Conservatory Fountain by Perkins Harnly and Nicholas Zupa c. 1938 ​

With the recent large-scale theft of art going on unchecked in the world, it’s been heartening to see many members of the online community show support for independent artistry which is currently being plundered. Even as our leadership shrugs and continues taking checks from criminals, at least we have each other.

Before AI, streaming platforms were made as a way to strip wealth from independent artists and give it to established brands and labels (check out my past blog on how Spotify streaming royalties work). Before streaming, record labels were created to trap artists into predatory and parasitic contracts. Even before that, the patronage system (which many art forms/genres/institutions are still chained to today) ensured that artists remained loyal to power and capital - one reason why cases of abuse and censorship are so rampant to this day. I think it’s important to recognize that AI is simply the latest iteration of the same old tools we’ve always dealt with. Free and accessible art is dangerous, not in itself necessarily, but because of what it predicates - I’ll get into that in this post.

The issues we face run way deeper than AI regulation. Yes, AI regulation is a good step and we should support it, but it is ultimately a bandaid solution. We need to keep our attention on the deeper systems currently trapping, robbing, and killing our communities.
​

We (our corporate overlords) have created a world which prioritizes capital and “productivity” (which is far from productive) above all else. A select few people, blinded by the mistaken notion of having “earned” their way to the top, continue to optimize a broken system which puts numbers above human lives. Nobody benefits from this system. Even those who we consider “successful” are hollow shells, driven by a false sense of purpose. Take a look at the supposed beneficiaries of this system, do they look happy to you?

The key to the cage is able to remain hidden because the cage divides us. Yes, in a social sense - it isolates us, but it also literally divides us on an individual level. No person is afforded the ability to explore themselves fully as a human being. Many of us are strangers in our own skin. There’s parts of ourselves that we have little to no knowledge about, many of us go through life without any idea of what we want - on autopilot. Some of us hyperfocus on one aspect of ourselves, neglecting all other parts with the idea that that will fulfill us in the end. Few are able to think clearly enough about their predicament to act and change it. We instead try to optimize our divided selves for “success” in profit generation - the one allowable effort. These circumstances are features, not flaws, of the cage.

I believe the main way that humans learn about themselves is by creating and sharing art. The whole process of creation - writing, playing, singing, listening, discussing, etc. It all plays into endless discovery about ourselves and each other. It lets us be our full selves. Unfortunately, and largely for this reason, free expression is a tightly controlled commodity in the cage. Only a select few are allowed to do it, and even they can not do it without moderation.
​

​By enforcing the need for us to make money from all that we do, this tight regulation of art is possible. Even lucrative artists are pressured out of free expression in the interest of generating wealth - pumping out as much material as possible, with little regard for the music itself. Incoming independent artists are choked by streaming platforms and predatory institutions. It is therefore incredibly difficult for the average person to pursue their drive to create.

Enter AI: AI music companies are angling themselves as a path towards accessibility in music. A way for us to have the time in our busy money-making lives to make art. So, is AI our dream come true for accessibility?

Let’s imagine for a moment what true accessibility in art would look like. We’ll consider how each point can be achieved with and without AI. You tell me which option you would prefer:

1. Art requires immense time. In order to have true accessibility in art, people would need free time to learn and explore their creativity and technical capacity to make music. We could provide that time by advocating for shorter work weeks and more time off, or we could have Suno do that part of the process for us to save time.

2. Making art is expensive - instruments, equipment, teachers, it’s hard for most people to get access to those things. For true accessibility, we would need greater financial freedom. People would need money they could put towards equipment and education in addition to what they need to cover their basic expenses. We could provide this by advocating for higher pay across all sectors and increasing funding towards arts education in public schools across the country, or we could let Suno take care of it and go back to work.

3. Art requires spaces to gather, create, and share together. It’s not meant to be created in isolation. For this imagined accessibility to succeed, we would need public spaces where communities can easily gather. Many places used to exist like this in the past of this country. Churches, and historical buildings are some of the last remnants of this. We could fund the construction/restoration of community spaces and invest in public transportation to ensure they are accessible to all, or we could just do it all online with Suno.

So what’s my point here? Well, in the end, all of these above solutions without AI benefit more than just the arts. They are things we should already have, and are easily achievable with the resources we have today. Considering this reveals the following: AI music (and AI in general) is not a solution in any way. It’s an excuse to not provide solutions (and monetize a problem, of course)

​Why does Mikey Shulman think people don’t enjoy making music? Because when you love the cage, art makes little to no sense. 

So yes, AI has been here the whole time. Preceded by patronage, record labels, and streaming platforms. It’s the latest tool to convince you to stop looking for a key. It’s the latest tool to ensure that a paid artist is a loyal artist, that freedom is never truly free. Don’t accept their excuses. Don’t stop looking.

As many of you may already know, I’ve made a yearly tradition of writing a tax blog focused around helping musicians better understand how taxes work for them. However, I’m finding it very difficult to justify promoting paying money to a government which is actively subverting our interests, and wasting all of the revenue it generates off of our backs.
Our so-called “representation” in Congress has been pulled away from fighting for our interests in favor of protecting corporations and wealthy donors. By paying taxes, we pay for bombs and missiles killing children overseas, we pay for the kidnapping and illegal detention of our friends and neighbors, we fund the mechanisms which work to revoke our rights and freedoms. None of us want this. 

In a true democracy, we should have control over where our tax money is spent. In fact, it’s actually built into the structure of our government by giving Congress (our representation) the power to control how money is spent. However, in the United States, corruption is legal under the name of “lobbying”. The people do not own their representation, capital does. As a result, we effectively have taxation without representation in this country - ironic considering the circumstances under which it was created. Billionaires have representation, corporations have representation, but you and me? Nope.

So instead of the usual tax how to, this year’s blog will take a look at ways to save money on taxes–to ensure more of your income stays with you so that you can put your money towards keeping yourself and your communities safe, and contribute to causes that you believe in. I will still leave my old tax posts up for people who need it, most of the information there is still relevant. 
You can read it here: (seanpenzo.com/musician-coop/2025-musician-taxes-post)

Here’s your usual disclaimer: I am not a tax expert. Think of this post as a starting point to connect you to resources. Not paying taxes is indeed illegal. The goal is to pay as little as possible federally while still remaining compliant with tax law. Please carefully make sure you are compliant when filing.

