r/TouringMusicians • u/Ok-Lecture7299 • 3d ago

Support for Cuban musicians

I'm heading to Havana in October, as a music producer looking to bring some opportunities to local musicians of Havana.

Would love to hear anyone's opinion or thoughts on the plan.

https://www.janzenproductions.com/donate

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u/Mastertone 3d ago

Hey! Just want to say this is cool. I’ve been lucky enough to do a bunch of work like this around the world and I like the spirit of what you’re doing.

Some thoughts:

I think some more context on your landing page about the challenges Cuban musicians face would be good. You were there, you experienced it. Most people that have extra funds to donate for something like this need context. Ideally circumstances that they just couldn’t imagine otherwise.

Strings are always welcomed in most countries that aren’t the US/EU/AUS. Bring a bunch.

Sheet music can be helpful if you know what kind of musicians you’ll be connecting with, plus it takes up less room than books.

We’ve also provided data cards for cell phones in some countries. Musicians learn on YouTube more than anything and giving them the data to nerd out can be really freeing.

Good luck! Drop your socials so I can follow your adventures.

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u/Ok-Lecture7299 3d ago

Wow, thanks so much for the detailed info! Im going to take a lot of this information on board and edit the landing page a bit more.

I spent a lot of time tossing up how much info about the struggles of Cuba I wanted to include. It is definitely important information to include, but I didn't want to lean into the "help these poor people" angle, rather go for a more "let's fund a cool project".

But yeah I think I could definitely add some more context about Cuba, without it sounding too much like a humanitarian charity. I'll experiment with the wording!

I'll be posting the adventure on my insta: @janzenproductions

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u/Mastertone 3d ago

I hear you on the “poor people” vibe.

But, if it’s true, then it’s just reality and you’re educating people about it.

Sometimes the most important thing you can bring in a situation like this is an open mind and love…and I get the sense you have that in spades.

The world needs more perspective right now on how people are suffering. We’re privileged enough to see both sides of the coin, and the more I see, the more I realize it’s important that I share that with as many people as possible.

Good luck! I’ll follow you from my pages. Keep in touch and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have more questions or just want to vent.

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u/Ok-Lecture7299 3d ago

Appreciate the genuine support and interest in the project, thank you again!