Mick Star
The world economy is in a historic downturn but Doctors Without Borders keeps working tirelessly in Zimbabwe. Despite the economic downturn, Doctors Without Borders still needs money to keep their heroic efforts up.
Zimbabwe, once considered the breadbasket of Africa, is now a country that cannot feed its own people. The unemployment rate is higher than 80 percent. Malnutrition is widespread, as is fear.
Life expectancy in Zimbabwe is the lowest in the world: 37 years for men and 34 for women. A cholera epidemic is raging. People have become ill with anthrax after eating the decaying flesh of animals that had died from the disease.
The collapse of Zimbabwe's health system in 2008 is unprecedented in scale and scope. Public-sector hospitals have been closed since November 2008. The basic infrastructure for the maintenance of public health, particularly water and sanitation services, have abruptly deteriorated in the worsening political and economic climate.
I’m writing this press release to tell you that Doctors Without Borders need money to keep up their valiant huanitarian efforts in Zimbabwe, and even in these bad economic times, I believe the money for Zimbabwe is here, there and everywhere…we’re just looking in the wrong places.
People in good economic times, as in bad, continue to spend money. In order to find the money in these tough economic times to help with humanitarian relief efforts in Zimbabwe, we just need to follow the money that people keep spending. There's a whole lot of money in the music industry and if we follow that money, I know we can find enough money to help Doctors Without Borders in Zimbabwe.
Consider the internet. It has changed the way music is produced and sold. Yesterday, in order to record, produce, package for distribution and market songs, artists (like me) we were beholden to record companies. Those kinds of partnerships earned the record companies 85 cents and the artist (like me) 15 cents on the dollar. Today, thanks to the internet and on-line music sales (downloads and streaming), artists, independent of record companies, are able to produce songs and package them for on-line distribution at a fraction of the cost. When songs are setup for world-wide mp3 on-line distribution, independent of record companies, artists keep 85 cents on the dollar and the on-line retailers like iTunes, Amazon.com and Rhapsody.com keep 15 cents on the dollar.
And that 85 cents on the dollar...that's where the money is... the money to help Doctors Without Borders keep up their tireless efforts in Zimbabwe..
And here's why I believe that's where the money is...
Artists (like me) working independent of record companies, need media exposure. By contributing half of the net proceeds from the on-line sales of my music to The Free Library of Philadelphia Branches, I hope to get positive media exposure. My songs are good and they will sell. Selling at 99 cents a download, Doctors Without Borders' relief effots in Zimbabwe makes 42.5 cents. Done collaboratively:
One Charitable Cause
Many Artists
No Record Companies
We can help Doctors Without Borders make a huge difference in Zimbabwe right now.
Thanks,
Mick Star
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.com
http://www.myspace.com/
http://www.mickeystar.com
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
