anitra
Sellaband addict in waiting
Posts: 16
|
Post by anitra on May 27, 2007 23:13:52 GMT
Dreb,
I respect you for trusting your intuition, and saying what you felt you had to say.
I have had a very similar situation on a different forum entirely, today. The plea concerned a sick child, but was otherwise very similar (child is dying, needs help to fly to the U.S. for treatment etc.)
When I did a bit of research, I found the appeal was NOT a registered charity, and therefore completely unregulated. Other forum members were happily contributing, but could have been handing money to literally anyone, with no guarantee it would ever reach the child.
Like you, I felt I had to say something.
I am only on SAB to support MUSIC, and I feel a bit uneasy about appeals for help with artists' PERSONAL circumstances. I don't think that's what SAB is about, and I don't think it's safe.
I feel the safest way to donate to worthy causes is through a reputable, registered charity. I'm not saying everything else is a scam, but you do run the risk that it might be. As you say, you can't ever really know *anyone* online.
I know this is going to sound appalling, but something's been troubling me about the whole "Magnus" thing from the start. I'm so glad you've voiced your concerns.
Anitra
|
|
arnis
Slightly Sellaband addicted
Posts: 114
|
Post by arnis on May 28, 2007 2:07:49 GMT
Fascinating to read all the posts this evening and I agree with most of the points made.
I'm very tired so I'll be very brief with the questions that interest me.
1. "5. Guinea/Conakry 26 November 2006: Today Magnus signed a management contract with Willem T who becomes his Personal Manager. Willem will try to locate A&R and booking managers. Coming week Magnus will travel to Liberia to offer a SAVE THE CHILDREN sample to president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf."
Could you explain the background to this post?
2. "6. Monrovia/Liberia 30 November 2006: Thanks to the fact a friend of the president of Liberia read the interview in the SellaBand Tribine, Magnus received the honorable invitation to hand over the copy of his first album personally to president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. One of his dreams is already coming through!"
What happened here?
|
|
|
Post by theliberian on May 28, 2007 7:09:34 GMT
Dear all
In the past week there is a lot of discussion concerning Magnus (and Willem). We, Magnus and Willem, have never ever asked any person for money only for professional support from experts and believers. Is that not where Sellaband is all about?
Lily launched the idea with all good intentions but I am very afraid it will turn against us. Now it looks like we are in court and have to defend ourselves for something we did not start. Magnus is a gifted young artist and one of these days he will make it with or without being in Europe or USA. Also I do not understand what is wrong with the fact that Magnus established a Children Foundation in Liberia. If one does not like it he/she is not asked or forced to do anything. That simple.
Willem
|
|
arnis
Slightly Sellaband addicted
Posts: 114
|
Post by arnis on May 28, 2007 9:36:26 GMT
Hi Willem!!
My apologies for asking too many questions, of course you are not in a court andf I'm sorry you feel that way.
I was just simply trying to follow up on things you said in the past which are relevant.
I can't say that I agree with your statement about never asking for money, in my mind your posting on Lilys page was tantamount to asking for money or can professional support be transferred by Moneygram?
May 24 2007 10:33 PM GMT Willem Tijssen
Dear kind Lily Thank you very much for the many messages and sincere concern. You are a true friend. The situation in Conakry is very dangerous and bad. I just came back from there to The Netherlands and will return next week. I have to. Magnus is trying to get a visa to France but then needs gigs to stay in life but first we must raise some fund to pay his ticket and some cash to stay alive. If we can collect some money for him we/you can send it by Moneygram to him in Conakry where he can collect it. In the coming days I will try to find time to respond by separate email. Again congratulations with the 50K also in name of our friend Magnus.
|
|
|
Post by theliberian on May 28, 2007 11:21:54 GMT
Hello Arnis
The e-mail from 24 May was a response to Lily's questions/proposals to send money to Magnus and how to do that. She had asked in several e-mails how she could do something special for him. That is why I wrote her to consider Moneygram. Also please notice the we/you implicating that myself am also trying to locate fund for him. Arnis my subjective e-mail was an answer and NOT a question/demand!
In November 2006 Magnus signed a contract with me so that I can take care of him when he ever gets proposals from managers or record companies. In a grey past I managed over 20 bands in Europe so I know a little bit about the pitfalls etc. Also you will notice that I would try to locate a A&R manager.
When Magnus came to Monrovia President Ellen was preparing to leave the country for a foreign trip. That was the reason why she did not have the time to meet him. A president does not stop preparation for any one when she is in a hurry, EVEN IN SMALL SMALL LIBERIA. Magnus dream did not come out YET!
About reputable NGO’s somebody mentioned (ANITRA) I suggest visitors of this board come to West Africa and see with their own eyes how these reputable NGO representatives fly in first or business class and stay in expensive 5-star hotels. Some of them even never come out of the hotel because they can not stand the heath. In Monrovia perhaps 1,500 white UN jeeps drive around and in every jeep you see 1 (one) black driver and 1 (one) white bossman/bosswoman. The NGO’s biggest achievement is to promote their own organization on the back of disaster. One is planting a bigger flag then the other. Come and take a look to see how they spend 80% of your donations to live in luxury with high salaries.
