We work with a wide range of musicians to encourage civic engagement. Our artist partners include Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Nine Inch Nails, Wilco, Phish and John Mayer, to name just a few. Marc Brownstein, bassist for the popular electronic rock band The Disco Biscuits, helped form HeadCount in early 2004. Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir serves on our Board of Directors. These artists have inspired thousands of young people to volunteer for the organization, helping us create a coast-to-coast grassroots network. Our voter registration tables were present at more than 1,000 concerts and gatherings in 2008, constituting the largest event-based voter registration drive in the U.S. We also staged extensive Get out The Vote activity, including public service announcements featuring many top musicians.
We are taking a natural step forward, using the momentum we built as one of America’s top voter registration groups and staging a large-scale civic participation campaign. Our “What’s Your Issue?” campaign encourages music fans to speak out and organize around issues they find important. The issues we focus our activity around are:
These issues were chosen because of the passions they invoke within the music community. At concerts, we ask people to choose which issue is the most important to them. We then provide more information and present distinct avenues through which to take action on that issue, such as writing a letter to Congress or volunteering for a relevant organization. We also encourage people to get involved with HeadCount by posting or commenting on our blog, participating in local volunteer outings or helping to organize advocacy campaigns.
America faces many challenges and our leaders face many hard decisions. In light of this, new solutions are being sought and new constituencies are being heard. Musicians and fans have a chance to help shape this global debate and to be leaders of worldwide social movements. This can only be accomplished through a coordinated, focused effort that unites artists and fans around the goal of increasing participation in democracy. By channeling the energy of the shared music experience toward an organized movement, we can galvanize our community into a politically influential force.
We have volunteer street teams in about 40 cities that set up tables at concerts and also align with local nonprofit organizations. About 100 volunteers play key leadership roles, including “Team Leaders” who manage our outreach at concerts and “Regional Coordinators” who oversee those efforts. Volunteers also manage and edit HeadCount’s website and blog, and participate in marketing, graphic design, artist relations and every other aspect of running the organization. HeadCount was run entirely by volunteers until late 2007, and now has three full-time staff members, including founder and co-chair Andy Bernstein, who serves as its Executive Director. We are based in New York City.
Anyone can volunteer by visiting the Volunteer page on our website. Those interested in volunteering at concerts should simply follow the instructions, and will be contacted shortly as long as they reside near a city where HeadCount has an active street team. Those interested in working in other aspects of the organization or taking on a leadership role should also email cover letters and resumes to info@headcount.org
HeadCount is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to inspiring participation in democracy through the power of music. Our message is simple: "Make your voice heard every day, not just on Election Day." Since 2004, we've registered more than 150,000 voters through a nationwide volunteer effort at concerts. Taking a natural step forward, we are now guiding young voters toward becoming involved and active citizens.
Peter Bahouth, U.S. Climate Action Network
Andy Bernstein, Pharmer's Almanac
Diane Blagman, Greenberg Traurig, LLP,
Marc Brownstein, The Disco Biscuits
Andrew Dreskin, Virgin Mobile Music Festival
Andy Gadiel, JamBase
Richard Goodstone, Superfly Productions
Ken Hays, Founder, Gathering of the Vibes
Patrick Jordan, Red Light Management
Jonathan Levine, Paradigm Talent Agency
Dave Marguiles, High Sierra Music Festival
Virginia McEnerney, Executive Director, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers
Nadia Prescher, Madison House Inc.
Stefani Scamardo, Hard Head Management
Al Schnier, moe.
Jonathan Schwartz, Zenbu Media
Peter Shapiro, 3ality Digital Entertainment
Stephen H. Simon, Simon Equity Partners, LLC, and Melvin Simon & Associates, Inc.
Don Strausbrg, AEG
Robert Weir, RatDog, Grateful Dead
