Hope for the Ukulele Community? Surely we can do better…

Crispy Jones has launched two excellent initiatives for the Medicine Sans Frontiers charity or MSF and I have been happy to have contributed to both samplers. The Hope samplers bring together many well-known ukulele experienced recording artists as well as some new ones who are just starting out. MSF does great work and was established in 1971 to provide medical assistance in disaster zones. As someone who has been married to a medic for over two decades, I am well aware of how hard doctors work and these doctors who literally put their lives on the line in war zones. 

The second Hope sampler was launched a couple of months ago and a number of artists from the ukulele world contributed material and then promoted it on social media. Bravo to all the artists who contributed to this initiative as it’s for an excellent cause. 

Ok, now the bad news…

A few months on I’m amazed that the total sales were only around 100 euros donated in total to date!

I appreciate that some of the artists were very new and not that well known, but the amount generated was tiny considering all the promotion this has received online. There are 18 artists on the sampler, so even if some of the music is not to everyone’s taste then there are plenty of choices. Personally, I’d like to see some better production on some tracks, but that’s just a personal view and its good that so many people contributed to this. The tragedy is that to date this initiative is so poorly supported from the ukulele world

The sampler can be found here  

The sampler was promoted extensively on social media (these days that’s usually more impactful than a mention on a website) but despite all the congratulations online, few have put their money where their mouths are! 

So why such a poor uptake?

There could be a number of reasons for this. One is that there are so many requests for donations that its now creating a fatigue for donations. It seems that more and more artists are pleading for financial support through crowdfunding initiatives or just asking for PayPal donations.

Another reason may be that the “uke world” is far smaller than people imagine and as an experienced uke artist commented

“Nick, the uke folks don’t like to really listen to music, they just want to strum” 

Before I receive another avalanche of complaining posts, let me be clear – there’s 100% a place for group and individual strumming and social meetups. The artist’s point (which I agree with) is that there are other dimensions that can be explored and this helps connect with a wider public. 

In these tougher economic times, I appreciate that people are more cautious over what they can afford to donate. Most artists I know find it a challenge to maintain predictable income stream and many who post online are of course hobbyists and not professional musicians who support themselves through their craft. That said 6.99 euros is not really a great ask is it? 

Is the public’s ukulele image a turn-off?

There are some excellent artists in the ukulele world, but the image of the ukulele to the wider public is in my view a bit problematic. The stereotypical image of the uke being a gimmick is reinforced by many (not all) of the uke festivals and online posts. Fortunately, festivals like Geraldine, The Ukulele Festival of Scotland and the new Meet the Makers festival, all in my view have made good progress in dispelling this image. Teachers like Phil Doleman, Percy Copley, James Hill and Matt Stead give me some hope in this respect. Matt’s Uke Room and Sore Fingers are key for musical education in the best possible sense and can only help with helping artists create better music. 

The problematic public image is also in my view a factor in the lack of uptake for the hope sampler, BUT I would still have expected a great deal more revenue even from the hardcore uke enthusiasts even if just to support a good cause. Platforms like OUS show that it’s totally possible to create really dynamic creative original music with the ukulele. I’m a big fan of the uke being used with other instruments and in my view, that route has a much better chance of connecting with and engaging a wider public. One of the best examples of this was Phil Doleman and Ian Emmerson’s set at a 2016 ukulele festival which was music at its best. 

The importance of charitable support through music 

I’m a big advocate of supporting good charitable causes and both my bands are involved in playing gigs to raise funds. Last week I played a gig with The Small Change Diaries for the Cloth Cat Leeds charity and on Aug 3rd we are playing another charity gig for a local hospice.  We deliberately don’t promote ourselves as “a ukulele band” as our interest is in reaching a wider audience. It also gives us the chance to showcase what the instrument can do and to date, we have played a few non-ukulele music festivals where we have great feedback. My point is that as musicians and music lovers we can all do something. 

With that in mind, I encourage ukulele folks to get behind Crispy’s initiative. Its really not a big ask to contribute a few euros in exchange for some really great tracks from Percy Copley and some other great artists. 

Ok, whether you agree with this article or not, please support this initiative via this link  https://crispyjones.bandcamp.com/ 

In the meantime here’s Percy’s Copley’s track on the sampler