​You may have seen ads online from TurboTax about filing for free, and then you may have later found yourself then paying TurboTax to file your taxes. How did that happen? 

Do not fall for their crap. Here are two simple ways to save money when filing:

1. The first option is to take advantage of one of the many VITA or TCE sites across the country to get assistance with your taxes. They offer in person help and some even have drop sites where they will file on your behalf - all for free! They are intended for people who make less than $69,000 per year, have disabilities, or are limited-english speaking. You can check your eligibility and find a site near you through this link: (irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers).

2. The second option is for folks who would rather file online. You’ll want to check directly with the IRS where you can file for free. There are many alternative services (many of which work better than TurboTax) which will be free or at the very least much cheaper than TurboScam. Simply follow this link: (irs.gov/e-file-do-your-taxes-for-free) and answer the questions they’ll prompt you with. They’ll then offer the best match for you.

EITC or Earned Income Tax Credit is a credit that you can add to your taxes to pay less as a low to moderate-income worker. I’ve found that many tax filing services actually neglect to include this in how they file taxes, and as a result, many people are actually over paying.

You can check your eligibility for this credit by using the IRS tool linked here:
(irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant)

This tool also lets you check previous years. If you’ve found that you overpaid in years past, you can actually file an amendment to previous tax returns in order to get this credit you are owed back. The IRS has a handy how to for that here:
(irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/how-to-claim-the-earned-income-tax-credit-eitc)
Keep in mind that you can only go back three years to do this, so if you find you have an eligible year, make sure to do it within the time limit.

If you are matched with TaxSlayer as your tax service for preparing taxes, they do take this credit into account when you file, so you can just file normally with them and receive the credit automatically!

​For most people reading this, you may end up wanting to take a standard deduction on your taxes if the amount of itemized deductions you’ve taken throughout the year is less than $15,700 as an individual filer. Most tax preparing services will automatically place you on the best deduction to save you the most money. So if that’s you, don’t worry about this. At the end of the day, the goal is to pay as little as you can, and the standard deduction will get you there if you’re not taking a lot of deductions for business expenses.

However, if you find that the amount you are deducting for business expenses is similar or greater than the standard deduction (greater than $15,700 for individual filers), this opens a new world of possibilities to you.

If you take itemized deductions instead of the standard deduction on your taxes (filing a Schedule A), you can donate up to 60% of your gross income to qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofits and take it as a deduction on your taxes. This means that money that you would have sent to the federal government can instead go to the causes that you care about! Extra bonus: if you go over that 60%, you can still apply it to the next year’s taxes. 

This is a way to have more control over what your money pays for. It is one of the many tricks that those billionaires who run our government use to be able to pay less taxes than you do. If you have the means, why not try it too?

​That’s all I can think of at the moment, I hope you found this post helpful! Please do reach out if you have any questions or suggestions for other ways to save money. This is a rough moment, and doing a bit of extra research into how we can support each other, here and abroad, can make a difference. Thank you for reading, here’s to a distant future where we can be proud of paying taxes, and happy jamming!

​We’re back! On February 21st of 2025, I started a new hobby of calling my congress members at least once per week. The goal in starting this hobby was to 1. be active and consistent in my resistance to the current collapse of our country, 2. invite people to join in on this activity to hopefully bring in folks who wouldn’t normally call, and 3. find a nice outlet to vent my frustrations with the current state of affairs at the people actually responsible for it.

So far this year, I have hyper-focused on three main issues that I think are most crucial in pulling us out of the mess that is our government. These issues are: 1. Releasing the Epstein files. 2. Abolishing ICE completely. 3. Impeaching every member of the Trump administration by any means necessary.

With an administration which is very flagrantly attempting to distract people at every turn, I think it’s important to establish some form of sustained consistency in political pressure. In a laundry list of pressing issues - I believe these are the most impactful at this moment.

​As always, if you know how to call already, please skip down to the “What To Say” prompt section for updated information and an explanation for these issues.
​

You can find who your representative is through this link:
(https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative). Simply click the link and type in your ZIP code, you’ll then be prompted to put in your address if there are multiple representatives associated with your ZIP.

Once you’ve found their name, you can find their number on the list linked here: (https://www.house.gov/representatives).
​

You can find your senators and their contact information through this link: 
(https://www.senate.gov/states/statesmap.htm) Click on your state on the map and their number should be right under their portrait. You can also find other useful info about them here as well.
​

There is a high likelihood that you won’t end up having anyone answer when you call. When leaving a message inevitably happens, you will be prompted with exactly what they want you to include. This will usually be: Your name, contact information, and your ZIP code. They may also ask for an address, although this is usually left as an optional option. The most important of these is your ZIP code. When someone does pick up, I always ask if they need any of the above information before proceeding. Trust me though, after enough calls, they will start to know who you are!

After stating the above info, list off just a couple pressing concerns. If it’s easier to focus on a single issue per call, that can sometimes be more effective. I’ve included an updated version of an example prompt in the above image but I’ll detail it below:

“My name is [insert name, email/number, ZIP code]. I’m calling to express my concern over recent policy proposals and executive actions. 1. Fully release the Epstein files. The DOJ has been ordered to release these documents and have failed to do so completely. Congress members have been permitted to view these documents unredacted. You should filibuster and do a public reading of these documents - outing every single predator inside them. Force their hand. 2. Abolish ICE in its entirety. No half measures. This agency should never have been created and is now operating as a private army of the president with no oversight. Your constituents are being kidnapped and killed. Take back the $75 billion that you gave to them with a rescission and put it towards fixing this country. 3. Initiate and support all attempts to impeach members of the Trump administration. At this point, every person in this administration has committed a felony or assisted in protecting a felon. Impeachment is a no brainer. Please fight by any means necessary to impeach them and impede all of their policy agendas.”

