The Musical Autist

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Creating Platforms for Autistic Culture and Advocacy through Community Music Therapy

  • About Us
    • What is a “musical autist”?
  • Elevating Autistic Musicians
  • Blog & Announcements
  • Sensory Friendly Concerts
  • Empowerment Jam Sessions
  • Troupes
Subscribe to our newsletter and blog posts

SWAP Autistic Acceptance Compilation Album Blog Post

April 29, 2021 by The Musical Autist Leave a Comment

Hello again! Thank you so much to everyone who tuned into, shared, and supported our Songs with a Purpose Autism Acceptance Streamraiser, which took place on April 2nd, 3rd, and 4th! We are happy to report that across all three nights, we raised a grand total of $710, which means that we were able to donate $355 to both The Musical Autist and the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN). (Please read the Disclaimer at the end of this post regarding ASAN, and SWAP’s recent decision to no longer donate to this organization.) That is an amazing feat, and we couldn’t have done it without any of you, so once again and forever, THANK YOU!

If you were unable to attend, but would still like to watch the streamraiser in all its glory, we will be editing down all three nights into individual clips for each band/artist, and uploading those to the SWAP YouTube channel over the next coming weeks, so stay tuned! To check out and/or subscribe to our Songs With A Purpose YouTube channel!

Pic ID: The artwork for the Songs with a Purpose Autism Acceptance Compilation Album (available now on our Bandcamp), which features the official SWAP logo of two circular arrows, but instead of black, they have multiple rainbow colors, red/yellow/orange in the left arrow and green/blue/purple in the right arrow, over a white background, with a rainbow border surrounding the logo.

Additionally, I wanted to let you know about something cool we like to do after every streamraiser. As a way to further promote the artists we work with, and to make more money for the organizations we’re sponsoring (The Musical Autist and your musicians, we’re talking about you!), we release a compilation album, exclusively on our Bandcamp, which features studio versions of the songs that artists performed on the streamraiser, as well as live tracks, in the case that artists haven’t officially released a studio version of their song online. If you’d like to check it out, visit https://swaprecords.bandcamp.com/!

Pic ID: The logo for SWAP Records, which is the moniker Songs with a Purpose uses for producing and distributing music, on sites such as Bandcamp, which features the two white circular arrows of the original Songs with a Purpose logo, with the lines drawn coming out of/in between the two arrows to create an S and a D, and the rest of the letters in SWAP Records drawn in around said arrows.

There are 19 tracks (8 of which feature self-identifying autistic musicians, including one of TMA’s content writers, Jennifer Msumba, one of TMA’s board members, Will Swartz, TMA’s co-founder, Sunny Cefaratti, and myself, Mitchell Matthews), the album costs $20, and each song costs $1 (though, those are the minimum prices; Bandcamp rocks a pay-what-you-want model, so while you have to pay those minimum amounts to get your song/album, you can choose to pay more if you want, to further support what we’re doing and the artists/organizations involved (though, that is not required; your generosity in buying the songs/album at minimum price is more than enough)).

In terms of how we split profits up, in order to be fully transparent with you, let’s break it down based on if someone buys an individual song, versus if someone buys the entire album. If someone were to buy Jennifer’s song, “Dandelion,” 50% of the profits would go to her, 40% would be split up equally amongst The Musical Autist and the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN), and 10% would go to Songs with a Purpose. If someone were to buy the entire compilation album, 50% of the profits would be split equally amongst all of the artists featured on said album, 40% would be split up equally amongst TMA and ASAN, and 10% would go to SWAP.

Pic ID: The artwork for the Songs With A Purpose Christmas Streamraiser 2020 Compilation Album (available now on our Bandcamp), which features the two white circular arrows of the original Songs with a Purpose logo, overlaid on a green holiday wreath with a red bow and yellow music notes.

