Q:  Mr. Grundman, this is a wonderful contribution to the world; is there any single thing in your life that triggered you to be receptive to doing this kind of program?  In other words, how did you develop this sense of empathy and connect it to music?

A: It all started with the marvelous work of Sam Cardon and Kurt Bestor for the worldwide launch of WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows in 1993. They composed an album called INNOVATORS for a demo CD to be distributed to the PC users of WordPerfect. This album fell into my hands, and I showed it to the presenters of the two most famous New Age programs in Spain. The album rose in popularity quickly, and Ramón Trecet gave me the idea to sell it for humanitarian causes due to the fact that the album could not be bought in retail stores.

To sell it, I spoke with the people at WordPerfect (which was at that time sold to Novell) and to the people Doctors Without Borders (DWB) in Spain. They were surprised by the concept, so I needed to explain it to them again and again. Six months later, the people of Novell gave DWB one thousand copies of the CD to be sold through the radio program "Dialogos 3." In exactly ten minutes, the one thousand CDs were sold, and people were trying to buy it for nearly a month afterward through the DWB offices. After all this, I felt very good; it was a lot of work, but it was worth it.

That success gave me the idea to share my modest music with everyone around me. My music started to be played on the radio, but it wasn't until January of 2001 that I published my works to MP3.com.  With that, I was able to turn the idea of sharing my music into a reality, similar to shareware software: buy or donate only if you like it, knowing that all contributions go directly to DWB.

It was very exciting when the people of DWB received $3300 from an unknown man who claims his contribution was inspired by this music, mp3 and the Internet.  In three years and over a million downloads since, I’ve been able to collect approximately $7500 for DWB, thanks to the people who listen to my music. Believe me, this is one of the most marvelous experiences an artist can experience: to know the music he created in a piano can help to save a life. For this reason, I forever try to compose the most emotive music I can.

Q:  The CD did very well in Spain, even though your titles are very intense and descriptive, as is the accompanying music.  Do you have any concern about the American audiences’ ability to handle this level of intensity?

A: My brother is a New Yorker. He lived in New York, New Jersey and Miami for nearly fifteen years. He loves American music -- from Al Jarreau to Billy Joel -- and became completely emotional when he heard the story behind my music. This was a trial of fire. He was also the one who gave me the idea of Non Profit Music as an entity. Simultaneously, MP3.com offered its artists demographic statistics on the people who listened to their work. Most of the people I got feedback from were from the USA and Japan. I started to receive a lot of e-mail from those countries, so I needed to create my web site in English. My guestbook is full of plenty of comments from the people of the USA. In any case, people are the same wherever you go. They care for their children, pray for peace, work morning until night and everybody is hungry for love and sensibility. I always try to put my two cents of sensibility into my melodies.

Q:  Your music download program is extensive, and largely based on free MP3s and the honor system, quite unlike the traditional label approach…what inspired you to take this approach?

A: Well this is a funny question. The majors are railing against downloading because they say they are losing sales due to everybody sharing the music; they believe that everybody downloads the songs and no one goes to buy the album.

To be exact, this is just the opposite what it happened to me. After listening, sharing and downloading, people not only bought my albums, but made donations to the cause, too. In my album, I give my fans rights to copy and distribute it wherever it will be useful to promote DWB, but not to make a profit from that promotion. To me, it is a great experience because, after hearing my music, a lot of people talk with friends and recommend it. In Japan, a lot of listeners never heard of DWB, but thanks to my work, there is now a DWB collaboration with Japan. What can be more wonderful? With only a whistle, someone is able to help save a life. This was, and is, the idea of Non Profit Music.

Q:  Here in the U.S., there is a TV program called ”ER“ that has a storyline loosely based on Doctors Without Borders, without actually naming the organization.  How much impact do you think pop culture like TV and music like yours can have in motivating individuals?

A: It is simply a matter of trying. Many people only hear about such solidarity in the news or in film. They think cannot help anybody with the simple life they lead, but nothing could be farther from reality. Every one of us can be useful in building a better world. The TV can bring the Third World to all of us, but if we switch off the TV, or change the channel, we turn our back on the people who need help. Pop culture is youth’s way of understanding life. We can start from the very beginning to motivate the soul of our youth. In doing so, nobody will wish to leave this world without having helped others.

Q:  Now that you are a ”solo“ artist, what is your view on artistic collaboration? 

A: I don't see myself in jam sessions any longer, because it's just not my style. But in the next few months, I will have an exciting collaboration to announce. That is all I can say about it for now…

Q:  Do you have any plans for future albums, and will they have a charity benefit?

A: Yes. Absolutely. That is the point of Non Profit Music. Making music solely to support humanitarian causes.  My next album will continue in this direction, and I'll try to convince other artists to do the same. Non Profit Music is not a matter of business, it's a matter of helping others.

For more information, or to arrange a personal interview, please contact Beth Lerch @ The B Company (beth@theBcompany.com or tel: 323.969.8909).

If you wish to read other online interview with Jorge Grundman you can follow this link