​It can really be that short! It’s nice to include something personal in the message: if you voted for them, what your occupation is, how these policies impact you and the people you love, are all great ways of doing that. The goal is to just let these representatives know that these are issues you care about and will vote for. It made you get up and call didn’t it?

I picked these three issues because I believe we need to stay focused on the following goals: First, we must discredit the legitimacy of those in power - reveal them as the deplorable monsters they are to as many people as possible. This can be done through exposing their lies publicly (the Epstein files offer a hotbed of these lies), in everyday conversation, and by convincing people that they deserve more than to be lied to and stolen from. As people begin to turn, we must leverage that to remove this administration’s access to unchecked power (this involves primarily cutting funding to ICE which is currently operating as a private military for Trump). Finally, we need to remove criminals from office one by one - whenever an opportunity presents itself. If there’s one thing to learn from the Epstein files, it’s that these people put self preservation above all else. They have no driving moral principle, they have no deeper cause, they are husks clinging to survival and power - corrupted by the very system they work to maintain. They will turn on each other at a moment's notice to save their own skin. We must use this against them. As soon as one goes down, it will show that they can indeed bleed, and the whole ruse will crumble. In fact, they may even help us dismantle it.

I’ve broken down each issue even further below.

Image Source: www.justice.gov/epstein

1. The Epstein Files. Keep in mind that the image above is just what has been released so far, by the government which is currently protecting the president. The real number is actually much higher. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) who was able to look at the unredacted files stated that Trump’s name appeared "more than a million times." (axios.com) Fully releasing the names and actions of predators will discredit them to their current supporters. These officials are the people who so closely tied themselves to Christianity. The cognitive dissonance is becoming too great for even the most manipulated of supporters. We need to convince people who are clinging on to this president, that they have been tricked and manipulated. Fundamentally, we need to show them that they deserve better. Besides allowing a modicum of justice towards the survivors of rape and sex trafficking, releasing the Epstein files could go a long way towards making support for the administration no longer something that can be stomached.

Image Source: whitehouse.gov

​2. Defunding ICE. The image above includes just one example of Trump clawing back funds that were already allocated. ICE was created in 2003 with an unconstitutional overreach by the executive branch. It should have been blocked by congress, but it wasn’t and our representatives have actually dug the hole even deeper for us by granting them $75 billion in funding in the One Big Beautiful Bill. However, it’s not too late. Congress has the power to revoke these funds through a process called “rescission”. The Trump administration has done this multiple times to cut social programs. It’s time to give them a taste of their own medicine. If we can convince congress that their constituents support an initiative to claw back this funding, there’s a shot at bringing down this corrupt agency. This is why calling is so important. We need a monsoon of calls demanding this. ICE is going to have a hard time kidnapping kids without our money.

Image Source: congress.gov

​3. Impeaching the Trump administration. In case you weren’t aware, Donald J. Trump has already been impeached twice. However, both times he was acquitted by his sycophants in the senate. He is a felon, and he is surrounded by fellow criminals and co-conspirators. It is imperative that we continue to attempt to get this entire corrupt administration out of office. It is easy to throw up our hands and give up on the notion that justice still exists in this country - but it is at that moment that we lose it permanently. We must keep insisting that our institutions and representatives do their jobs. We must keep going until every single one of the criminals in office is behind bars. Half measures will not work here.
​

​One of the most important aspects of this process is consistency. Calling once helps, but if you can do it regularly, these calls will start to pile up and make a difference. If you can pick an easily achievable regular goal amount of calls, you’ll be more likely to do it. I personally have set a goal to call representatives at a minimum of once per week. I can absolutely do more than that, but even if I get busy, I must at least do it once per week. Feel free to join me on that goal! In support of it, I’ll be including regular updates on policies and the written prompt I’ll be using in the calls. Stay tuned for those! If everyone reading were to make a plan to call, no matter how frequently, this could really start to make a difference. Calling is better than not calling, so pick whatever frequency works for you.

​Things are scary, and it’s easy to tune it all out and feel helpless. This is one small way to take back control. The folks in congress and in the white house work for us, it’s time we reminded them that. In the meantime - between the calls - thank you for reading, and happy jamming!

​As promised, this is the return of Musician Coop for 2026. If you’re new here, thanks for clicking and giving this a shot. If you’re returning, welcome back! As always, I like to start the first post off with a discussion of what you can expect in the coming year. Year three of Musician Coop begins now!

Well, last year I stated that 2024 wasn’t an easy year… I gotta say, I think it might be even worse now, somehow. I think I was right in saying it wouldn’t be any easier, but 2025 was actually garbage. It looks like we can look forward to more political content from the blog this year. Focusing on anything else at the moment, is difficult! I’ll definitely be continuing the “Contacting Congress" series which many of you have told me you appreciate - thank you for the kind words, and for joining me on the weekly calls. I’ll plan on making the next blog, Friday February 20th, one of those. There is quite a lot to catch up on with the prompts. If you’re eager for something to call about though, join me in demanding the defunding of ICE from our representatives. I’m personally more interested in having health care than having concentration camps, anyone else?

​Yes, things are rough, but I still have hope for a better future. The last few times I called John Mannion (representative from NY), I couldn’t even get through initially - all the lines were supposedly busy. If that’s true and not just another way for our representatives to shirk their responsibilities, it’s heartening to see so many people making their voices heard.

I also want to offer some additional resources beyond the directly political this year. I’ll do a discussion on taxes for musicians again, and I’d also like to create a guide for navigating copyright law as well - there’s a lot of abuse from large corporations in this area, which is exactly what I like looking into! I did a little post last year discussing my personal gripes with this process, especially fighting off fraudulent claims. You can read that little guide here. ​This year, I may also get into a little crash course on copyright history and how to know what is okay to use and what isn’t. Helpful tips for folks who like to do remixes and arrangements!

​As always, this little list of ideas isn’t exhaustive and I will change/add things as needed. Thank you to the folks reading these posts, I hope that I can continue to provide some value/resources in the coming year. You’re all making incredible art and change in the world. I’m honored to be in a community that has you in it! 2026 doesn’t stand a chance! All the best to you in the new year, and here’s to a year of happy jamming for the hell of it, and very importantly, to spite fascism!

