Make a difference — one song at at time — to thousands of lives. Be part of Give To The Gulf ™.
Our hearts go out to the people of the Gulf Coast.
Nearly eight years after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, people are still recovering, rebuilding their lives and livelihoods and fighting to survive. With the Gulf oil spill in 2010, entire communities found themselves faced with further obstacles and hardships as they tackled the largest oil catastrophe in world history.
While the effects of the oil spill may no longer be visible in the Gulf waters, the long term effects of this man-made disaster are still very tangible in the lives of those most vulnerable. Thousands found their lives and livelihoods impacted by the Gulf Coast oil spill. The economic ripple effect reached far beyond the fishing, hospitality and tourism industries. And hundreds more families are still rebuilding from the 2005 storms.
We cannot sit idly by. Musical artists, from around the world, have joined forces to help raise money to rebuild lives and communities. And we’re doing so through what we know best: our music.
Through Give To The Gulf, musicians from across the world are composing music for this cause and making those songs downloadable via iTunes. (Music downloadable via this link.) Thanks to a collaborative effort with TuneCore, the money raised through iTunes downloads goes directly to the United Way Gulf Recovery Fund — targeted to the people and communities suffering along the Gulf.
The creators of Give To The Gulf do not make a single penny from this effort. We are an entirely volunteer group of musicians and technologists who have put this program together. We’ve donated our own time and money to build and host this Web site. Our goal is simply to help in every way we can.
About the Music
Our first compilation, released in June of 2010, was called, appropriately: Give To The Gulf, Volume 1, and included 11 songs from various artists across the country. The second compilation,Give To The Gulf, Volume 2, was released in September with 14 songs.
We’re pleased to release Give To The Gulf, Volume 3, featuring 14 songs and artists, including household names such as Nappy Roots and Swedish Grammy nominee Lazee.
When you download the album or individual song, 100% of the sale (less Apple’s standard iTunes distribution fee) will go directly to United Way and their relief efforts in the Gulf region. Specifically, for an album, $7.00 will go directly to the United Way Gulf Recovery Fund. And for a single, 70 cents will go those same efforts. That is our promise to you.
How to Help
Help us pass the word along. Click on the “Tell a Friend” icon at the bottom of this (and every) message posting to put the power of social media to work. You can also follow us on Twitter: @givetothegulf
Beautiful tunes. People helping people. A wonderful cause. Please join the effort in this time of crisis. Download the songs here. Thank you so much!
P.S. If you’d like to submit your own custom music to this very special cause, please click here for details.
PLEASE NOTE: The United Way name is used with its permission, which in no way constitutes an endorsement, express or implied, of any product, service, company, individual, or political position. For more information about the United Way, please visit www.unitedwaynola.org.
Photo courtesy of Chad Teer under Creative Commons Attribution license.
To submit your original music to help in this great cause, simply go to TuneCore and follow their standard process to upload your music. Your music will be grouped in the special Give to the Gulf collection on Apple’s iTunes. Whenever someone downloads your music, 70 cents of every download will go directly to the United Way and their emergency relief efforts in the Gulf.
We do not make a single penny from this effort. It is an entirely volunteer group of musicians and technologies who have put this program together. And you will maintain 100% of the ownership and intellectual property rights of your music.
Download music & contribute to the relief effort!
Every time you visit Apple’s iTunes and download either of our music collections – Give To The Gulf, Volume 1, Give To The Gulf, Volume 2, or Give To The Gulf, Volume 3 — $7.00 will be donated to the United Way to support their superb Gulf-relief efforts. (Alternatively, if you prefer to download individual songs from the album, 70 cents from each song will be donated to United Way’s efforts.)
(As mentioned in a number of places on this site, we do not make a penny on this endeavor. It is an entirely volunteer effort by a great group of musicians and technology people.)
Visit iTunes today through this special link. Preview and download fantastic original music from a rapidly expanding selection of musicians and genres.
We thank you so much for supporting this important cause!
