Weathervane Music

Weathervane Music is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2009 by record producer Brian McTear and Bill Robertson, it was established as a community-oriented response to the declining willingness or ability of the traditional music industry to invest in new artists. Rather than functioning primarily as a conventional record label, Weathervane Music has developed projects intended to provide musicians with access to professional production, documentation, exposure, and a more sustainable creative environment. Its best-known project is Shaking Through, a documentary music series centered on the creation of an original song. In each episode, a musician records a new track over approximately two days at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia. The recording process is filmed, allowing viewers to see the practical and artistic decisions involved in writing, arranging, performing, and producing the song. The format combines music discovery with documentary storytelling and gives participating artists a professionally produced recording and visual presentation. Beginning in 2010, Shaking Through featured approximately ten artists per year, creating an ongoing archive of performances and recording sessions. The project has been associated with Philadelphia's independent music community while also presenting artists to audiences beyond the city through online distribution. Its emphasis is not limited to finished songs: the series highlights the collaborative and sometimes unpredictable work that takes place in the studio, including interactions among musicians, producers, engineers, and other contributors. Weathervane Music received attention from regional and national music-media outlets, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, Paste, Tri State Indie, and the website of IFC. Coverage emphasized the organization's role in helping musicians create work while maintaining a reasonable standard of living and pursuing music as a career. In 2011, Tri State Indie characterized the organization as giving musicians an opportunity to make music under more viable professional conditions. That same year, IFC contributor Grayson Currin described Shaking Through as one of the strongest online music series of its kind. The series was shortlisted for Best Original Series at the 2012 Vimeo Awards Festival. The available reference material does not establish a broader corporate ownership structure, commercial parent, public listing, executive roster, or current financial figures. Weathervane Music is best understood as a nonprofit music-production and artist-support platform whose principal public identity has been built around Shaking Through and its effort to connect emerging artists with high-quality recording and documentary resources.

Weathervane Music was founded in Philadelphia in 2009 by record producer Brian McTear and Bill Robertson. Its creation reflected concerns about the changing economics of recorded music and the reduced capacity of established industry organizations to finance new artists. McTear described the organization as a community solution to the problem of insufficient investment in emerging musicians' work. The nonprofit model positioned Weathervane as an intermediary between artists, recording professionals, documentary makers, and audiences rather than as a conventional commercial label. The organization's central public project became Shaking Through. Launched in the early period of Weathervane's operation, the series documents musicians recording new songs during concentrated sessions at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia. Each episode follows the making of a track over roughly two days and includes video of the creative process. This structure gives audiences access not only to a finished performance but also to the decisions, relationships, and labor involved in producing independent music. From 2010 onward, the series featured about ten artists annually. The recurring format created a substantial body of recorded and filmed work while offering participating musicians professional production resources and a platform for discovery. Its Philadelphia setting connected the project to the city's independent music ecosystem, while its online presentation allowed the work to circulate to audiences outside the region. By 2011, Weathervane Music had attracted attention from several music and culture publications. Tri State Indie wrote about the organization's effort to give musicians the opportunity to create music while preserving an appropriate standard of living as they pursued careers. IFC coverage placed Shaking Through among the strongest online music series of its period. The Philadelphia Inquirer also covered the organization, helping establish its profile within Philadelphia's cultural and music communities. In 2012, Shaking Through was shortlisted for Best Original Series at the Vimeo Awards Festival. The recognition reflected the project's combination of music performance, documentary filmmaking, and web-native distribution. The available reference material does not provide a complete account of later programming, staffing, funding, or organizational changes. It does, however, establish Weathervane Music as a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose identity is closely associated with artist support and the Shaking Through recording-documentary series.

• 2012

  Shaking Through is shortlisted for a Vimeo Award

  [1]Weathervane Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Shaking Through is shortlisted for Best Original Series at the Vimeo Awards Festival.

• 2011

  The project receives media attention

  [1]Weathervane Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Tri State Indie and IFC publish favorable discussion of Weathervane Music and Shaking Through, emphasizing the project's artist-support model and online documentary format.

• 2010

  Shaking Through begins its recurring artist series

  [1]Weathervane Musicen.wikipedia.org

  The organization begins presenting approximately ten artists per year through Shaking Through, a documentary series built around recording new songs at Miner Street Recordings.

• 2009

  Weathervane Music is founded

  [1]Weathervane Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Brian McTear and Bill Robertson establish Weathervane Music in Philadelphia as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit intended to address the lack of traditional industry investment in emerging artists.

A nonprofit, community-based alternative to conventional music-industry artist development, using professional recording and documentary storytelling to support emerging musicians.

• Documentary music series · 2010

  Shaking Through

  Shaking Through is Weathervane Music's signature documentary series. Each episode follows a musician recording a new song during an approximately two-day session at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia. The production combines a professionally recorded track with filmed material showing the creative process, including the work of performers and production collaborators. Starting in 2010, the series featured about ten artists per year and distributed the resulting music and documentary content online.

• 2010

  Establishment of the Shaking Through formatProduct launch

  Background

  Weathervane Music sought to support emerging artists through a model that combined professional recording, documentary production, and online distribution.

  Action taken

  The organization introduced a recurring series in which musicians recorded new songs during concentrated sessions at Miner Street Recordings, with the process filmed for online audiences.

  Aftermath

  The format became the organization's best-known project, received favorable critical coverage, and was later shortlisted for a Vimeo award.

  Source

1. 1Weathervane Musicen.wikipedia.org