A NEW PARADIGM FOR A BETTER WAY

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A NEW PARADIGM FOR A BETTER WAY //

FRIEND OF ARTISTS, FRIEND OF MUSIC

RECORD STORES AND THEIR ROLE IN THE FOAFOM ecosystem

FOAFOM affiliated Community Record Stores are well situated to promote the vitality of the recorded arts in their communities. They do so by serving as COMMUNITY SPACES centered around arts-based encounters, rather than doing business as little more than a hub for commerce. This commitment to the power of the arts drives people to their stores to engage in an elevated experience around the love of music, enriched with meaning and community. Partnering with FOAFOM.org as a FOAFOM affiliated Community Record Store is a transformative step toward supporting a more arts-forward approach to the promotion and distribution of artful musics.

FRIEND OF ARTISTS, FRIEND OF MUSIC serves community record stores by shifting the transactional benefits from our limited-edition releases to the stores, in exchange for their participation in the FAOFOM family as active promoters the FAOFOM mission and our artist’s works. This arrangement provides FAOFOM affiliated artists with a more direct avenue for getting their recorded works of art into the hands of potential fans, which ultimately powers the strength and solvency of the community record stores themselves .

HOW WE SERVE OUR COMMUNITY RECORD STORES

  • FOAFOM Community Record Stores are periodically sent a care package containing a small number of a new, limited-edition FOAFOM release.

    These albums are a gift from us to you, with the expectation that you help our quality works of art find their way onto the turntables of potential fans in your community, whether through sales or give-aways.

    We believe that meaningful relationships are based around more than a transaction, and encourage recipients of care packages to carefully consider how to best act as a sort of ‘matchmaker’ between their music fans and FOAFOM releases.

  • FOAFOM Community Record Stores gain access to a range of potential grant funding opportunities. Grants are aligned with the FOAFOM mission and are used to encourage and make possible the kinds of investments needed to ensure a protected space for the arts in our Community Record Store partners.

    Purposes of our grants programs include:

    • funding for approved arts-focused activities and initiatives

    • encouraging store owners and staff to consider what an increased arts focus might do for them while navigating the challenges they face

    • promote an ‘art-first’ presence in the ongoing dialogues surrounding record stores and their place in society

  • FOAFOM Community Record Stores gain access to any FOAFOM limited-edition releases available, at a special FRIENDLY price.

    All proceeds received through catalog orders are donated back to the organization for the continuation of its non-profit work in the community arts issue space.

  • FOAFOM Community Record Stores consult with our organization and its resources to explore ways to use the arts and the power of aesthetic experience to help overcome the challenges they face in an ever-shifting arts marketplace.

    Challenging times need creative solutions, and FOAFOM is here to help community partners center the arts in solving today’s problems.