​What a year! This is the third November we’ve reached with Musician Coop… It’s been so nice to see all the new readers engaging on social media with the blog. Welcome if you’re new to the posts! Thanks for stopping by! As usual, this last post of the season will reflect on posts gone by, announce the schedule for next year, and discuss what you can expect in the next season.

This year introduced the new “Contacting Congress Update!” series which I’ve been doing every other post - sometimes more than that, to get people engaged in the current political climate in a way that is manageable. My goal has been to make it as easy as possible for people to contact their representatives, and I’m so happy to see a bunch of you calling along with me. Thank you for participating in this effort! The shifts we’re seeing in our representation are the result of constant pressure - phone calls are a part of that. 

In addition to posts about phone calls, we explored topics ranging from the connection of music to politics, to exploring the copyright abuses perpetuated by large corporations and YouTube’s Content ID system. Things have definitely taken a more political slant overall, but I think the times have called for it. As stated in the first post on this blog - the goal here is to create a community of musicians that stand up for each other and work to build a system that nurtures the arts. I aim to continue working towards that goal.

I do think we’re ending the season on a high note with the results of the most recent election giving me hope again. People are waking up to the fact that we have criminals running the country at the moment. However, there is still a lot of work to do before we start solving this issue. Our leadership still needs ample replacing as it’s clear many of them are still spineless cowards… But I do believe it’s only a matter of time before hope prevails over cynicism. Love is inevitable. Art is inevitable. Let’s get real leaders in office. We’ll be rebuilding before we know it!
​

We are currently witnessing as our government actively turns this country into one which is hostile to the arts - to everyday people - as a whole. It is our responsibility to resist this transformation. Calling representatives and attending protests are good ways of doing that, but also simply checking in with your friends/colleagues and supporting them whenever you can makes a big difference. Hold your community close and support them. Find ways to organize and protect each other. Those acts of solidarity can be just as effective as any other.

The ongoing protests are in response to the Trump administration's deployment of the National Guard and ICE to cities across the U.S. In a shocking disregard of constitutional rights, community members are being violently kidnapped by plainclothes agents, detained, and thrown in concentration camps. Many interactions between these illegal agents and the public have been violent. Those people bravely, and peacefully protesting these unconstitutional detentions are being beaten, teargassed, shot at, and even killed.

To some of you, this may seem outrageously inaccurate. This is because the government is actively lying about the situation on the ground. One simple google search will demonstrate just how hard they are trying to push their own narrative of events. They are actively attempting to portray peaceful protests as violent insurrections - which is laughable considering their personal pardoning of violent insurrectionists from January 6th. Don't get it wrong, they love violence, despite what you hear them claim publicly.

Why are they doing this? Because they want a violent response. They’re going to try to get it even if people don’t give it to them. They are waiting for an opportunity to justify their final revocation of the dwindling rights that remain for people in this country (most of which are being violated already). Sending heavily armed battalions to zip tie children in the night? Helicopter support? I think we found the invasion happening in this country, and it’s not the fake one Trump was talking about.

Image Source: (nbcnews.com)

This is why peaceful protest at this moment is crucial. We need to make it as obvious as possible that it is the government that is committing violent illegal acts. We need to document it, and give those few handfuls of resisting judges, lawyers, and representatives the evidence they need to fight this blatant power grab. We are running out of time to resist the real invasion.
​

I want to reiterate again that it is not possible for everyone to attend protests. For most people, work is not optional. Everybody needs to find a way to make enough to make ends meet. Having to work is not a flaw, it’s a reality. Everyone has their own capacity to contribute, and whatever that is for you, it is meaningful. Just because you can’t attend a protest, doesn’t mean you don’t support the broader cause it represents. 

My main argument in this post is to advocate for a perspective shift in those who feel it is unnatural to get involved, that it would interfere with their branding or image as a musician. I want to let you know that staying out of this effort is what is interfering. Ignoring these problems is directly impeding you as a musician. If you get to pursue your passion while others are being thrown into camps, while others have to give it up to feed their families or pay off debt, and you do nothing to resist the current administration - you’re a hypocrite. Especially for those who have the privilege of doing art full time, staying silent and standing on the sidelines is not an option. That freedom comes with a responsibility to spread it for others. That freedom is fading quickly.

So don’t let it fade! Attend the protest tomorrow, October 18th! There are No Kings events in almost every city across the country. Get your friends together and make a day out of it! The more, the merrier. You can find all the information applicable to the event near you here:
(https://www.nokings.org/).

No Kings offers a great guide on your rights as a protester, what to bring, and how to attend. You can learn more here:
​(https://www.nokings.org/kyr).

​I’ll see you all tomorrow! Have fun, stay safe, bring water, and until next time: Thank you for reading. Happy jamming!

There’s something about the government silencing/cancelling anyone who speaks against the administration that just makes me want to speak against the administration. Anybody else? This post was originally going to be a deep dive into copyright law, then shifted into a discussion of the Living Wage for Musicians Act (check it out here), ​but the government is being so naughty right now that it ultimately just became an extra contacting congress update. They just make it impossible for me to talk (or think) about anything else! So much has happened since the last post, and things are getting very dangerous, very fast. In this one, my hope is to try and tackle the monsoon of new legislation, executive actions, and crises to make things a bit less scattered.

The issues I’ll focus on for this month are: 1. The continued illegal blockade of Gaza - there have been some heartening updates on this front, and it seems that tides are starting to shift. However, those with the power to actually help the families currently starving to death are steadfast in their commitment to genocide. Pressure is mounting, but this is the time to dig in, not get distracted. 2. The recent attempts by the U. S. government to strip rights away from its people. The most alarming of these attempts has been with the “Department of State Policy Provisions Act” which included a provision to give the Secretary of State the power to revoke and deny passports and take action against citizens without due process or a criminal conviction. 3. The last issue is music related (at least partially), and is actually a part of a larger political push that I urge you to be a part of: Reform for Section 1201 of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) Yay! We get to talk about copyright after all!

