FairTunes is a team of industry and technical experts with a simple idea - to target local communities in developing nations and build music studios and radio facilities in their neighbourhoods. They then train the community to use the facilities and continue to support them, until they are able to run the facilities themselves.
The charity also aims to apply the principles of fair trade to establish an online promotion and distribution facility for the music produced in the studios. This will "create a self sustaining cycle where artists will get paid for the music they produce in the studios they run".
Their music team has already visited a project in Colombia where they have set up a running music studio in Semillas Creativas community centre in Juan Pablo II of Ciudad Bolivar. The centre now runs regular workshops and has started producing demo CDs. FairTunes was also able to donate equipment to L-mental - a hip-hop school that attempts to steer children away from gangs and crime, and 'La Calera', a youth community project based in the west of the city.
FairTunes is hosting a launch party at The Monarch, Camden, on 21 October. Further information is available at www.fairtunes.org.
(Jim Evans)
