Who we are

Gday, we are Todd, Michelle and Russ and we are the founders of Music for Cause. It is our vision to Change The World Through Music.

It's a simple concept. This is a music website where we offer songs for users to download. The songs are generously donated by musicians. 100% proceeds from music downloads will be donated to one of the charity groups that is registered with us.

This is our Music for Cause Community – We have very cool and kind musicians who donate their songs, we will have generous customers who will download and donate, finally we will give our passionate charities more opportunities to do what they do best in making this world a better place!

The remaining 50% of the download fee will go to improving our site and covering our costs. Any profit we make will be held in a Trust and at regular periods throughout the year, will be donated to charity. Our accounts will be audited annually and will be loaded on the site.

We truly believe from our hearts that together we can make this world a better place. Thank you all for your help and support....

Russ

Well it’s taken my whole life to get here, but to see Music for Cause come to life is truly incredible to me. What a journey! And I am totally thankful to all, especially Miska and Todd for making this fabulous dream a reality……

I say fabulous because this dream kept rising - to make a major difference in this world - but it just seemed the mechanics weren’t quite rolling in tandem. Mum said I was born a little different. Unplanned (thanks mum ha ha), left handed (only one in the family), asthmatic (only one in the family), picked up a cricket bat (in a passionate sailing family), I heard the milkman was cute back then! So sitting at a desk 5 days a week 9 – 5 was never going to cut it for me, it soon enough lost its edge. I started to wonder, “is there anything I can do to make this world a better place?”

Lucky enough to live metres from the beach, and be blessed with three beautiful and healthy children, I began to realise just how lucky I was (am). It is my wish to let all kids have the opportunity for love, kindness and acceptance of their beautiful selves. What can I do to make this happen? I see people with incredible souls and spirits struck down with cancer or extreme bodily disabilities. Again, what can I do to help these special people?

There have been a few things I have done through my guitar. I help kids who have had very tough times to write positive songs, helping them to get through to the other side and to become an inspiration to the others who are doing it tough. My friend Abbie Honeyman has cerebral palsy that has restricted her to basically movement in one finger, but this has not stopped her!. She has written over 200 songs, which is unbelievable and totally inspirational. I play music to her lyrics (I might add I can’t keep up anywhere to near her songwriting). Abbie is also organising an all ages festival for disabled people. How great is that?! We will be with her every step of the way. It’s just a few little things, I really want to do more.

Every day I walk the beach and feel so grateful for what I have. I started to open up to all great and also unpleasant happenings in this world. Looking at the ocean and watching whales and dolphins cruise by would stop every person in their tracks with love and admiration for Mother Nature. I was ashamed to think that parts of our human race could slaughter them. What can I do to stop this?

I remember a quote from Steve Irwin – “one man can make a major difference in this world”. So what could I do? Being a passionate Steve Irwin fan, I was shattered to learn of his passing. It literally stopped ME in my tracks. We lost a true blue Aussie legend. Recently, I wrote a tribute song for Steve, “CRICKEY we miss you Steve”, my aim is to donate the proceeds to the Wildlife Warriors (Australia Zoo’s charity arm). I hope this can make a difference and reduce the needless slaughter of our precious marine life. Putting the great man’s words to practice in my life and making a difference.

So we were at a Sunday arvo bbq with Miska and Todd when I mentioned my idea. Well, the passion that came from that conversation blew me away! I did not realise we were all so like-minded in really wanting to make this world a better place. Basically, let’s help not only the Wildlife Warriors, but other incredibly devoted charities that are really making a difference. Guys do we make this thing massive?

Ok, let’s get not only me, but let’s give every other musician - local and global - the chance to donate a song to our site and help us help our charities by donating them funds from our download income. Hence the dream of helping others, albeit through forming a global music community, was born.

I liken it to a love heart. Inside the love heart is the kindness of the musician who has donated songs. Then we have the incredible generosity of our fellow music lovers purchasing from the site. And, of course, the passionate charities that provide the hands-on action that is required to help. The heart opens up, the love and passion pours out, what started as a ripple has become an ocean.

That’s my hope, to watch my amazing dream to make a major difference in this world become reality.

How? Through our own music community that will continue to show that musicians, music lovers and charities will, and do, work together to help our earth, animals and people, and make our planet a better place.

So for me personally, Music for Cause helps me fulfill my three greatest life purposes, loving and helping others to see their own gold, and giving back to Mother Nature as much as I can, for the lifetime of happiness she has provided me and my beautiful kiddies and of course playing and listening to music!

I am completely full of passion and belief that through our Music for Cause community we will change the world through music!!!!!!!

Thanks, you are all true legends.

Russ

Todd

This is the most exciting project I have ever been involved with, as it combines two of my passions, Music and helping other people.

My passion for music came first. I remember I received my first drum kit when I was about 3 or 4 years old. It consisted of the cushions off the couch and two wooden spoons. I would set up the cushions like a drum kit on the ground and beat the dust out of them with the wooden spoons to the tunes of The Doobie Brothers, Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac and The Daily Wilson Big Band. Yep, my parents had great taste in music.

My passion for music continued through school playing in the local primary school band. Then when I hit high school, sport took over. While I stopped playing music, it still played a large part in my life, seeing bands at pubs and venues. My taste in music has always been a little different and quite broad. How many other people in the ‘80’s can claim having Kiss, Devo and Howard Jones as their favourite artists!!!

