DISABILITY AWARENESS
RESOURCES
Songtrust believes that the music industry is for everyone and should be accessible to all people.
The music industry isn't just for one type of person, but for all. No matter your situation, you should have access to the resources, equipment, and people you need to grow your career. Below is a collection of organizations and resources to understand how to support persons with disabilities.
ORGANIZATIONS
Disability Project
Housed at Transgender Law Center through a 2019 Soros Justice Fellowship, the Disability Project magnifies the leadership, collective power, and visibility of LGBTQ disabled/Deaf/ill constituents. Led by a multi-racial, cross-class, cross-disability advisory board of transgender and gender nonconforming people, the Disability Project embeds disability, Deafness, and anti-ableism politics and expertise into LGBTQ movement work. The Project breaks isolation, grows connection, and builds leadership within trans disability/Deaf/chronically ill communities.
Read MoreDisability Arts Online
An organisation led by disabled people, set up to advance disability arts and culture through the pages of their journal. Their raison d’être is to support disabled artists, as much as anything by getting the word out about the fantastic art being produced by artists within the sector.
Read MoreOHMI - Music-Making for People With Physical Disabilities
The OHMI Trust’s objective is a simple one: enable children and adults with physical impairments to play the instruments they want to play, when they want to play them and where they want to play them.
Read MoreOpen Up Music (UK)
Open Up Music's mission is to make music accessible to young disabled people. Their Open Orchestras and National Open Youth Orchestra programmes create opportunities for them to play in ensembles.
Read MoreHalf Access
Half Access is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to making live music accessible. Our database provides accessibility info on any and all venues to help prepare disabled folks on what to expect before arriving at a show, and will be used by us to work with venues on improving accessibility in their spaces.
Read MoreSins Invalid
Sins Invalid is committed to social and economic justice for all people with disabilities – in lockdowns, in shelters, on the streets, visibly disabled, invisibly disabled, sensory minority, environmentally injured, psychiatric survivors – moving beyond individual legal rights to collective human rights. Our stories, imbedded in analysis, offer paths from identity politics to unity amongst all oppressed people, laying a foundation for a collective claim of liberation and beauty.
Read MoreProject LETS
Project LETS is a national grassroots organization and movement led by and for folks with lived experience of mental illness/madness, Disability, trauma, & neurodivergence. We specialize in building just, responsive, and transformative peer support collectives and community mental health care structures that do not depend on state-sanctioned systems that trap our folks in the medical/prison-industrial complex. We work for and with multiply marginalized folks in our communities to provide access, political education, & material resources that are needed to survive and thrive.
Read MoreMusical Vibrations
The Musical Vibrations project, from the University of Liverpool Acoustics Research Unit, aims to bring music to d/Deaf people in schools, live music venues and music production studios, using the power of vibration.
Read MoreThe Deaf Professional Arts Network (D-PAN)
The Deaf Professional Arts Network (D-PAN) a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 organization was originally founded to make music and music culture – the predominant shared language and experience of people worldwide – universally accessible by extending its reach to the Deaf and hard of hearing. Since 2006, D-PAN has pioneered the art form of creating high quality American Sign Language (ASL) music videos, translating the lyrics of popular songs through ASL.
Read MoreCymaSpace
CymaSpace is a leading advocate for accessibility and inclusion within the performing arts. We are constantly striving to find new ways to ensure our venue and events are inclusive, especially to Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing communities.
Read MoreRespectAbility
RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization that works collaboratively with employers, elected officials, policy makers, educators, self-advocates, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, philanthropists and the entertainment and news media to fight stigmas and advance opportunities. Led by diverse people with disabilities and allies, RespectAbility knows that people with disabilities and their families have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else.
Read MoreSilence the Shame
Silence the Shame is a nonprofit organization that focuses on education and awareness around mental health. Our programs and initiatives consist of Crisis Response Trainings, Community Conversations, Wellness Trainings, digital content, and outreach events. We aim to normalize the conversation, peel back the layers of shame, eliminate stigma, and provide support for mental well-being.
Read MoreMusiCares
MusiCares helps the humans behind music because music gives so much to the world. Offering preventive, emergency, and recovery programs, MusiCares is a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community. Founded by the Recording Academy in 1989 as a U.S. based, independent 501(c)(3) charity, MusiCares safeguards the well-being of all music people through direct financial grant programs, networks of support resources, and tailored crisis relief efforts.
