Rarely do you hear of record executives forgoing profits in favor of social welfare. But with “Causes 1,” the music aims for the greater good.
The Darfur benefit compilation from Jeff Antebi’s record company, Waxploitation, is a 14-track disc, to be released Nov. 27. It features exclusive contributions from the likes of Animal Collective, The Black Keys, Cornelius, The Cure, and Spoon. It also boasts a handful of rare live recordings and remixes from other genre giants and proceeds from the albums’ sales go to Darfur.
The focus on indie rock aims to attract the college-aged audience, according to Jeff Antebi, CEO and creative director of Waxploitation.
“I think there’s a lot more awareness with college students with what’s going on in Darfur,” he said. “It’s easier to focus on that audience that will be more compassionate to what we’re trying to do.”
Not that albums spearheaded by big-name artists haven’t been impactive: quite the contrary is true. Artists Against AIDS’ 2001 release, “What’s Going On,” received massive airtime and exposure through MTV, effectively appealing to a worldwide audience for help.
More recently, “Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur” united Christina Aguilera with U2’s Bono and four dozen others in a high-profile charity compilation.
These two discs, rather widely discussed considering the limited marketing generally afforded to charity albums, competed with Megadeth-caliber bands: They debuted at 18th and 15th on the Billboard 200. And within the last month ““ too recently for measured success on the charts ““ Warner Bros. Records released a “Live Earth” CD/DVD package to benefit the Alliance for Climate Protection, and Natalie Portman handpicked songs for a FINCA International charity CD, with an appearance by The Shins.
Despite the on-chart success of “What’s Going On” and “Instant Karma,” the televised publicity of “Live Earth” and the star power of Natalie Portman, public knowledge of the projects, especially among their target audiences, remains limited.
“The CDs are really warranted, but there’s not enough publicity,” said Sean Crain, second-year international development studies student.
Often not-for-profit albums struggle to balance investing in publicity with benefiting the cause.
“Because these projects are for charity, they’re not going to have the money for marketing,” said Geoff Mayfield, director of charts for Billboard Magazine. “They try to market them as best they can, but … even if it’s a charity project they have to be realistic about what they invest in it.”
In Antebi’s case, the smaller-scale nature of his compilation aids in maximizing funds raised and minimizing costs. Preordered CDs already guarantee about $50,000 in donations, plus additional income from iTunes and record stores.
With CDs selling for $10 and Waxploitation absorbing the costs of production, each sale should send about $9 to Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam America and Human Rights Watch.
“I specifically went for three charities that each serve a different function, so that there’s not a lot of overlap,” Antebi said.
College students, who tend to have limited expendable resources, will appreciate the decision to send money to targeted groups.
“If the money is going to one purpose, I’ll think about it. I want to know where it’s going exactly and what it’s used for,” said Sera Lee, a second-year prebusiness economics student.
However, due to limited marketing and the pressing need for aid in Darfur, students do not have the luxury of time in deciding whether or not to purchase Waxploitation’s compilation: It will be available on iTunes for only 90 days.
With the many rare, exclusive and live tracks on the album, fans of Bright Eyes, David Sylvian and Death Cab for Cutie have the incentive to purchase the album early and ensure access to the music. But even with this sense of urgency encouraging a prompt purchase, in an age of peer-to-peer file sharing and constant leaking on the Internet, some question the effectiveness of fundraising through CD sales.
Raisa Zaidi, who is close to the cause as the cochair of UCLA’s Darfur Action Committee, said, “I don’t know if people are necessarily going to pay money for compilation CDs,” said Zaidi, a fourth-year political science student. “(But) I notice a lot of the time people buy it because it’s for a good cause, and then they listen to it because they like it. … It’s a bonus.”
For Antebi, limited circulation is the answer to lacking sales. Other recent charity compilations rely on the same principle: If they provide exclusive or rare tracks, they will not as easily saturate the peer-to-peer network. The FINCA album features several exclusive tracks. “Live Earth” came together from recordings of the summer’s concerts, and “Instant Karma” and “What’s Going On” give listeners a dose of the classics, reworked by today’s top 40.
More than anything though, listeners’ consciences compel them to buy the compilation.
“People tend to respect that it’s a charity album,” Antebi said.