BLOG STORY – Part 1
Set For Love DJ Live Streams Raises £80k to help communities in developing countries suffering the consequences of lockdown
Our recent Set For Love campaigns have been a phenomenal success. We held two 72-hour mixing marathon’s that inspired thousands of DJ’s to live stream and fundraise together. So far over £80,000 has been raised for our COVID-19 Relief Appeal as a result. These funds continue to provide food, clean water and sanitation supplies to some of the vulnerable communities we work with in developing countries.
Set For Love is a powerful demonstration of what’s possible when people come together with a common intention to help others. From household names to aspiring bedroom DJs – our aim was to unite the electronic music community to make a difference through music.
Carl Cox, Eats Everything, Nightmares On Wax, Paul Oakenfold and Louie Vega were just some of the headline acts that got behind the initiative and streamed a Set For Love. The headline sets were broadcast on DanceTelevision, across LNADJ’s channels and on the artists channels. They were joined by thousands of other DJs from over 80 countries around the world, each streaming to their own network of friends, family and fans – encouraging them to donate.
From bedroom DJs to Global Superstars – Set For Love
brought the DJ community together to fundraise
Inclusivity was a key part of Set For Love. We created a process to encourage ANYONE that wanted to share their music and fundraise at the same time to be able to do so.
The result was the world’s largest simultaneous DJ live stream event. We found that working with high profile DJs helped us to generate publicity and raise awareness of Set For Love which inspired other members of the DJ community to get involved. Then we saw how local or the ‘community’ DJs were the ones who got the most active with fundraising, some getting really creative with the process
Three excellent examples of this type of fundraising came from Canadian brain surgeon Nyan Narine, stockbroker Ashley Robinson from Georgia, USA and 20 year old British student Max Pietrangelli.
They really stood out to us during the first Set For Love. From giving their audience the chance to request a tune for a small fixed donation up to offering to go and play a private gig in the homes of those making bigger donations – it was the creativity in fundraising as well as their amazing sets that caught our attention.
So when it came to the second Set For Love live streaming weekender – we decided to give something back to these top fundraisers. They were invited to join the lineup for the headline sets – one on each night. This meant they appeared on the flyer alongside their musical heroes and their sets were broadcast on the main channels alongside the top acts. This was a dream come true for all three and something we aim to continue doing for fundraisers.
Ashley Robinson said;
“I originally got involved in Set For Love solely for potential exposure. I clicked on the link and signed up, never having heard about LNADJ.
The more I learned about the mission, the more effort I wanted to give to the fundraising. The first weekend was very difficult for me because I was attempting to stream for 24 hours and was plagued with loads of technical issues. It was great that I had so many friends toughed it out with me before I gave up. I was floored to find out that I still collected over $1400.
The next time around I got the chance to not only be in the feature lineup but to close out the whole weekend! I couldn’t believe it! It was amazing that for one hour I was more than just a bedroom DJ. I was on international TV getting to do something I loved.”
Top industry brands supported Set For Love
As well as bringing DJs of all levels together, another vital ingredient in the success of Set For Love was the support of companies from within the electronic music industry who backed the project. The likes of Mixcloud, Pioneer DJ, Point Blank, Loopmasters and many more all got involved (see below for full list).
Some donated incredible goodies for the prize draws that fundraisers could enter – creating an extra incentive for those taking part and a reward for their sterling efforts. One lucky fundraiser, Vimal Odedra, won a pair of flagship Pioneer DJ CDJ NXS2000’s, a dream prize for any aspiring DJ – or indeed any DJ at all come to think of it!
Other help came through these partners by them promoting the event to their database or social media followings. Others gave their time and industry expertise to help build Set For Love. All in all the support from every corner of the electronic music community was nothing short of inspirational.
The Birth of Set For Love in Ibiza – Nightmares On Wax and friends at Las Dalias
The original idea for Set For Love was birthed by our charity ambassador DJ E.A.S.E from Nightmares On Wax. We worked with him to create the first event, which was a live event at Las Dalias in Ibiza in August 2019. It featured 30 of the island’s most popular resident DJs playing a Set For Love, raising over 9000€ to build 3 fresh water wells in India and Africa.
Our plan for 2020, together with DJ E.A.S.E, was always to expand Set For Love into a global concept, to inspire DJs and promoters all over the world to throw fundraising events. Then the virus struck.!
Rising to the challenges of lockdown
The live stream side of the event was born during lockdown as a response to a number of challenges. First was the feedback we were getting from our partner organisations that we were already working with in developing countries. They were reporting to us the devastating consequences of lockdown on their respective communities. In places where we knew people were already living hand to mouth day to day, we were made aware that many were now without food and facing other serious issues.
Our second challenge was not being able to host the live events we had planned as fundraisers. We were looking for ways that we could bring our fundraising online during lockdown and utilise all the amazing talent we work with in the electronic music community, talent that was now grounded so to speak. It became clear that DJ live streams were the way forward.
The difference we have been able to make as a result of Set For Love live streams has been incredible and we continue to receive heartfelt thank you’s, pictures and videos. In the next blog we’ll talk in more detail about the difference we’ve made in Uganda, Tanzania, Indonesia and Nepal as a result of Set For Love.
Stay tuned for part 2 of our blog.
With your help, what we have sent to these communities is much more than aid. It’s a message of love, hope and human kindness. A message that tells people that they are not alone. For this and so much more we thank each and every person who got involved in Set For Love, all the DJs, partners, LNADJ team and all those who donated!
Set For Love is the embodiment of what our charity is all about and we’re proud of the many DJ’s that have saved many lives!
Thank You to Our Partners & Sponsors
You can still donate at www.setforlovedonate.org and find out more about each cause.
Stay tuned for details of the next #setforlove
With thanks to partners
Mixcloud, Pioneer DJ, Point Blank, BopDJ,and Loopmasters, Loopcloud, Audiolock, Brighton Music Conference, Data Transmission, Funktion One, DanceTelevision, Izotope, Mixmasters, The Fleming EMC, Clubaholic, Boutique PR, Jukebox PR, Digital DJ Tips, Frangipani, Cyberdog
With thanks to LNADJ production team and volunteers
Jonny Lee, James Holdsworth, Lisa Chadderton, Neil Kemp, Claire Doherty, Tiffiny Hogg, Todd Graft, Martina Burke, Daniel Stephenson, Laura Hemsley, Danny Savage, Michael Lison, Emily Chapman, Poppy Lee, Yazmin Lee, Becca Holdsworth
With thanks to DJ’s
Carl Cox, Eats Everything, Nightmares On Wax, Anfisa Letyago, Nakadia, Nyan Narine, Mark Farina, Simon Dunmore, Cut Chemist, Statik Selektah, Louie Vega, Pietra, S.K.T, John Morales, Pascal Klieman, A-Ro, Malcolm We Love, Bekka Rawkins, Darren Jay, Defex, Saytek Live, Doorly, Nick Warren, Paul Oakenfold, Jackmaster and every single DJ who took part – THANK YOU ALL! YOU ROCK!
GET INVOLVED
Help Children in Crisis By Donating Today!
- HOW DJS UNITED TO HELP COMMUNITIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO SURVIVE THE IMPACT OF LOCKDOWN AND PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS - July 29, 2020
- Set For Love DJ Live Streams Raises £80k to help communities in developing countries suffering the consequences of lockdown - July 3, 2020
- LNADJ Charity Event at The Saatchi Gallery London in association with Frangipani - November 24, 2019