Your humble servant!
|
|
arnis
Slightly Sellaband addicted
Posts: 114
|
Post by arnis on May 28, 2007 18:00:32 GMT
Hi Willem!!
It would probably have been better to sned as a personal message rather than in the public arena.
So as I understand, you were never asking for any money and this was Lily's idea. I guess we need to wait till she's back online so that we can better understyand what her plan was here.
I asked about the contract thing because I didnt understand the need for a formal contract. I do what I can for a local artist in terms of contacts, finding sponsors, advice etc. It's just help. A contract in my opinion really seems necessary if you were wanting to secure some rights on MAgnus's career. This one seems one sided in that you are helping with contacts etc. It does suggest that you have some consideration in Magnus's career, a commission or something. I am not saying your contract is like that but with limited info it sounds that way.
I agree on your comments aboiut NGO's and it is a big negative for making donations through the bigger established charities. However Africa is so corrupt , (You gave some very nice examples yourself) it seems even more risky to send money to some trusts which dont even have the public accountability of the larger NGO's.
While we wait for Lily to come back, I was wanting to ask if Magnus has some more songs, I may be wrong and please someone correct me, but songs about children suffering and aids might not be the best choice of theme from a commericial point of view at least in Latvia. Celebrations ok though !! :-) Other thing I was curious about is how many other songs does Magnus have in his repertoire When he does a gig what does the playlist consist of?
|
|
|
Post by theliberian on May 28, 2007 20:06:18 GMT
Dear Arnis and all others: Here is a copy of Lily's request to which I responded: May 22 2007 07:42 PM GMT LilyOHH NOOO! how can we help??? I'm so glad you guys got in touch..oh so sad to hear the bad news! please let me know how I can help...I don't know what to do? May 24 2007 03:44 PM GMT Lilyremove message - replyWillem, if you read this please contact me and let me know how we can help. if what he needs is money to get out of there I'm sure many will help...please contact me as ONE DAY LATERFrom: Lily everyone want to help but there are questions...please clear this up so we can continue collecting for Magnus: sellaband.proboards79.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1179923041&page=1AGAIN ON 25 MAYFrom: Lily these are some reactions I got...I should get a lot more for I just sent an email...but there are good points. I will be back on Wednesday and will put together something...but this is a start and good to think through: "Thanks so much for caring about Magnus! How much would Magnus need to get a ticket to France? I would love to pay for his ticket! At the same time we might have to think it through. Is Magnus' moving to France without any sort of support system (friends, etc) going to be a realistic scenario? It's not cheap to live in France and it's not so easy to get gigs that cover your daily living costs. Shouldn't the securing of a place to stay for a longer period, without him having to pay until he starts to earn money, as well as finding him the first gigs, be the main objective? A call for action to find Magnus living quarters and gigs to start? A life without money in Paris is not something you'd be wishing your enemies!" "Hi Lily, Of course I want to help, but I have no Paypal and probably a lot of other people of SellaBand don't have. Perhaps it's an idea to ask SellaBand if they want to create a special account, so everyone on SellaBand can pay with parts. SellaBand can give the money to Magnus. If SellaBand want's to help, I think this will work, because it's very easy to pay for everybody. Try to mail Pim. He's one of the owners and a very nice guy. pim@sellaband.com" I'll reply back on WEdnesday. Lily
|
|
kegher
Sellaband addict in waiting
Posts: 84
|
Post by kegher on May 28, 2007 20:29:29 GMT
I'm sure there is noone here that doesn't want to help Magnus, the questions asked here are about what's going to happen with the money collected. And a more serious question from me is if it's really neccesary to get Magnus out of there, if he wants it, if it's even possible.
|
|
arnis
Slightly Sellaband addicted
Posts: 114
|
Post by arnis on May 28, 2007 23:30:03 GMT
@ Willem, I thoroughly enjoyed the new additions to MAgnus' s page !! Very good.! With regard to your PM and concerns about whether there is a negative impact resulting from this discussion , from my point of view definitely not. If Lily comes up with proposals, I will consider them more seriously now than before. Sometimes it's easier to just cross the street and ignore things ! Let's see what Lily comes up with !! All the Best arnis PS I'm still not happy about the statues though ! :-)
|
|
mandocello
Sellaband addict in waiting
NO MORE WAR!
Posts: 74
|
Post by mandocello on May 29, 2007 1:07:26 GMT
Mysti Mayhem got on here with a legitimate question of asking people for help to get her to portugal. not only did she do what she said but She has provided proof on her page. where is magnus through all of this? how come he cant provide proof he is using money to save kids...?? if willem has enough money to splurge on sellaband and is his personal manager then why cant he help magnus?? propose to open an escrow account under supervision of Lily??? what the fu*k does lily have to do with his bank account??? this is weird..... is this an attempt to get him out of his country and live somewhere else=? or is this money intended for him to live off of in his own country? does magnus actually intend on leaving for better places or is he looking for easy money?
