​Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Istanbul meet-up of "Grow Local, Grow Equal" at The Consulate General of the Netherlands, hosted by Kreşendo.

Kreşendo is one of only two cultural institutions in Turkey to be awarded UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity. This fund, established under the 2005 Convention, supports projects that safeguard and celebrate the diversity of cultural expressions. The "Grow Local, Grow Equal" project is designed to strengthen and promote equality within Turkey’s music industry through conducting research on the needs and challenges of music industry, organising sector meetings and online training programs in pilot cities, and producing a policy report aimed at contributing to the development of sustainable cultural policies in the music sector will be prepared.

Throughout the event—attended by musicians and industry leaders alike—Kreşendo’s founder, Beril Sarıaltun, along with speakers like Özlem Ece, Merve Eryürük, Metin Uzelli, Bülent Forta, and Liza Blanning, discussed how Turkey’s music industry can become more inclusive, fair, and sustainable. 

One powerful insight was the recognition of how digital platforms have democratized music, providing artists new opportunities to reach global audiences. Yet, as we heard in discussions, there are persistent barriers around equitable earnings, fair copyright practices, and the commercialisation of culture. Traditional structures in the industry, like are being pushed to adapt, while artists often find themselves navigating complex, sometimes restrictive systems that limit their control and earnings.

Another thought-provoking theme was the influence of technology and digital shifts on the industry’s landscape. With mobile access, AI, and streaming services, music has become highly accessible, but this accessibility comes with its own challenges: artists now carry the burden of self-promotion and engagement to sustain visibility and income. As the world becomes a "global village," there’s also a rise in cynical audiences and competitive pressures that make it even harder to stand out authentically. With almost 100,000 songs being added to streaming platforms weekly, it is indeed a crowded market. 

As a jaded musician who has been a part of this industry for over 10 years, I was excited by the sense of collectivism in the room. I could sense that we were on the brink of something new and exciting. Something that I'm eager and excited to be a part of. 

It has been some of the strangest few days of my life. From hearing F16 jets flyby at night and explosions shaking the ground whilst hiding out in friends houses after hearing of a coup; knowing there are tanks streets below as you struggle to comprehend what is going on. Friends joining lines and lines of people at ATM machines, spaghetti running out at the markets as no one truly knows how long they are going to be trapped inside.
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Thankfully, we are now not trapped; the initial chaos from Friday night is over. Instead of analysing the situation that ensued afterwards and what is going on now (as it isn't that clear); I would just like to say that it is very easy to see how a country that is relatively stable can disintegrate into a situation of potential war, complete terror and instability overnight.

This region of the world has been played at for decades, perhaps even centuries. We are indeed pieces on a chess board. Worldwide economic and social domination by a few very rich and greedy people is the reason why thousands of children die of starvation everyday, why approx 1 billion learn to live on less than 1 dollar a day, why some countries are completely sold to foreign corporations etc. etc. etc.

I'm tired of asking questions such as;
Why the f* are there permanent security council members ? 
Why does one family (Rothschild) own nearly all central banks worldwide?
Why do we have to work to make money to pay our electricity and water bills and buy food when these things would be very simply provided if resource distribution was in place. 
etc. etc. etc.

I feel I am living as a hypocrite myself. We always discuss of conscious consumption. Yes, I am better than I used to be at being careful regarding what and how I consume but I truly feel that there needs to be some sort of radical dissent in terms of this. This chaos and extremism ensuing across the region, Europe and the world is not just going to simply disappear. It will get worst if we do not act. And if it is indeed the economy that makes the world go round. That is where we must hit the hardest. How exactly, I'm not entirely sure.

(Edit/Addition: Oh, and to fight extremism we must indeed remember that there are chilrden being brain-washed into believing extremist views. We can fight that by equally making as compelling counter articles/videos. These people (if not already taken away and being trained on the ground) are influenced by their solitary lonely lives, the bullshit environment they are in and mostly by what they are reading and watching on the internet). We must tell young vulnerable children and young people: THERE IS another way.)

Technology, hacking, whistle-blowing- this has lead to more transparency but has also caused a lot of trouble at other times. We must be smart. Cyber-security and cyber warfare is one of the greatest threats that face the planet at the moment in terms of keeping 'the system' alive and well.

