21CM - creating the 21st Century Musician

How A Mugging, An Earthquake and Beethoven’s Ninth Created A New Mission for Music

George Mathew · July 2019

After a violent mugging that took a strange turn, I was left with a new imperative. I was no victim: I was a musician, among communities that were dangerously unempowered. What was I going to do about it?

How to Make a Record

The Musician’s Guide to Navigating Contracts

Elise Farnsworth · July 2019

With the DIY push in music, many artists are now directing the business side of their careers. How can we be our own best legal representative?

Editor's Note / Special Features

Announcing Some Changes at 21CM.org

Mark Rabideau · July 2019

We’re moving to a new publishing format! But don’t worry – we’re the same 21CM, committed to creating a space where musicians can thrive.

21CM U / Audience Development

Identity and Diversity: Seeking a Connected Musical Society

Marilyn Nonken · June 2019

Diversity is routinely invoked as a lofty but inconsequential abstraction. A true cultivation of identity diversity can help us to engage with our environment in a more immediate way, toward the betterment of all involved.

Culture Change

The Church I Never Had: How The Resistance Revival Chorus Combines Music, Community and Activism

Lilly Vanek · June 2019

The Resistance Revival Chorus is a collective of artist-activists who use the tradition of protest songs to try to bring about social change. For members like Solonje Burnett, it’s a second family.