Following school I went to university and my focus moved to money and career. Yep, I fell into the ‘office job’ trap. But I remember two things about the early ‘90’s, and neither of them relate to my time at Uni. They are both moments in my car driving to uni. The first, music to me was becoming very uninteresting and a bit predictable, until one day I heard a song by Fishbone called ‘Sunless Saturday’. It was the first time I heard anything that might resemble what they would call ‘Grunge’. The second is a bit more obvious to you. I’m in my third year at Uni, again in the car, and a song called ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ is played for the first time. I was hooked! Nirvana, Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, mixed in with some Stevie Wonder. Stevie has always been there!

My memories of the ‘90’s are based around work. I was told to get a job with a big company, work hard, get promoted. Until something happened in 1996. My mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I was always really close with my Mum, so this was a huge shock to me. My mother was going to have chemotherapy and be sick for a long time. An illness like this makes you reassess what is really important in your life. Is it money, a car, a big TV?

After being diagnosed, I would call Mum every morning to see how she was. I was always scared to hear the response. Sometimes she was ok, most the time not real good, but still incredibly brave. My mother was always making other people happy and, in a strange way, her being sick taught me a lot. Life is short and the most important thing is family and friends.

My mother passed away in 2001 at the age of 58. Way too young, but I am so lucky to have known such a special person. At Mum’s request, no one was allowed to wear black and there were no flowers at her funeral, instead a request for people to donate to her two favourite charities, Starlight Foundation and Breast Cancer Foundation.

That was it for me. It was time for me to change. I’m back behind the drums in a band, I started surfing and I sponsor a family in Indonesia, among other charity projects.

When Russell first spoke of this project, I was so excited. I think there is always a song of some sort in my head and I’ve always wanted to do more for others. So this is it! We’ve thrown ourselves and our money into this, in the hope that you, the user, will feel good about purchasing songs from us and, in doing so, helping a charity that really deserves it.

Always remember that you can make a difference.

Thanks for reading this and enjoy the site!

Todd

Michelle

I have to admit, I feel like a bit of an imposter in comparison to Russ and Todd! But here is my story, and what Music for Cause means to me (a warning, it does contain embarrassing moments that I’ve not admitted to anyone…):

My brother gave me my first lp when I was about 9 – Nick Kershaw, while he busily listened away to the Ramones and the Dead Kennedys. I bought my first tape (ahhh the memories of dreadful music quality!) of Crowded House shortly after. While all my classmates were listening to Madonna, I was vicariously listening to Nirvana and The Offspring at home, and every now and then Mum would take me to see Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables - we would sing the soundtracks at the top of our lungs in the car every weekend…

The great thing about all this is I learned to find music that I liked, not what everyone else was listening to. My favourites include (in no particular order) Roberta Flack, Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, Green Day, The Living End, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ramones, Blink 182, Birds of Tokyo. I’m even open to a bit of Kelly Clarkson or Andre Reiu…

For as long as I can remember I’ve been writing poetry and song lyrics, although I’ve never been good at writing the music. I’ve been secretly wanting to learn the guitar, and last year, after the birth of my second boy, my hubby gave me one (a guitar, that is). I’ve not had as much time to start learning as I would like, but I WILL LEARN THE RIFF FROM WET SAND (Red Hot Chili Peppers) BEFORE I DIE!

I did the corporate thing in a pretty big way (too big, I think), until I decided I was ready to have kids. I couldn’t have both career and kids, so I quit my job – I’m really proud of this decision. It kinda seems like the world has been slowly turning on its arse. People are cranky on the street,  the environment is in a state of crisis, poverty, civil rights violations, violence, egotistical and ignorant world leaders, so many people out for themselves and not realising that everything is connected. How do you change such big problems? I’d give to charities where I could, I shaved my head for charity, I served food to homeless people, I sponsor a child, as well as other small contributions, but it just never felt like enough.

Then about a year and a half ago I thought: there’s no point wallowing in the bad things, I am going to do anything I can to change it. And if I feel desperate enough to change it, surely others will too?

I followed Barack Obama’s (and to an extent, Kevin Rudd’s) movements on the campaign trail, and I thought, finally here is someone who calls it how it is: the world is screwed up, let’s stop whining about it, let’s fix it (I might be paraphrasing a little!). The changing tides started to gather momentum…

And now the emergence of ‘Generation G’. Not defined by a date of birth, this is the recognition of the shift in all those who now see the acts of Generosity and Giving as essential ingredients to life. It is a power we have in all of us to create a better world for our kids, and for children across the globe. We are not alone.

Then Russ told me about his Steve Irwin song, and how he wanted to try and use it to make a difference. I was hooked! There really was a huge idea behind this – I felt like I could actually change the world! So, I dug deeper into debt, and put those corporately-acquired skills to good use, and here you have it – the Music for Cause Community! The marriage of music, which truly is food for the soul, with the philosophies of giving, respecting and bringing happiness to others (people, planet or animals) which I believe to be the most satisfying high on earth.

I have real hope. I believe in humanity and I believe that love is stronger than hate. Everybody wants to be loved.

So I throw out the challenge to all of you… Please, please, please, enjoy music and let it move you. Then take that energy and pass it on to someone else who really needs it.

Love,

Mxx

Thank you

We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and positivity of many people – be they musicians, band managers, producers, designers, web developers – we are so thankful. There are just a few who go under the radar but have helped us get this site up and running:

Create Studios – built our rockin’ site!

Kath Mason Designs – designed our logo and all our materials (k.mason@ozemail.com.au).

Mike Cook from Redeeming Features who has helped us get the word out there. Jen Walsh for giving us guidance and who is just so passionate about helping people.

All those charities out there who put all their efforts (and more!) into making this world a better place.

All those musicians who have contributed to Music For Cause. The music industry often gets a pretty tough rap, but it has been our experience that most musos are absolutely willing to help out those in need in any way they can!