Musicians for social change

(Tibet’s profile has been raised considerably in the West, but what does that translate into at a time like this?) Well a student movement was born. (Are there different considerations for consulting musicians than athletes, for example?) I think that musicians and athletes have different relationships with their fans and with the businesses they work with. For athletes, I know a boycott of the Olympics will be discussed. (Let’s now bring in DT. In the New York Times this past weekend there was an op-ed piece that criticized making the Dalai Lama into a celebrity and then questioned the benefits of the pro-Tibet lobby.) DT: the Dalai Lama has employed backroom diplomacy, and when the politicians weren’t there, it was the celebrities who brought up the Tibet cause. (But now it’s the politicians who have indirectly caused the unrest.) DT: in that regard is that what’s happening now is not directly a result of those actions, they’re a result of years of Chinese occupation. (EP, has your organization fielded any calls for musicians eager to get involved and what are you advising them?) Bjork was inside China performing and dedicated a song to Tibet, the Beastie Boys have been involved and issued an email to their fanlist asking fans to take action in Tibet. So I suspect this kind of action will continue by musicians. All that will be helpful for the Tibetan cause.