The NFT is a late picture of the singer in the streets of New York City and was taken by photographer Charles Moriarty: ‘We walked through the wet streets of downtown Manhattan, eagerly trying to capture the moment in a city that never sleeps.’ Moriarty commented. The Executive Director of MusiCares, Laura Segura, hopes to raise further awareness and support of the delicate aspects of some musicians’ lives such as mental health, addiction and drug abuse. Moreover, she claims that the charity is ‘proud to collaborate’ with the Amy Winehouse Foundation on this NFT.

‘Here at MusiCares, we’ve seen time and time again how struggles with mental health can negatively impact someone’s life. That is why we’re proud to collaborate with the Amy Winehouse Foundation to not only honour Amy and her incredible life and career but also help those who are suffering from this devastating disease. We are here to help the people behind the music and we couldn’t be any more proud of this endeavour’. She explains.

The NFT is listed on the marketplace OpenSea until the 31^st of May. The currency used is Ether, and the reserve price is now 3 Ether, the equivalent of £5,400 ($7,623). You can find more about the auction here. The NFT auction is also part of the ‘Back to Amy’ exhibit and live stream that will be presented on July 23^rd to celebrate the life and talents of the young singer-songwriter, who died at the young age of 27.

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A post shared by MusiCares (@musicares)

In the COVID-19 Musicrelief website, music fans can make donations for the ones suffering from this situation. Spotify will match the donations to the organization listed dollar for dollar up to the collective total value of $10 million. The streaming platform announced the news in an official Twitter post.

https://t.co/AguWnZHEHn

— Spotify News (@SpotifyNews) March 25, 2020

MusiCares Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1989 and incorporated in 1993 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In the official Recording Academy website, the following statement can be seen.

“The Recording Academy and its afflicted charitable foundation MusiCares have established the COVID-19 Relief Fund to help our peers in the music community affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.”

Many people in the music industry have already received support from the organization. The following post was posted on the Instagram profile of the organization. It is a message of gratitude from a person, who received support from the foundation.

 

 

 

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  A post shared by MusiCares (@musicares) on Apr 3, 2020 at 1:00pm PDT

The following statement by guitarist and songwriter Dave Navarro can also be seen on the website of the Recording Academy’s foundation: “MusiCares have touched the lives of so many music people I know and the industry is profoundly affected by the services MusiCares provides. Every day- all year long- MusiCares saves lives.” A video encouraging the support for the music community, worldwide, was also posted on April 18.

 

 

 

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A post shared by MusiCares (@musicares) on Apr 17, 2020 at 4:33pm PDT

In this unprecedented situation around the world, Spotify is not the only company supporting MusiCares. Other companies donating to the organization are Amazon Music, Facebook, SiriusXM, Pandora and Tidal.

“We’re blown away by the overwhelming response to our three months of free guitar, bass, and ukulele lessons on Fender Play,” said Fender CEO Andy Mooney.

Another act of support for musicians, in this unpleasant reality, was the company’s involvement in initiatives like the “Uncancelled Music Festival” and MusiCares “COVID-19 Relief Fund”, helping, not only the musicians, but the touring personnel as well.

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A post shared by Fender (@fender) on Apr 9, 2020 at 9:00am PDT

To sign up for a free 3 months of Fender Play, interested users can visit fender.com/playthrough . The link will lead to the official Fender Play website, where musicians can receive a code to enter and start learning. Card info is not needed for that process. As stated in the official announcement “There are no strings attached – just music” The video lessons are versatile in terms of the genre preference and the level of the musician.

The program is directed by professional music teachers and it gives beginner and intermediate players to learn and play the songs of their favourite artists. Short demo of a lesson with official guitar instructor Nikki Stevens has been posted on the Instagram Profile of Fender Play

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A post shared by Fender Play (@fenderplay) on Apr 13, 2020 at 10:05am PDT

Since the company was established in 1946, it has been one of the leading gear suppliers for musicians all around the world, creating a loyal community of artists. Now 74 years later, Fender keeps supporting musicians of all generations.