​I’ll include a more detailed discussion of these issues down in the “What To Say” prompt section. Before that, here’s the usual guide for finding your representatives.
​

You can find who your representative is through this link: 
(https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative). Simply click the link and type in your ZIP code, you’ll then be prompted to put in your address if there are multiple representatives associated with your ZIP.
​
Once you’ve found their name, you can find their number on the list linked here:
​(https://www.house.gov/representatives)
​

You can find your senators and their contact information through this link: (www.senate.gov/states/statesmap.htm). Click on your state on the map and their number should be right under their portrait. You can also find other useful info about them here as well. For example, I’ve been including the little “Hometown” fact as an extra way to make things more personal.

​There is a high likelihood that you won’t end up having anyone answer when you call. In calling more than once per week since my first post on this (February 21st of 2025), I’ve received a grand total of 8 responses while calling. Now that I’ve moved to NY, I’ll have a chance to get to know some new staffers! When leaving a message inevitably happens, you will be prompted with exactly what they want you to include. This will usually be: Your name, contact information, and your ZIP code. It is better to include your full street address to ensure that your call is tallied. The most important of these is your ZIP code.

After stating the above info, list off just a couple pressing concerns. If it’s easier to focus on a single issue per call, that can sometimes be more effective. I’ve included an updated version of an example prompt in the above image but I’ll detail it below:

“My name is [insert name, email/number, ZIP code]. I’m calling to express my concern over recent policy proposals and executive actions. 1. I urge [insert congress members name] to vote “yes” on the resolution “Calling for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to address the needs of civilians in Gaza”. Children are starving. The blockade must end. 2. vote “no” on the “Department of State Policy Provisions Act”. This bill is a thinly veiled attempt at suppressing free speech. 3. Support legislation that reforms Section 1201 of the DMCA. Consumers should not be forced to rely on manufacturers for repairs.”

It can really be that short! It’s nice to include something personal in the message: if you voted for them, what your occupation is, how these policies impact you and the people you love, are all great ways of doing that. The goal is to just let these representatives know that these are issues you care about and will vote for. It made you get up and call didn’t it?
​

Image Source: ​https://www.politico.eu

1. About the Senate Resolution: The borders to Gaza have been blocked since March 2nd of 2025. This means that very little food, medicine, or any other humanitarian supplies have been permitted to enter the area. Children are starving to death. This brings the situation no closer to peace, no closer to the release of any hostages–in fact those held hostage are also suffering from the same lack of supplies. U. S. action on this issue has been fully complicit in the ongoing genocide. You can read the full Senate Resolution here.

The fact that the United States is currently supporting the continuation of this atrocity is disgusting. Legislation takes time that many people on the ground do not have. If you’d like to support people on the ground, the PCRF (Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund) is a great organization to do that with. Consider making a donation here. If your budget is tight, I understand, please let your call in support of this resolution be your way of contributing.

This is all information shared in the last update, but there have been some heartening updates on this front, and it seems that tides are starting to shift. This particular story brought a smile to my face: The dockworkers of Genova, Italy (my home city), have decided to stand in solidarity with Palestine.

Genova (or Genoa) is one of the largest ports in Europe. A dockworker representing their union called for solidarity with the ongoing “freedom flotilla” to bring aid by boat to the people of Gaza and bring attention to the crisis. “Around mid-September, these boats will arrive near the coast of Gaza. If we lose contact with our boats, with our comrades, even for just 20 minutes, we will shut down all of Europe,” (www.politico.eu) a little bit of hopeful solidarity in this terrible situation.
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2. About the “Department of State Policy Provisions Act”: This bill is being proposed to suppress people’s ability to freely criticize the administration without fear of retribution. You can read the full language of the bill here.

On September 11th, a bill titled “Department of State Policy Provisions Act” was introduced in the House. “Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, added a provision to H.R. 5300, the State Department reauthorization bill, that seeks to silence and punish political dissent. While this bill as a whole is a larger bipartisan package of policy updates for the State Department, Section 226 will give new power to the department to revoke passports from U.S. citizens based on vague designations of “support” for terrorist organizations.” The bill goes on to target individuals and non-profit organizations with dangerously broad language. “The provision expands current law by allowing the Secretary of State to take action against citizens without due process or a criminal conviction. The language is similar to that of the so-called “nonprofit killer” bill that House Republicans tried to include in the One Big Beautiful Bill; it gave the Treasury Secretary unilateral control to revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it deemed a ‘terrorist supporting organization.’” (5calls.org) This “terrorist” designation is conveniently broad, and we’ve seen it used to justify the illegal arrests of students and peaceful protesters. Anyone can be made a “terrorist” with the right language, including you.

This added provision which would give the Secretary of State the power to essentially persecute anyone and revoke their passports has since been pulled. Phew. However, the bill as a whole is still harmful and in support of Trump’s agenda for consolidating power. They retreated in one aspect this time, but you can count on them trying again in the future. Anytime you see one of their legislative pushes fail, feel free to celebrate, but also know that they will try again as soon as the next distraction appears. Them pulling one alarming aspect of a bill may serve as a smokescreen to hide other harmful provisions in it. We must stay vigilant.
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3. About Section 1201 of the DMCA: This section "prevents the circumvention of digital locks for the purposes of repair, maintenance, and cybersecurity research. It also prevents tinkerers and innovators from developing and distributing comprehensive third-party repair tools to inject competition into the market and give device-owners more repair options"
(actionnetwork.org). Many people don't realize that violating this is actually punishable with prison time. For example, if I buy a car which has CarPlay locked behind a subscription fee, and I find a way to edit the code that prevents me from using CarPlay for free, I could go to prison for 3-5 years. 3-5 years in prison for repairing my car. Wild.

So how does this all relate to music? Well, in case you aren't aware, Spotify uses this particular section of the DMCA to protect its ability to force your free version of Spotify to be permanently shuffled and play ads every few songs with a limited number of skips. Some people utilize a tool called "Revanced" which can allow a user to access publicly-sourced fixes to apps on their android device. These fixes can allow them to simply bypass the code that imposes these limits and locks on their app.

