursing homes - and, increasingly, in schools. Today music programs in our public schools struggle to survive because governments at every level have cut back on their funding. Yet we know that music education enhances a child's ability to read and learn. Responding to this situation, the MPF has made music education a major focus of its activities. In recent years 44% of all MPF audiences have been 18 or younger. One recent MPF initiative is the awarding of hundreds of instrumental music scholarships to insure the availability of highly trained professional musicians for tomorrow's audiences. How is all this possible? How does it work? How can you get involved? The Recording Industries Music Performance Funds dates from 1948. To address the problem of technological chances that threatened the employment of musicians, the American Federation of Musicians and the Recording Industry created the MPF, and recording companies agreed to pay a small royalty from the sale of recorded music to a fund administered by an independent Trustee. Today, as a public service, even the most celebrated artists play MPF concerts for the minimum (scale) union wage. To leverage its ability to present free public performances, MPF invites co-sponsorship by other organizations. Since MPF is a tax-exempt public service organization under 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, all co-sponsorship funding is tax deductible. Not only do co-sponsors avail themselves of the services of professional musicians for the lowest possible cost, co-sponsors have the opportunity to publicize their participation. Whenever possible, MPF assists in this effort. Business and civic leaders who join with the MPF know that they have rendered an important public service that the public appreciates. The MPF Turstee is also available to counsel and assist co-sponsors. Co-sponsorship is truly a "win-win" situation. Co-sponsors have included such diverse organizations as AT&T, the Archdiocese of Chicago, Harvard University, the Hard Rock Cafe, Hallmark Cards, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (presenter of the Grammy Awards), Goodwill Industries, the U.S. Vereands Administration, the Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Smithsonian Institution's American Folklife Festival, the Children's Creative Workshop, and thousands of local businesses, newspapers, radio stations, arts councils, parks departments, city, state and provisional goverments and school districts in the United States and Canada. To minimize the administrative workload, co-sponsors usually work through local offices of the American Federation of Musicians. This arrangement also reduces MPF's administrative expenses and increases the amount of funds available for musical programs. MPF acts as paymaster, to relieve co-sponsors of time-consuming and costly administrative procedures, and to ensure prompt payment and coverage under Workers' Compensation insurance. The MPF is headed by a Trustee who is independent of both the recording industry that does the appointing and the musicians' union whose members are among those engaged to perform. The Trustee serves persuant to a Trust Agreement mandating that the Trustee's duties shall be performed "on the sole basis of the public interest." Noel B. Berman was appointed Trustee on April 1, 2000. He is a member of the New York Bar and has an extensive backround in the broadcast, recording and entertainment business. Mr. Berman is active in a number of community, educational and charitable organizations. Together with other like-minded organizations, The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), we are striving in the public interest to develop audiences, enrich the professional talent pool and ensure the health of the music business. www.mpf.org Office of the Trustee Recording Industries Music Performance Funds 1501 Broadway New York, NY 10036-5596 212 391 3950 212 221 2604 Info@MusicPF.org