About the United Way Gulf Recovery Fund
The United Way Gulf Recovery Fund was established to provide emergency assistance as well as support long-term recovery efforts to rebuild lives by addressing educational, financial and health-related challenges. Families have received assistance through the Gulf Coast Recovery Fund to help with food, clothing, utility assistance, rent and mortgage relief, and access to health and mental health care. United Way will remain on the ground to support long-term recovery efforts from both the oil spill and the hurricanes, working side-by-side with Gulf Coast residents to build more resilient communities. This includes helping people as they re-imagine their lives and livelihoods, take care of long-term health and mental health issues, and learn how to become more financially stable to face any future challenges.
How to submit your own original music to the collection:
Would you like to submit your own original music for consideration for upcoming Give To The Gulf collections — and get free, worldwide exposure? Well, here’s your opportunity…
Simply go to FileMail.com and send us a .WAV file for confidential review. We will not disclose your music to any third party. And our review will not transfer any copyright or other intellectual property rights to us. (You will always remain the holder of copyright and other IP rights — regardless of whether we select your song or not.)
The e-mail address to use with FileMail.com is “musicreview@givetothegulf.org”. Please include your full contact information (name, address, and phone number) in the “Message:” field so that we may contact you should your song be selected.
In order to be considered, your song’s .WAV file must be 44.1 kHz sample rate, 16 bit sample size, and the channel set to stereo.
Every style and genre of music is welcomed and encouraged.
Please do not submit songs with offensive or explicit lyrics. Our goal is to offer music that lifts the spirits of those affected by the catastrophes in the Gulf region — as well as the concerned and generous people throughout America and around the world. We reserve the right to exclude music that is contrary to this positive effort. Thank you for your understanding.
Artists and Songs on Give To The Gulf ™ Vol. 1
We want to thank all of the musical artists who have contributed their time and creativity to the Give To The Gulf™ Volume 1. (Music downloadable from iTunes at this link.) It’s your energy and spirit of giving that is making this grassroots relief effort possible. Thank you so much!
The following are the names of the songs and artists (in iTunes song order) that are on Volume 1:
Give to the Gulf
Lombardo Russo Holloman
Tomatoes
Ménage
Weeping Willow
Jackson Wetherbee Band
Sailing
Linda Bonadies
I Believe
Lombardo Russo Holloman
Sunrise
John Denner & Jeffrey Cohen
Tell Me
Ménage
I Love this Country
Lombardo Russo
The Star-Spangled Banner
Lombardo Russo
Wide, Wide Gulf
Infinite Passion
Till We See You Again
Lombardo Russo
Artists and Songs on Give To The Gulf ™ Vol. 2
We’re excited about our just-released Give To The Gulf™ Volume 2.
Volume 2 contains 14 great songs from artists from all over America – spanning a wide range of music styles and genres. Check out this fantastic music collection here.
Our continued, heartfelt thanks go out to all of the musical artists who have contributed their time and creativity to the Give To The Gulf™ Volume 2. It is your kindness and generosity that makes our grassroots the Give To The Gulf™ effort possible!
The following are the names of the songs and artists (in iTunes song order) that are on Volume 2:
Ordinary World
The Lightfighers
Nicci Girl
Lombardo Russo
Go If Going Gonna Please You
Warren Sattler
Down In The Delta
LittleHouse
Change
Adam’s Attic
As The River Cries
Coleman Jernigan
World Smiles
herMajesty
Gotta Move On
Matt Joiner
Dreams
Dave King
Little One
Kevin Thomas
Far Gone
The Smith System
Within – Without
Clutch Cargo
The Land of Gitchie Goomie
Johnny Jambalaya & his Cajun Lightfoot Band
Epic Proportions
Eric Knight
Give To The Gulf ™ branded merchandise now available!
By popular request, we have added a wide (and still growing) range of fund-raising merchandise with our popular logo. Check out shirts, hats, mugs, bags, buttons, and stickers by clicking here.
Of course — true to our mission and promise — 100% of the incoming monies through the sales of merchandise goes directly to the United Way and their relief efforts along the Gulf coast.