The reason we are governed, the reason we value money is only because we allow ourselves to be government, because we 'trust' money and put value onto it ourselves. We in our lives our doing as much as we can I can see that. There is too much information, overwhelming misinformation, our brains are trying to compute all of this as well as our emotions of what is going on the world constantly. It is too much to take.

We then, of course need to to calm and relax, meditate, laugh with friends, make art, music, love. Cook. Feel alive. There are different ways of radical dissent - truly living and believing in the way you believe as a form of resistance. Living 'off grid'. Choosing to live alternatively, sharing, free-cycling, networking, truly seeing the beautiful different colours of the people and the world we live in.

A lot of us (including myself) feel paralyzed about 'what exactly to do'. We don't trust political systems, we choose systems that are not necessarily hierarchical to be a part of ; the vast consciousness of the internet is a part of this . We share, we are in power, we can reach billions at a click. What we also need is focus and discipline. We cannot do everything. Which is why we collaborate and we focus. We do indeed need to be brave. Bravery and stupidity also can be a very thin line when people wait outside your house ready to beat you up.

I'm babbling but I need to . The point is, friends, it is time for some more radical thought and action. (When I say radical I do not mean let's go and wreck the place). I mean - time to be smart with our emotions, thoughts, our environment, our awareness, time to shake off the hopelessness, time to embrace that we are together, time to accept the horror that surrounds us, time to see we must do all we can to stop this. Time to learn to protect ourselves online, physically, mentally. Time to be prepared for everything; to be 'safer' rather than 'sorry'.

We have to keep doing what we have been doing; sharing info etc. We need to 'think globally, act locally', we need to make this fight not against something or another- we must fight for 'humanity' ; for all beings on this planet. If we continue to find this in ourselves, that is the most important step. The rest comes naturally.

Let's not let these assholes rule the planet. At some point, 'whatever it takes' will be what we are saying to one another.
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Enough is enough.

Peace and Love.

You know things are messed up when you start planning war and escape scenarios with your friends with alternative plot twists and endings.
The reality is I just think us human beings never really allow ourselves to feel the horrors of war / systematic violence we see in the world. We truly don't want to face our own demons and the demons of society. Which is understandable - we have the day to day to deal with. But when death knocks on your door a few times and you realise more and more that you are alive by chance - something weird clicks in the brain and says....hang on a minute.

Until we face ourselves and the horrors of the world TRULY and try to deal with our own principles on a fundamental level this horror is going to continue all across the globe. With rapid increase of technology, scarcity of resources things are only going to get scarier unless mass conscious revolution takes place.

I do not know what will happen in all the hundreds of other countries around the world where people die everyday because of money mania and greed. This in reality is not a local / country issue - this is a global issue. The s*** has literally hit the fan - had hit the fan looooong time ago. We are literally trying to scrape the remnants of what dignity we have as human beings and turn it into a much better place to live for ourselves and future beings on this planet.

People are dying everyday. Because of extremism, corruption, hate - all stemming from fear. We really must stop the cynicism, stop the hopelessness, learn to face the reality of what  is going on head on, bite the bullet, and try our best to PROVE love exists in the world and it is in reality the ONLY thing that is going to change anything. 

Just let that sink in for a while. This isn't some hippie dippie babble. What has ever changed our societies for the 'better' in the world? Why do we have a sense of what is right and wrong? Why is it that love is incredibly powerful? Why is it the same reason that fear is the same? How do sub-cultures that change society come about? Why? How? How do they spread? Why is art, music, literature so important in this process? Why must we reject apathy, laziness, cynicism?

Because the camel's back has already broken. Just accepting that 'the world is crap, we are gonna die anyway' is a poor excuse to me.

These feelings are a lot more prominent these days when you keep receiving 'threats' to your cities in forms of various violent acts - be it bombing, street clashes etc. etc.
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I'm not saying go and be Gandhi.

All I am saying is think about yourself, learn to love yourself (yes this is LEARNT! as we are not taught about any sort of way to deal with our emotions in life and we focus on the brain and logic and producing - not being compassionate and caring), then you will love others more - so on so forth. 

Do what you love, do it with passion.
Spread the love. It is MUCH needed. ​

I beg you.

“Kindness is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations.” 
― Paramahansa Yogananda

With love,
Melissa