MusiCares for Music People

MusiCares® was established in 1989 by The Recording Academy to provide a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need. MusiCares’ services and resources cover a wide range of financial, medical and personal emergencies, and each case is treated with integrity and confidentiality. Since its inception, MusiCares has developed into a premier support system for music people and its innovative programs and services are designed to meet the specific needs of its constituents.

The “heart and soul” of MusiCares is the Emergency Financial Assistance Program. With a commitment to providing help to those in need as quickly as possible, this program provides assistance for basic living expenses including rent, utilities and car payments; medical expenses including doctor, dentist and hospital bills; psychotherapy; and treatment for HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, hepatitis C and other critical illnesses.

The Emergency Financial Assistance Program is open to music people who are able to document at least five years of employment in the music industry and/or credited contribution to six commercially released recordings or videos, and who can demonstrate proof of need. MusiCares operates toll-free phone lines in the West region (800.687.4227), East region (877.303.6962), and South region (877.626.2748).

MusiCares has also developed a range of nationwide educational workshops and programs to address the unique needs of music professionals. These workshops cover a variety of subjects, including financial, legal and substance abuse issues, as well as topics of concern to specific constituencies such as vocal health. Through industry health fairs, MusiCares provides information to the music community to promote medical well-being and brings together health care providers offering services such as flu shots, hearing tests and medical screenings.

In addition to MusiCares' Emergency Financial Assistance Program and outreach efforts, MusiCares operates an Addiction Recovery Program called the MusiCares MAP Fund. The MAP Fund has become a leading force in the effort to identify and address the problems of addiction in our industry utilizing a pool of resources set aside specifically to provide members of the music community access to addiction recovery treatment and sober living resources regardless of their financial circumstances. The MusiCares MAP Fund operates a toll-free phone line at (800) 687-4227.

To learn more about MusiCares’ programs and services, visit www.musicares.com.