At face-value, you might argue that these limits are the only way they can make Spotify somewhat feasible from a financial perspective... Those limits are the main way that Spotify can convince people to pay them a monthly subscription. In that case I ask you, why MUST this platform be feasible? So that artists can continue to have their art stolen from them? So that they can continue to see the revenue they generate passed off to larger labels which have nothing to do with their listenership? So that people who pay $12 a month can continue to not actually own anything that they pay for? Who is actually benefitting from the current setup? You have to remember that Spotify could take away everything you have supposedly paid for over the past 6 years. All that music you organized into custom playlists, the music you found from that underground and underfinanced artist you love, it all could be gone on a whim. You don't own anything. They own everything.

The way I see it, Spotify only exists because it’s taking advantage of lapses in legislative policy. Lapses that are now falling to unions to fight to change. The system we have does not work, and if you really think about it, it shouldn't work. We should pay for music, and we should own what we pay for. That money should go directly to the people who make it. We don't need a parasite in the middle of that interaction to gatekeep who gets to make art and who gets to listen. I support reforming section 1201 of the DMCA so that we can get to true ownership. Of course there should be protections in place for copyright holders, artists are copyright holders. However, right now these protections are being used to safeguard corporate greed and take away consumer rights. We need a better system for music distribution, and I believe this is a step toward accomplishing that.

One of the most important aspects of this process is consistency. Calling once helps, but if you can do it regularly, these calls will start to pile up and make a difference. If you can pick an easily achievable regular goal amount of calls, you’ll be more likely to do it. I personally have set a goal to call representatives at a minimum of once per week. I can absolutely do more than that, but even if I get busy, I must at least do it once per week. Feel free to join me on that goal! In support of it, I’ll be including regular updates on policies and the written prompt I’ll be using in the calls. Stay tuned for those! If everyone reading were to make a plan to call, no matter how frequently, this could really start to make a difference. Calling is better than not calling, so pick whatever frequency works for you.

​Things are scary, and it’s easy to tune it all out and feel helpless. This is one small way to take back control. The folks in congress and in the white house work for us, it’s time we reminded them that. In the meantime - between the calls - thank you for reading, and happy jamming! 

On February 21st, I started a new hobby of calling my congress members at least once per week. The goal in starting this hobby was to 1. be active and consistent in my resistance to the current collapse of our country, 2. invite people to join in on this activity to hopefully bring in folks who wouldn’t normally call, and 3. find a nice outlet to vent my frustrations with the current state of affairs at the people actually responsible for it.

Some pressing issues for the month are: the continued illegal blockade of Gaza, the Living Wage for Musicians Act, and the attempted gerrymandering of district maps in Texas. I’ll include a brief discussion of these issues in this post. If you’ve been keeping up with these posts, feel free to skip down to the “What To Say” prompt section.

The most impactful form of communication is of course, face-to-face. If you happen to find yourself in a position where you can physically go to town halls and local offices, that would be the way to go. However, I realize that having the time (or bandwidth) to do that is a luxury that few people have. The least impactful form is emailing and signing online petitions. While easy to do, they are almost always ignored. I’ve tried emailing before quite a few times, only to receive a boilerplate response each time - overall it’s a waste of time. So the perfect middle ground of time-efficient and impactful, is calling them. I know many folks have anxiety about calling, especially calling people they don’t know, I understand that. It can help a lot to know what you can expect on the other end, and to have something basic ready to say. Those two things are exactly what I hope to provide you with in this post. After getting that first call done, I promise, it will seem much less daunting.

If you’d like to review how to join in on this initiative of one call per week, or would like to continue the mission, I’ve included the updated guide and prompt for contacting below.
​

You can find who your representative is through this link:
(https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative). Simply click the link and type in your ZIP code, you’ll then be prompted to put in your address if there are multiple representatives associated with your ZIP.

Once you’ve found their name, you can find their number on the list linked here:
(https://www.house.gov/representatives).
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You can find your senators and their contact information through this link:
(https://www.senate.gov/states/statesmap.htm). Click on your state on the map and their number should be right under their portrait. You can also find other useful info about them here as well. For example, I’ve been including the little “Hometown” fact as an extra way to make things more personal.
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There is a high likelihood that you won’t end up having anyone answer when you call. In calling more than once per week since my last post on this (February 21st), I’ve received a grand total of 5 responses while calling. Interestingly, my Republican senator: Dave McCormick, had his inbox full twice since my last post… tsk tsk. When leaving a message inevitably happens, you will be prompted with exactly what they want you to include. This will usually be: Your name, contact information, and your ZIP code. They may also ask for an address, although this is usually left as an optional option. The most important of these is your ZIP code.

After stating the above info, list off just a couple pressing concerns. If it’s easier to focus on a single issue per call, that can sometimes be more effective. I’ve included an updated version of an example prompt in the above image but I’ll detail it below:

“My name is [insert name, email/number, ZIP code]. I’m calling to express my concern over recent policy proposals and executive actions. 1. Vote “yes” on the resolution “Calling for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to address the needs of civilians in Gaza”. Children are starving. By doing nothing, you are complicit in their suffering. 2. Vote “yes” on the Living Wage for Musicians Act. Musicians deserve fair compensation for the immense value they contribute to streaming services. 3. Condemn and oppose the proposed gerrymandering of districts in Texas. This new map considers race as a determining parameter, which is illegal. Thank you for your time.”

It can really be that short! It’s nice to include something personal in the message: if you voted for them, what your occupation is, how these policies impact you and the people you love, are all great ways of doing that. The goal is to just let these representatives know that these are issues you care about and will vote for. It made you get up and call didn’t it?

1. About the Senate Resolution: The borders to Gaza have been blocked since March 2nd of 2025. This means that no food, medicine, or any other humanitarian supplies have been permitted to enter the area. Children are starving to death. This brings the situation no closer to peace, no closer to the release of any hostages–in fact those held hostage are also suffering from the same lack of supplies. Inaction on this issue is tantamount to complicity in the ongoing genocide. You can read the full Senate Resolution here.