And, if you enjoy the Autism Acceptance Compilation Album, and are interested in any of our other compilation albums, our Christmas Streamraiser Compilation Album is still available to purchase on Bandcamp as well. The album features 5 artists who performed on our Christmas Streamraiser in December 2020, Grady Philip Drugg, Trauma Centaur, Darrian, Thames, and Rosewood, and the profits made from said album will be split up in the same manner as the Autism Acceptance Compilation Album, between the artists involved, SWAP, and two great organizations we partnered with in December: Crisis Aid International, who provide life-saving services and hope to the most vulnerable populations in St. Louis and parts of East Africa, and Southwest Missouri Solidarity Network, a grassroots mutual aid organization that serves people marginalized by capitalism, such as the large homeless population in Springfield, MO (note: our Christmas streamraiser was primarily raising money for COVID-19 relief, and both of these organizations are providing excellent means of COVID-19 relief to their respective communities).
In conclusion, as I mentioned in my last blog post, I want to thank The Musical Autist for being such a great partner to work with, and for showing me such love, and providing me with countless connections and opportunities in the short time we have been working together, including the chance to talk about our compilation album with all of you. Additionally, I want to, again, thank you, dear reader, for reading and sharing what I write, and I hope to touch base again with you soon.

DISCLAIMER: The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) [the other organization we raised money for on the Autism Acceptance Streamraiser, and originally for this compilation album] has recently come under fire for stealing the work of a BIPOC autistic creator (@autistictyping on Instagram and Twitter), and seemingly white-washing it for their own means/audience. This will be further touched on in my next blog post, which will be an interview with fellow BIPOC autistic creator Tim Boykin (@kidish_bambino on Instagram, @blackautisticking on TikTok), who previously performed on the streamraiser, but I wanted to include it here first to keep everyone in the loop. At the time of the streamraiser, this controversy had not yet taken place, so keep in mind that the first paragraph is written strictly in a past tense, and moving forward, I will be directing all the appropriate percentages made from the compilation album towards TMA, and not splitting them with ASAN.

Share & Comment:

  • Tweet

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Share Your Comments & Feedback: Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

elevatingautisticmusicians

11

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Mar 15

Open
Last Main Street Wauchula open mic of the season. Finished it out with a bang @mainstreetwauchula

Last Main Street Wauchula open mic of the season. Finished it out with a bang @mainstreetwauchula ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Mar 12

Open
Do you have stage fright? As an autistic musician I struggled with this a lot. Even neurotypical people suffer from stage fright. Learn how to change your mindset and overcome this in our newest blog article. As always...link in bio.

Do you have stage fright? As an autistic musician I struggled with this a lot. Even neurotypical people suffer from stage fright. Learn how to change your mindset and overcome this in our newest blog article. As always...link in bio. ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Mar 3

Open
How @jennifermsumba turned a quirky little song she wrote into an award winning film! Link in bio. @disabilityfilmchallenge @eastersealssocal @nicnovicki @elevatingautisticmusicians #autisticmusician #filmmaking #songwriting #originalmusic

How @jennifermsumba turned a quirky little song she wrote into an award winning film! Link in bio. @disabilityfilmchallenge @eastersealssocal @nicnovicki @elevatingautisticmusicians #autisticmusician #filmmaking #songwriting #originalmusic ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 23

Open
NEW blog post about co-songwriting and autism, link in bio. “I can hear it.” He said. And he started playing some chords on his guitar as I shyly sang the melody I had been thinking of. From there we took off! Verse and chorus ideas were flowing. I was contributing even more lines from my book and other new lines right on the spot! We were smiling and laughing and singing. When it came time to write the bridge, the melody and phrasing came up through me and we wrote the lines in minutes! What a beautiful moment in time. #songwriting #songwritingsession #autism #autisticmusician @rebrandingautism @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist

NEW blog post about co-songwriting and autism, link in bio. “I can hear it.” He said. And he started playing some chords on his guitar as I shyly sang the melody I had been thinking of. From there we took off! Verse and chorus ideas were flowing. I was contributing even more lines from my book and other new lines right on the spot! We were smiling and laughing and singing. When it came time to write the bridge, the melody and phrasing came up through me and we wrote the lines in minutes! What a beautiful moment in time. #songwriting #songwritingsession #autism #autisticmusician @rebrandingautism @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 18

Open
What is our new program Elevating Autistic Musicians all about?
#autism #music #autisticmusicians @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist

What is our new program Elevating Autistic Musicians all about?
#autism #music #autisticmusicians @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist
...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 17

Open
Get to know autistic musician Sunny Ceferatti and Learn more about Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch in our newest blog article! Link in bio. 
Photo description: Young Asian woman sitting on a couch chair in front of a fire place. Photo text says- Music has had a positive impact on me. I can’t really articulate the emotions that I feel about when I’m really into a song. My voice gets louder and I guess my emotions would be like passion. And like if the song has really powerful lyrics, yeah. I can connect with them. A quote by Sunny Ceferatti #autism #autisticmusicians #perfectpitch #relativepitch #music #musician @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist @sunnycefaratti @rebrandingautism

Get to know autistic musician Sunny Ceferatti and Learn more about Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch in our newest blog article! Link in bio.
Photo description: Young Asian woman sitting on a couch chair in front of a fire place. Photo text says- Music has had a positive impact on me. I can’t really articulate the emotions that I feel about when I’m really into a song. My voice gets louder and I guess my emotions would be like passion. And like if the song has really powerful lyrics, yeah. I can connect with them. A quote by Sunny Ceferatti #autism #autisticmusicians #perfectpitch #relativepitch #music #musician @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist @sunnycefaratti @rebrandingautism
...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 8

Open
Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch- when I was 14 years old, I discovered my ability to play songs by ear. We were visiting my brother at his college, and when we entered one of the buildings and I heard the most beautiful piano music being played. I immediately recognized it as George Winston’s “Joy”. I had always wanted to be able to play his music, but at the time he did not print sheets. So I asked this young man, how did you learn that? And he shrugged his shoulders and said “I just listened to it”. The whole ride home I thought about what he said while listening to GW’s December album on my CD Walkman lol. I said to myself, “I can do that too”. Follow us here and on our website (link in bio) for my upcoming article with the rest of this story. I will also discuss Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch, which one I have, and the differences between them. You can also follow me at @rebrandingautism @georgewinstonpiano #autisticmusician #autismandmusic #perfectpitch

Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch- when I was 14 years old, I discovered my ability to play songs by ear. We were visiting my brother at his college, and when we entered one of the buildings and I heard the most beautiful piano music being played. I immediately recognized it as George Winston’s “Joy”. I had always wanted to be able to play his music, but at the time he did not print sheets. So I asked this young man, how did you learn that? And he shrugged his shoulders and said “I just listened to it”. The whole ride home I thought about what he said while listening to GW’s December album on my CD Walkman lol. I said to myself, “I can do that too”. Follow us here and on our website (link in bio) for my upcoming article with the rest of this story. I will also discuss Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch, which one I have, and the differences between them. You can also follow me at @rebrandingautism @georgewinstonpiano #autisticmusician #autismandmusic #perfectpitch ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 6

Open
An autistic adults thoughts on Sia’s new film ‘music’ which casts a neurotypical actress as an autistic character. Follow our link in bio for the full article. Written by: @rebrandingautism  @siamusic #autism @communication_first #autisticmusician @disabilityfilmchallenge

An autistic adults thoughts on Sia’s new film ‘music’ which casts a neurotypical actress as an autistic character. Follow our link in bio for the full article. Written by: @rebrandingautism @siamusic #autism @communication_first #autisticmusician @disabilityfilmchallenge ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 5

Open
🎹🎸🎤🎧A quote from today’s blog post by @rebrandingautism Click link in bio for the full story written by autistic musician, writer and filmmaker Jennifer Msumba. Follow us here for lots more content to come written by and for #autistic musicians! #autisticmusician #autism #autismacceptance #music

🎹🎸🎤🎧A quote from today’s blog post by @rebrandingautism Click link in bio for the full story written by autistic musician, writer and filmmaker Jennifer Msumba. Follow us here for lots more content to come written by and for #autistic musicians! #autisticmusician #autism #autismacceptance #music ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Jan 26

Open
Everybody, meet Jade!

