“Hello all,

I have collaborated with my very talented friend Laura Dockrill to make a short animated film about why music matters, in particular the music of Nina Simone.  I am so happy to be part of this campaign as it’s all about how important music is! Back when Nina started she used it to make political and social statements that were integral to where we are today. It was part of the jigsaw that made people see that segregation and slavery was absurd and inhumane. She and her peers were so courageous to stand up to “the man” and help make these changes which we can still push further today. I suppose the music matters campaign is all about appreciating music and those that make and listen to it.

Musicians throughout history have always moved people whether it be emotionally or socially and I am so proud to be part of something that has such influence.  This campaign is helping to support is the artistry of music. The time and effort put in to making records and recording them beautifully and really thinking about what we are saying needs to be preserved. I hope you like the little film Laura and I made about why I was so inspired by Nina! Lets all keep listening to and buying great, inspiring music and making statements in our own sweet way!

Viva la revolution!

Love love love is all you need. Paloma x”

What is Music Matters…

The Music Matters campaign aims to get people thinking about the enduring value of music.  There is an ethical choice when it comes to consuming music and this campaign serves to educate people to these choices.  If you want to consume music for free there are legitimate ways this can be done.

This campaign was founded by a collective of artists and individuals in the music industry.  It launched last year and in the space of 12 months has the backing of the major record labels as well as independent labels, key retailers and most notably artists.  Now the campaign has received significant funding from the BPI to continue its work.

The Music Matters campaign stands out from other campaigns as it was not started by a major label and unlike many campaigns this campaign actually unites everyone in music as well as music fans.  Everyone agrees that music DOES matter.  It is the soundtrack to our lives.  It creates memories and is with us always.

Music Matters wants people to share their love and memories of music together.

The next 12 months for the campaign will see Music Matter’s start to engage with the consumer directly as the campaign moves overground.

How have artists involved themselves?

In the past year artists such as the The Jam, Sigur Ros, Kate Bush and Nick Cave have worked with animators to produce short films about why Music Matters.  In the next year some of the world’s biggest names from all genres will work with Music Matters to produce more films.

This next phase of the campaign will be kicked off with new films from Elbow, Bernard Butler and Paloma Faith.

Artists such as Ellie Goulding, Cee Lo Green, Dizzee Rascal, Duran Duran, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Rumer and Alexis Jordan have all been vocal about their support.

The Music Matter’s Trustmark…

The campaign has a trust mark that retailers and streaming sites use so the consumer knows they are using a legitimate site.

www.whymusicmatters.org