This whole deal smells like a fish. Looks like a fish to. Therefore....something must be fishy.....
|
|
|
Post by theliberian on May 30, 2007 12:18:09 GMT
I also have my doubts, maybe he really wants to help but it seems he's also into some very fishy business there. There was a contact address at one of his many tripod sites but the phone numbers don't work anymore, so I called his neighbour and he told me he did actually live there but that's a long time ago. At least he is real.. but still it doesn't fit together. Monday I will ask the KVK (dutch business register) for info on his his company 'ecc events BV'. I don't expect it to have ever existed to be honest. Dear Kegar. I would highly appreciate if you check the Chamber of Commerce in Hilversum and check for EEC Events B.V. (NOT ECC) which was registerd from 1991 till 2001 and located in 's-Graveland. If you want some references check please contact Nike Europe and Swatch International in Biel/CH Mr. Nick Hayek (president). Yes I lived in Guinea for many years but also traveled up and down between Guinea and Sierra leone where I worked for 2 years. The Guinea numbers have been changed several times and my present number in Guinea is +224 64426765 or 64344369. I am only few days per month in Guinea. These days I mainly stay in Liberia where you can reach me at +231 6490817 and I will be there again after June 9. This week you can reach me in Holland after I returned from the Antilles and my phoen number is +31 6108900773. Can you explain me a little bit more about the "fishy business"? I would like to know what that is. Regards Willem
|
|
kegher
Sellaband addict in waiting
Posts: 84
|
Post by kegher on May 30, 2007 23:26:38 GMT
I also have my doubts, maybe he really wants to help but it seems he's also into some very fishy business there. There was a contact address at one of his many tripod sites but the phone numbers don't work anymore, so I called his neighbour and he told me he did actually live there but that's a long time ago. At least he is real.. but still it doesn't fit together. Monday I will ask the KVK (dutch business register) for info on his his company 'ecc events BV'. I don't expect it to have ever existed to be honest. Dear Kegar. I would highly appreciate if you check the Chamber of Commerce in Hilversum and check for EEC Events B.V. (NOT ECC) which was registerd from 1991 till 2001 and located in 's-Graveland. If you want some references check please contact Nike Europe and Swatch International in Biel/CH Mr. Nick Hayek (president). Yes I lived in Guinea for many years but also traveled up and down between Guinea and Sierra leone where I worked for 2 years. The Guinea numbers have been changed several times and my present number in Guinea is +224 64426765 or 64344369. I am only few days per month in Guinea. These days I mainly stay in Liberia where you can reach me at +231 6490817 and I will be there again after June 9. This week you can reach me in Holland after I returned from the Antilles and my phoen number is +31 6108900773. Can you explain me a little bit more about the "fishy business"? I would like to know what that is. Regards Willem Selling african diamonds, statues etc under a non existing company (as you say yourself it doesnt exist anymore since 2001) and outdated contact information.
|
|
|
Post by lily on May 30, 2007 23:53:33 GMT
wow! a lot of information in one day!. But first I just want to thank everyone who has decided to help Magnus and has contributed to this cause. I am very happy at your support and I know Magnus will be forever thankful as well ;D If by now, the answers given to you by Willen do not convince you that there is nothing 'fishy' then it's fair to say we don't have your support, which is fine. It is your hard working money and only you can choose what to do with it. As for me, as I wrote in the past, I have been in contact with Willem and Magnus since November, up to the point where Magnus had to run away and couldn't communicate, maily due to lack of funds. I do trust Willem, I do trust Magnus and I'm thankful at those who trusted me enough to donate I am the one who created this threat, I am the one who contacted Willem and I am the only one responsible for these funds and where they are going, not Willem. I apologize to Willem if this became more of a jury than a simple threat to help Magnus. So moving forward, there is a believer who would like to pay for the flight. Once this happens and Magnus gets the visa to leave the country, I will use the money donated so that Magnus can survive in France until he gets gigs. But after reading this threat and analysing the situation, it is best for Magnus to get a promoter or manager before leaving the country. Willem will be helping with this and once we find someone to help Magnus with the gigs we will move forward on getting him out. (also, if anyone else can help with this please do) yep, that simple...I rather give the money to the person directly than go through some agency where I won't know for sure where the money will go. (trust me, I lived in a very poor city and know what is given to children..not much) Thanks to the valid questions and I hope most found the answers. I rather concentrate on the positive than dwell on the negative. so with that in mind, we have raised $600 on behalf of Magnus. ;D thank you so much again..you gave up a night of going out and decided to help someone else..I'm sure your help will multiply and you will receive many blessings in return muah Lily
|
|
arnis
Slightly Sellaband addicted
Posts: 114
|
Post by arnis on May 31, 2007 0:26:46 GMT
Hi Lily !!
I am speechless. :-(
|
|
|
Post by lily on May 31, 2007 0:32:28 GMT
why? please don't take anything personal. all of your questions were valid. you did not have the communication I had with Willem in the past and cannot expect you to act the same way as I do. You did increase your parts in Magnus and this means a lot as well. You decided to help this way and it is very appreciated. ;D Which reminds me, you can also support Magnus by believing in him and investing in his sellaband page. ;D
|
|