The fact that the United States is currently supporting the continuation of this atrocity is disgusting. Legislation takes time that many people on the ground do not have. If you’d like to support people on the ground, the PCRF (Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund) is a great organization to do that with. Consider making a donation here. If your budget is tight, I understand, please let your call in support of this resolution be your way of contributing.
​

2. About The Living Wage for Musicians Act: This bill, spearheaded by Rashida Tlaib and Jamaal Bowman finally takes steps to address the long-standing predation of Spotify on the artists that make their entire business feasible. It establishes an “Artist Compensation Royalty Fund” which would operate similarly to a PRO (a non-profit that collects royalties and pays them out to artists) which would collect a new subscription fee and 10% levy on non-subscription revenue and then pay it out to artists. Essentially it builds an entirely new revenue stream (plus that 10% levy) to ensure that artists receive compensation. You can read the full bill here, or there’s also a more concise and clear version you can read here.

One of the coolest aspects is that these royalties would not only go to the main featured musician on the track, but also to any other musicians involved. If you’re a backup vocalist, a drummer, a bass player, or a cellist, that’s you! An extra bonus is that this extra money goes directly to the musicians, skipping over any label or management.

I personally still think there is more work to be done in improving streaming royalty distribution (you can read my breakdown on how that works here-it's actually gotten worse since I wrote this. I'll do an updated breakdown as soon as I get the chance!). However, this act seems like the best path the government can take to at least somewhat mitigate the damage the current system is causing. It's an important step in the right direction. 

One particular section stands out to me as one of the most important aspects: “the Living Wage for Musicians act includes a maximum payout per track, per month, in order to generate a more sustainable income for a broader and more diverse set of artists. Money exceeding this cap (as it stands, 1,000,000 streams for a track in a month) will be used to increase the payout per stream for all recording musicians. This will help us achieve our goals of helping musicians in every genre, across the US, have a more sustainable career.” It creates a more stable environment for people to get started in the arts when they don’t necessarily have a safety net to protect them. More money to the people who need it.

3. About the Texas Gerrymandering: Trump has recently called on his Republican lap dogs to go “find” him some more seats in preparation for the upcoming midterms. They’ve gotten right to work redrawing districts in Texas to weaken democratic support. This article offers good coverage of exactly what these proposed districts look like (some real geometric feats going on!)

If this new map is approved, Texas will sink further into Republican (really Trumpian) entrenchment. As it is, the districts aren’t representative of the population. This only makes the problem worse. We need our representatives to condemn this blatant attempt to subvert an already decrepit democracy.

One of the most important aspects of this process is consistency. Calling once helps, but if you can do it regularly, these calls will start to pile up and make a difference. If you can pick an easily achievable regular goal amount of calls, you’ll be more likely to do it. I personally have set a goal to call representatives at a minimum of once per week. I can absolutely do more than that, but even if I get busy, I must at least do it once per week. Feel free to join me on that goal! In support of it, I’ll be including regular updates on policies and the written prompt I’ll be using in the calls. Stay tuned for those! If everyone reading were to make a plan to call, no matter how frequently, this could really start to make a difference. Calling is better than not calling, so pick whatever frequency works for you.

I want to work on a way to streamline and communicate the process of contacting local representatives as well. This is truly the most impactful thing you can do. Your local representatives are the ones to implement policy on the ground level, and you can have a more meaningful impact on local policy by talking to them. The main roadblock is that the process of doing this is often different from county to county. As a result, this topic is trickier to communicate in a concise blog, but I promise, I’ll be working on a way!

Things are scary, and it’s easy to tune it all out and feel helpless. This is one small way to take back control. The folks in congress and in the white house work for us, it’s time we reminded them that. In the meantime - between the calls - thank you for reading, and happy jamming!

​When one of your videos gets a copyright claim, you’ll receive notification about it via email. The subject will be something like “Video is blocked: (with your video title here” for the sake of this blog I went with the title, “Sony Music Publishing didn’t want you to hear this arrangement”. The email will then explain the situation. 

Fun fact: you can apparently use copyrighted content so long as it is less than 60 seconds. So if you want to avoid this situation entirely, you can keep all your videos less than a minute–not always feasible, but I guess it works for shorts! In my case, I wanted the full 2 minute or so arrangement, and also I’m petty. 

​My preferred method is to fight it. So, click “view actions” to get started! But FIRST, be sure to double check that you are not using any copyrighted content. If you’re using material that’s currently owned by someone or some other entity, then the claim might actually be valid. There are ways to use even copyrighted material legally, but this depends on the way you’re using that material. I’m planning on doing a deep dive into copyright law in one of my upcoming blogs, so stay tuned if you want a more detailed breakdown of this.
​

​So you’ve determined that the claimant of your video is in the wrong and now you’re going to “dispute” Great! Click that option.

​After clicking to dispute, you’ll be prompted to provide a reason for disputing the claim. This can vary based on the situation. In my specific example, where I’m using content that should be in “the public domain”, I’m going to select that option. There’s a series of disclaimers listed here as well, to give you a last check in on if what you’re using is indeed allowed.
​

You’ll be presented with two methods of fighting the copyright claim. If you want to go the safer route, I would simply dispute the claim. This takes longer, especially because there’s no way “the claimants” are going to review the request within 30 days, but it won’t cause you any issues if you’re in the wrong. 

If you’re certain, and want to press this thing to go away faster (as I do!), I would click “Escalate to Appeal”. This is much faster (maximum of 7 days) and also allows you to keep the video up and visible immediately–even though it’s unlikely to perform well. There is a downside though. If you happen to be wrong in your appeal of the claim, your channel will receive a dreaded “copyright strike”. This is a kind of warning for your channel that you’ve been found in violation of copyright. If you collect a total of three strikes, your channel is removed. Filing fraudulent disputes in general can be a good way to get your channel removed. So be careful!
​

​Regardless of the approach you choose, you’ll be prompted to fill out a form for your dispute. In the form, you’ll be asked to include a defense for your assertion in disputing the claim. You can see what I ended up writing below:

​If you decide to “Escalate to Appeal”, you’ll need to provide your name and address information, which is another downside of that process. There are also additional acknowledgements that you’ll need to accept in understanding the risks of the process.