Read MoreAttitude is Everything
Live music is for everyone. Attitude is Everything improves Deaf and disabled people's access to live music by working in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry.
Read MoreDrake Music Scotland
Drake Music Scotland is the nation’s leading arts organisation providing music making opportunities for people with disabilities. Our expertise in inclusive music technology and specialist teaching methods support people of all ages and a wide range of disabilities to play, learn and compose music independently.
Read MoreHelp Musicians
For almost 100 years, Help Musicians has been providing help, support and opportunities to empower musicians at all stages of their lives. They are an independent charity which aims to make a meaningful difference to the lives of musicians, offering a wide spectrum of support which includes: Health & Welfare services, Creative development funding, ground-breaking research, a mental health helpline for the entire music industry and an incredibly popular hearing health scheme which aims to prevent hearing problems that would otherwise bring musicians’ careers to an untimely end.
Read MoreARTICLES, BOOKS, AND GENERAL RESOURCES
Disability Visibility By Alice Wong
One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people
Read MoreFeeling the Weight: Some Beginning Notes on Disability, Access and Love
Mia Mingus is a writer, educator and trainer for transformative justice and disability justice. She is a queer physically disabled korean transracial and transnational adoptee raised in the Caribbean. She works for community, interdependence and home for all of us, not just some of us, and longs for a world where disabled children can live free of violence, with dignity and love. As her work for liberation evolves and deepens, her roots remain firmly planted in ending sexual violence.
Read MoreThe Beauty of Being Deaf
Paying respect to National Deaf History Month and celebrating the beauty within the deaf and hard of hearing communities, New York-based genderless streetwear brand PRIVATE POLICY collaborates with activist, artist, and actor Chella Man to turn his distinctive artwork into ear jewelry designs highlighting the beauty of being deaf.
Watch NowSounding Off: Theorizing Disability in Music
The first book-length work to focus on the historical and theoretical issues of music as it relates to disability. It shows that music, like literature and the other arts, simultaneously reflects and constructs cultural attitudes toward disability.
Read More10 Principles of Disability Justice by Sins Invalid
From the vantage point within Sins Invalid, where they incubate the framework and practice of disability justice, this emerging framework has ten principles, each offering opportunities for movement building.
Read MoreSkin, Tooth & Bone: The Basis of our Our People
This Disability Justice Primer, based in the work of Patty Berne and Sins Invalid, offers concrete suggestions for moving beyond the socialization of ableism, such as mobilizing against police violence, how to commit to mixed ability organizing, and access suggestions for events. Skin, Tooth, and Bone offers analysis, history and context for the growing Disability Justice Movement.
Read MoreABILITY Magazine
For more than 25 years, ABILITY Magazine has been the leading publication for health, disability and human potential. It shatters myths and stereotypes surrounding disabilities and brings attention to the issues, showing disability is part of the fabric in our lives.
Read MoreBraille Music Resources
The National Federation of Blind has many members and friends who pursue careers and hobbies related to music. They collected a list of resources to assist Blind music creators.
Read More7 Mindful Mental Health Organizations for Musicians
Artists and industry leaders are coming together far and wide to share their stories about mental health and to raise awareness. It’s crucial to take care of your mind, but sometimes it can be difficult to know where to turn. We at Output want to shine a light on seven outstanding organizations making a difference in support of musicians and mental health.
Read MoreResources for All Disabilities
Each of the sites on this site provides information relevant to many different types of disabilities. The list is organized in the following sections: Music Organizations, Federal Agencies, and Nonprofit Organizations.
Read MoreSeeing With Your Ears: Making Music Production Accessible for the Visually Impaired
Visually impaired music producer Jason Dasent has had a successful music career for 25 years. But his work of partnering with manufacturers to make music production accessible for the visually impaired could prove to be his greatest legacy.
Read MoreMusic Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Music resources for people who are blind or have other visual impairments, as well as those who work with, or are family or friends of those who are blind or have visual impairments.
Read MoreGuest blog: Making music accessible for people with physical disabilities
The OHMI Trust is a UK based charity that works to remove the barriers to music making faced by people with physical disabilities. Rachel Wolffsohn, General Manager of the Trust, explains how.
