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Top Pop and Country Music Stars Answer the Question "Why Music?" in PSA Series Produced by
MENC: The National Association for Music Education
April 28, 2003 Reston, VA — MENC: The National Association for Music Education reports that its annual radio public service announcements series released to coincide with the year's biggest celebration of music education, Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM®), in March, recorded its largest numbers yet in terms of airplay and listeners in 2003. This series, Why Music?, features top country, pop, jazz, and classical musicians talking about the value and importance of music education. Compact discs of the pop and country versions of the series were distributed to more than 1000 adult contemporary stations, more than 1000 country stations, and 30 radio networks. Support for the series was provided by Gibson Guitar and Baldwin Piano, both of which were founded by music educators.
MENC's broadcast usage report, based on phone follow up to 10% of the target stations, verifies more than 371,800,000 gross impressions. (MENC's previous MIOSM series, aired in March 2002, generated 306,000,000 gross impressions.) 38.5% of the target stations reported airing the PSAs. Highlights of the report include verification that the Associated Press National Network, Talk America Radio Network, Soldiers Radio & TV Network, and Kids Radio Network aired the series.
New artists joining the lineup for MIOSM 2003 were: John Prine, John Tesh, Martina McBride, and Boyz II Men. Returning artists include Gloria Estefan, Vanessa Williams, Roger McGuinn, Lee Ann Womack, Faith Hill, Travis Tritt, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tim McGraw, Sara Evans, Chely Wright, and Vince Gill. Each PSA is sixty seconds long and features an artist talking about the importance of music education for today's youth or a personal experience he or she had with music in school. (A complete list of artists participating in the series can be found at www.menc.org/information/advocate/psa.html.)
The PSAs are part of MENC's unceasing efforts to keep music programs strong in America's schools. "MENC's mission is to advance music education by encouraging the study and making of music by everyone," says John J. Mahlmann, MENC's executive director. "We believe that the celebrity messages significantly raise the public's awareness of the positive effect music education has on kids. Music is intrinsically valuable on its own, of course, but it doesn't hurt, at a time when school budgets are so tight, to spread the word about the ways learning it can be beneficial to students. For instance, research seems to indicate that learning music can improve SAT scores, increase spatial I.Q., and decrease disciplinary problems."
"When a successful musician – who is a role model or a hero – tells a kid that music education is a good thing, no further proof is necessary," says Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar and Baldwin Piano. "At Gibson and Baldwin we're sold on the value of music education, and we're happy to help spread the word in the most effective way possible."
MENC releases Why Music? twice a year — in March to coincide with Music In Our Schools Month, and in September as children head "Back to School." The most recent "Back to School" PSAs, sent to 2000 radio stations and networks, generated nearly 122 million gross impressions over two weeks in September 2002.
Why Music? has been the recipient of several prestigious communications awards, including the League of American Communications Professionals 2002 Magellan Awards Publicity Campaign Competition Bronze Award for Community Relations and The Communicator Awards 2002 Audio Competition Crystal Award of Excellence. In addition, MENC was awarded Honorable Mention in the PR News 2002 Platinum PR Awards for PSA Campaign, and the 2001 Bronze Anvil Award for Best Radio Public Service Announcement by the Public Relations Society of America.
Wolf Trap, America's National Park for the Performing Arts (www.wolftrap.org), located in Vienna, VA, facilitated the participation of several artists featured in the March 2003 "Music In Our Schools Month" edition. Additional assistance was provided by the National Music Council (www.musiccouncil.org). For more information on this series, or for an MENC press kit, please contact Elizabeth Lasko at MENC, 703-860-4000, or by e-mail at elizabethl@menc.org. MENC's Web site is www.menc.org.
MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the world's largest arts education organization, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. Nearly 100,000 members represent all levels of teaching from pre-school to graduate school. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. MENC's activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education.
Gibson Guitar is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins and banjos. Baldwin Piano, a division of Gibson since 2001, has been the leading American maker of pianos for over a century. Headquartered in Nashville, Gibson Guitar Corp.'s family of brands includes Epiphone, Dobro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Slingerland, Trace Elliot, Maestro, Baldwin, Ellington, Chickering and Wurlitzer. Visit Gibson's Web site at www.gibson.com.
This article courtesy of http://music2find.com.
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