​After submitting, you should be set! If your claim is valid, you should simply receive an email (either after 30 or 7 days depending on the option you chose) telling you that the claim has been released.
​

On February 21st, I started a new hobby of calling my congress members at least once per week. The goal in starting this hobby was to 1. be active and consistent in my resistance to the current collapse of our country, 2. invite people to join in on this activity to hopefully bring in folks who wouldn’t normally call, and 3. find a nice outlet to vent my frustrations with the current state of affairs at the people actually responsible for it. It can be surprisingly cathartic! 

Some pressing issues for the month are: the threat of public resources like Head Start, SNAP, and Medicaid being cut, Trump’s “big beautiful bill” which is currently being deliberated in congress, and the recent anti-protest actions being taken against protesters across the country. I’ll detail a discussion about the “big beautiful bill” down at the end of the prompt section, “What To Say”. If you’ve been keeping up with these posts, feel free to skip down to there.

The most impactful form of communication is of course, face-to-face. If you happen to find yourself in a position where you can physically go to town halls and local offices, that would be the way to go. However, I realize that having the time (or bandwidth) to do that is a luxury that few people have. The least impactful form is emailing and signing online petitions. While easy to do, they are almost always ignored. I’ve tried emailing before quite a few times, only to receive a boilerplate response each time - overall it’s a waste of time. So the perfect middle ground of time-efficient and impactful, is calling them. I know many folks have anxiety about calling, especially calling people they don’t know, I understand that. It can help a lot to know what you can expect on the other end, and to have something basic ready to say. Those two things are exactly what I hope to provide you with in this post. After getting that first call done, I promise, it will seem much less daunting.

If you’d like to review how to join in on this initiative of one call per week, or would like to continue the mission, I’ve included the updated guide and prompt for contacting below! 
​

You can find your senators and their contact information through this link: (https://www.senate.gov/states/statesmap.htm). Click on your state on the map and their number should be right under their portrait. You can also find other useful info about them here as well. For example, I’ve been including the little “Hometown” fact as an extra way to make things more personal.
​

There is a high likelihood that you won’t end up having anyone answer when you call. In calling more than once per week since my last post on this (February 21st), I’ve received a grand total of 2 responses while calling. When leaving a message inevitably happens, you will be prompted with exactly what they want you to include. This will usually include: Your name, contact information, and your ZIP code. They may also ask for an address, although this is usually left as an optional option. The most important of these is your ZIP code.

After stating the above info, list off just a couple pressing concerns. I’ve included an updated version what I’ve been using lately in the above image but I’ll detail it below:

“My name is [insert name, email, ZIP code]. I’m calling to express my concern over recent policy proposals and executive actions. 1. Vote no on Trump’s “big beautiful bill”. Items in this bill put your constituents' lives in jeopardy with major cuts to social programs, increases the national deficit, and further erosion of our country’s institutions. They crammed too many bad ideas to count in this bill. If you have any fondness in your heart for the constitution, vote no. Protect it. It's an easy win. 2. Do not allow Head Start and other public resources, including the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) to go unfunded. Your constituents depend on these resources to survive through these trying times. They will remember if you voted to take them away. 3. Trump’s recent actions against protesters are intentionally inflammatory. Sending the U.S. military to suppress their own citizen’s rights to organize and protest is absurd. Please take action to condemn this blatant power grab. Propose legislation to remove this tyrant from office. Thank you for your time.”

It can really be that short! It’s nice to include something personal in the message: if you voted for them, what your occupation is, how these policies impact you and the people you love, are all great ways of doing that. The goal is to just let these representatives know that these are issues you care about and will vote for. It made you get up and call didn’t it?
​

A little additional information for this month: Trump’s “big beautiful bill” was crammed through the house last month. The bill has the potential for some devastating impacts to social programs–including new restrictions and limitations as to who is eligible to receive them. There’s a whole laundry list of issues, you can read more about the key ones here (bbc.com). However, there’s one specific section that I think is super important. Tucked away in this massive bill is yet another way to insulate the president from the powers of the judicial branch. “No court of the United States may enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c) whether issued prior to, on, or subsequent to the date of enactment of this section” (msnbc.com). 

This little paragraph would essentially allow the president to ignore court orders with impunity, and this would apply retroactively as well, undoing past court decisions–a devastating blow to our rights and protections. The stakes are super high, so I would make this issue a priority in your calls if you can. Yes, it passed in the house… because most of our representatives don’t actually do any work. It’s just been revised in the Senate and sent back to the House. You can find an article on recent changes to the bill here (npr.org). ​As you can imagine, it’s still just as terrible.  Now is the time for us to urge our representatives and senators to throw it out completely.
​

One of the most important aspects of this process is consistency. Calling once helps, but if you can do it regularly, these calls will start to pile up and make a difference. If you can pick an easily achievable regular goal amount of calls, you’ll be more likely to do it. I personally have set a goal to call representatives at a minimum of once per week. I can absolutely do more than that, but even if I get busy, I must at least do it once per week. Feel free to join me on that goal! In support of it, I’ll be including regular updates on policies and the written prompt I’ll be using in the calls. Stay tuned for those! If everyone reading were to make a plan to call, no matter how frequently, this could really start to make a difference. Calling is better than not calling, so pick whatever frequency works for you.

I want to work on a way to streamline and communicate the process of contacting local representatives as well. This is truly the most impactful thing you can do. Your local representatives are the ones to implement policy on the ground level, and you can have a more meaningful impact on local policy by talking to them. The main roadblock is that the process of doing this is often different from county to county. As a result, this topic is trickier to communicate in a concise blog, but I promise, I’ll be working on a way!

Things are scary, and it’s easy to tune it all out and feel helpless. This is one small way to take back control. The folks in congress and in the white house work for us, it’s time we reminded them that. In the meantime - between the calls - thank you for reading, and happy jamming!