Read MoreBlack artists with disabilities call for greater inclusion in hip-hop
From an early age, artist with cerebral palsy Leroy Moore Jr. said he recognized the limited opportunities for people with disabilities. Now, he and a collective of 800 musicians, poets and visual artists are shifting the dialogue within hip-hop culture through Krip-Hop Nation
Read MoreVIDEO AND AUDIO RESOURCES
Disability After Dark Podcast
The creator of the viral hashtag, #DisabledPeopleAreHot, Andrew Gurza is here to remind the world that people with disabilities exist, despite what pop culture would lead you to believe, and they can have just as messy of sex lives as everyone else. Once you tune in, you'll start to pick up on all of the ableism that exists in our daily lives, and how the majority of queer spaces are inaccessible to those with disabilities.
Listen NowGaelynn Lea: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Gaelynn Lea, the winner of NPR's second annual Tiny Desk Contest, makes music like nobody else. Lea has brittle bone disease, which made it necessary for her to reinvent the ordinary — and, in this case, a way to play the fiddle.
Watch NowBarnard Center for Research on Women
The Barnard Center for Research on Women hosts a programming series that explores a wide range of feminist and social justice issues like women's rights, gender and sexuality, democracy and voting, immigration and economics. Featured speakers include Angela Davis, Estelle Freedman, Lani Guinier, Josephine Ho, Naomi Klein and Dean Spade. Fusing scholarship with activism, highlights from these events are now available as podcasts (search BCRW on iTunes) and videos (available on youTube).
Watch NowDisability Awareness in the Music Industry | Women In Music Panel | Moderated by Lachi
Highlighting top award winning Women with Disabilities in the Music Industry, discussing successes, tribulations, and what steps must be taken for further inclusion.
Watch Now(Not Audio but about Audio) How to Make your Live Stream Accessible for All Guide
Learning to navigate a new way of bringing live performances to an audience can be daunting, which is why Attitude is Everything has created an Online Music Events Access Guide, with tips and tricks to ensure that your gig reaches the widest audience possible. It includes guidance for live music spaces of all sizes, from arenas to grassroots venues, and is full of suggestions to ensure that everyone can enjoy your online performance.
Read MoreWHAT IT’S LIKE TO PURSUE A CAREER IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY WHEN YOU’RE DISABLED
Written by Laura Moulding as part of Youth Music Next Gen, Laura shares her experience in the music indiustry as a person with disabilities
Read MoreACCESSIBILITY FOR ARTISTS - DOES THE MUSIC INDUSTRY NEED TO DO MORE FOR THOSE WITH A DISABILITY OR MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION?
SAE speaks to James McCormick about the results of the Attitude is Everything Next Stage survey and evaluates the ways venues can become more accessible.
Read MoreSexuality and Disability: Forging Identity in a World that Leaves You Out
Gaelynn Lea felt left out of mainstream dating and beauty culture due to her physical disability. In her talk, she recounts the epiphany that empowered her to pursue life, love, and a musical career on her own terms.
Watch NowSit The F*ck Down Podcast | Episode 6: Representation in the Music Industry feat. Eric Howk
We're starting our month of disability representation! This week we discuss representation in the music industry specifically, featuring guitarist Eric Howk from the band Portugal the Man.
Listen NowDisability Perspectives Podcast
The vision behind the Disability Perspective Podcast is to normalize the disability conversation, remove the stigma surrounding disabilities, and cultivate an atmosphere that values and validates the experiences and perspectives of those who live with diagnosed or undiagnosed disabilities as well as those who have otherwise been impacted by a disability.
Listen NowInvisible Disabilities: Seeing Others With Compassion
An accomplished musician, Valerie may seem like a normal twenty year old college student. However, she has invisible disabilities as a result of being a preemie baby. Valerie explains what “parts” she has missing and what she has to do on a daily basis just to function.
Watch NowCrash and Ride
A podcast that interviews musicians about their struggles with mental illness.
Listen NowSurviving the Music Industry | Gaelynn Lea
Winner of NPR Music's 2016 Tiny Desk Series, Gaelynn Lea, talks discovering her voice and instrument, the people that crash into your life that leaves a positive impact, and maneuvering the landscape of her new found career. Gaelynn also gives some insight to what goes on within the Tiny Desk Series.
Listen Now
