CASH Music—the Portland-based nonprofit organization co-founded by Throwing Muses’ Kristen Hersh, L7’s Donita Sparks, Jesse von Doom—has announced it is shutting down after 12 years of operation. All three major components of the organization—the artist tools, the Watt blog, and the CASH Music Revolving Fund—will be shut down. (The tools will close on July 10.)
Originally formed in 2008 with the goal of providing open-source tools to artists looking to promote and sell their music online, CASH Music operated with the mission statement of helping artists and musicians build sustainable careers. “There will be a longer post-mortem later from the org and likely a few of us as individuals,” reads a tweet. “We are proud of what we were able to accomplish, frustrated by some of the things we weren’t, but thankful for all of you. Our community is so special.”