Music is the sound of love, and artists are giving it out by the songful or more in the wake of last month’s back-to-back Japanese disasters, otherwise known as the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Here are some of the ones you want to know about — and might want to own.
>>A fundraisier for the Japanese Red Cross disaster relief efforts that is guaranteed to bring in loads of dough is EMI Family 4 Japan. The EMI Group has organized this global, eBay-managed auction and called upon an A-list roster of former and current artists and songwriters to donate packed-with-value personal items and memorabilia. Among the donors are Coldplay (lead singer Chris Martin’s jacket from the 2010 “Viva La Vida” world tour), Norah Jones, Katy Perry (the cupcake trampoline from her current “California Dreams” world tour), Iron Maiden, Michael Franti (five nights at his yoga retreat in Bali), The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk (the pimpass 1987 Ferrari 412 featured in their Electroma film), and The Beatles, among many others. EMI Group has committed to matching all funds raised from the auction up to a maximum of $1 million euros. The first phase with more than 200 exclusive items kicked off yesterday (April 5) and runs until April 15. A second phase takes place between April 11 and 21. Click here to check out the list of auction items that are currently available. [MORE AFTER THE JUMP.]
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2011.