Jade Excell is a 12 year old autistic student musician from Maryland. She has been studying with Groove Studios - Ukulele , druming and singing in a disability inclusive music program and at the Academy of fine Arts in Gaithersburg, classical piano. She has been playing in talent shows in her school and community for the last 5 years and in 2020 was accepted to be part of the Maryland Fine Arts office yearly Celebration of artists. Jade was accepted into the Middle School Percussion Ensemble at Mason Community Arts Academy, George Mason University in 2019 to play percussion. Jade released 6 cover songs when she was only  8 on Spotify of her favourite songs. She has since learnt by ear her favourite songs from Nickjr, Disneyjr on ukulele and shared those on her instagram @Jadie_autistic_musician and facebook pages- Autismgirlsandmusic. She loves kid music, R& B music and classical music. Jade you rock!! 🎹🥁🎤 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians #autism #musician

Everybody, meet Jade!

Jade Excell is a 12 year old autistic student musician from Maryland. She has been studying with Groove Studios - Ukulele , druming and singing in a disability inclusive music program and at the Academy of fine Arts in Gaithersburg, classical piano. She has been playing in talent shows in her school and community for the last 5 years and in 2020 was accepted to be part of the Maryland Fine Arts office yearly Celebration of artists. Jade was accepted into the Middle School Percussion Ensemble at Mason Community Arts Academy, George Mason University in 2019 to play percussion. Jade released 6 cover songs when she was only 8 on Spotify of her favourite songs. She has since learnt by ear her favourite songs from Nickjr, Disneyjr on ukulele and shared those on her instagram @Jadie_autistic_musician and facebook pages- Autismgirlsandmusic. She loves kid music, R& B music and classical music. Jade you rock!! 🎹🥁🎤 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians #autism #musician
...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Jan 17

Open
Today we would like to feature Micah @rock_on_micah who is a 19 year old autistic musician. He has had a love for music for many years and he started an all  music YouTube channel in June 2020. Together with his dad they are a two man band called The Positive Autism. Micah is on vocals, keyboards and harmonica. His dad plays guitar and bass. They write and produce original songs, covers and even take requests! In November Micah released his first album of original songs called Autism Rocks! I Am Micah on iTunes, Amazon and all the digital platforms. Way to go Micah!! You can also find him on his YouTube channel Autism Rocks- Music by the Positive Autism. Micah thank you so much for sharing your talent and your story with us 😃 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist

Today we would like to feature Micah @rock_on_micah who is a 19 year old autistic musician. He has had a love for music for many years and he started an all music YouTube channel in June 2020. Together with his dad they are a two man band called The Positive Autism. Micah is on vocals, keyboards and harmonica. His dad plays guitar and bass. They write and produce original songs, covers and even take requests! In November Micah released his first album of original songs called Autism Rocks! I Am Micah on iTunes, Amazon and all the digital platforms. Way to go Micah!! You can also find him on his YouTube channel Autism Rocks- Music by the Positive Autism. Micah thank you so much for sharing your talent and your story with us 😃 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist ...

Follow on Instagram

 

Connect With Us

Want to keep up with everything that's going on at The Musical Autist? Follow us across our Social Networks.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Recent Blog Posts

  • Troupe 2022 Cookout!
  • Support Neurodivergent Musicians!
  • Autism and the Artistic Eye
  • SWAP Autistic Acceptance Compilation Album Blog Post

Copyright ©  2020 The Musical Autist · All Rights Reserved · Log in