Just Plain Folks Music Organization

Just Plain Folks Music Organization (often referred to as Just Plain Folks, or simply JPF) is a website and community founded by Brian Austin Whitney with the intent of helping anyone involved in the music industry to network, share their experiences, build relationships, and grow. It is not exclusive to independent musicians or amateurs, as many members of the organization (such as Celldweller and They Might Be Giants) are highly successful. To this end, the community has many local chapters which meet face to face each month as well as members in every US State and in over 100 countries around the world which correspond primarily on line or via the organization's website.

Membership

Just Plain Folks is home to over 52,500 members in 50 US states and over 150 countries. As the organization open to anyone, the community enjoys a great variety of members, from hobbyist songwriters, to studio musicians, engineers, producers, publishers, and others. Level of professional exposure and experience is also variable; some members have considerable industry standing and have won Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards, Academy Awards, and other similarly prestigious honors, while other members have have no commercially released work.

The organization sends out a monthly newsletter, "Just Plain Notes", to all members. Written and put together by founder Brian Austin Whitney, the newsletter includes a range of material from essays and editorials, to general music and JPF news, discounts or deals, announcements, success stories, quotes, and of course contributions by members.

Forums

The JPF website has a thriving message board with discussion topics ranging from lyrics, songwriting, and business affairs to technical issues, music theory, and more. As JPF has chapters in every state and around the world, there are discussion forums based on geographical location as well. Of the subforums available, the Lyric Feedback sections are most heavily used, with a total of three identical forums in place because of the massive traffic they receive on a daily basis.

Just Plain Folks Music Awards

Since 2000, Just Plain Folks has hosted a large-scale, non-profit music awards program that has been run five times to date; in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2006. In the latest iteration of the awards, over 350,000 songs and 25,500 albums were submitted for consideration. The awards are split into several general categories; the Founder's Awards, Song Awards, Album Awards, Video Awards, and Lyric Awards. These categories are then split further. The Song and Album Awards are given in over 70 genres, from more traditional ones such as Rock, Pop, and R&B, to less mainstream genres like Salsa, Surf, and Industrial. The awards are not necessarily run on a yearly basis due to the massive effort required to collect and evaluate all of the submissions, which is primarily volunteer-based. In 2006, the award ceremony was held on November 4th at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana, California. The next awards process will take place in 2008 and is expect to involved over 500,000 songs and 50,000 artists and writers.

In 2008/2009 there will be over 100 different genres of music recognized from around the world.

Sponsors of the JPF Music Awards include companies such as CD Baby, Discmakers, and TAXI.

Update: In the 2008/2009 Music Awards cycle there have already been over 500,000 songs and 40,000 albums entered from over 160 countries around the world.

Just Plain Folks Roadtrips

Since 1998, the organization's founder Brian Austin Whitney has traveled extensively through North America and Europe meeting musicians, songwriters and music industry professionals of all levels and backgrounds. During the trips he often conducts interviews, sets up networking events, music showcases featuring local artists and visiting the many local chapters of the organization. Since the first trip, over 15,000 musicians have performed at one of their showcases. Visits have included stops in every US State except Alaska and North Dakota, as well as France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Italy, The Vatican and Monaco.

During the local showcase events, any musician of any level is invited to perform a song or two, meet their peers and spend an evening making music for the fun of it. All genres are welcome and the shows often include wide variety of styles and approaches from German Death Metal to Polkas, Dust Bowl Folk to Inner City Beat Poets, Twangy Country to Space Age Electronica and more.

External links

* [http://www.jpfolks.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.jpfolks.com/AwardsArticle.pdf Article in "Singer" magazine about the JPF Awards]