
When the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated Southeast Asia in 2004, rap-rockers Linkin Park endeavored to leverage their international fanbase to assist. Shortly thereafter, they founded Music for Relief: a charity that helps artists and fans connect to provide relief for natural disasters around the world. The organization's vital mission is to mitigate and prevent the damaging effects of these disasters through environmental initiatives including forest preservation and tree planting. Linkin Park has remained instrumental in raising funds for Music for Relief, and recently worked with Sennheiser to provide several SKM 2000 wireless handheld transmitters with MME 865-1 capsules for an auction fundraiser - including some autographed by the band.
When a natural disaster occurs, many people out there want to help in some way but don't know how, says Kimberly Hurtarte, Advancement Associate for Music for Relief. Linkin Park knew they were in a position to mobilize not only their fans but also other bands to get involved. Since 2005, Music for Relief has raised over $7 million for survivors of multiple disasters across four continents including Hurricane Katrina, China's Wenchuan earthquake, a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, earthquakes in Haiti and Japan in 2010 and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. More recently their ecology and prevention efforts have taken center stage in places like Baja California, where the organization has been working to protect mangrove forests, which serve a critical role in protecting the coastline from deforestation and development.
Coming Together for Relief
Companies like Sennheiser are part of the enthusiastic network of friends and sponsors that Linkin Park and their compatriots are able to call upon to further their fundraising efforts. Recently, when the call went out for items to offer at an auction benefitting Music for Relief, Linkin Park reached out to Sennheiser, which assisted in providing several SKM 2000 handheld transmitters coupled with MME 865-1 capsules: the choice mic and capsule configuration of Linkin Park vocalists Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda. The auction was further enhanced by Linkin Park's donation of their very own tour-utilized SKM 2000 microphones signed by the band.
Sennheiser is proud to play a role in a caring musical community, particularly one that is able to mobilize relief efforts for those impacted by natural disasters, commented Pierre Morant, Sennheiser's Manager, Music Collaborations. We could not be more pleased to play a role in such an important endeavor.
A Cut Above
Linkin Park began using the Sennheiser SKM 2000 with MME 865-1 capsule in 2010 after monitor engineer Kevin McCarthy conducted a shootout of 10 transmitter and capsule configurations from major manufacturers. The SKM 2000 with 865 capsule was the clear winner, McCarthy says. The sound quality is amazing and wireless functionality is extremely reliable. McCarthy also noted that the capsule performed evenly even when Bennington and Shinoda were wrapping their hand directly around the capsule, a common microphone technique during energetic live performances. A lot of the mics we tried sounded completely different when they wrapped their hand around the capsule, but the 865 sounded exactly the same, which makes it much easier to get an even sound throughout the performance, he says. Linkin Park have been touring with six sets ever since. These mics include a main and back up for each lead vocalist as well as two sets for any guest vocalists that might join them on stage. Three of these road-used mics were donated to Music for Relief for the charity auction. These are really popular with fans so they usually bring in a significant contribution, says Hurtarte.
Music for Relief distributes the funds they raise to organizations and individuals working on the ground around the world. Our supporters like that we're less bureaucratic than many humanitarian aid organizations, it's more of a hands-on operation, notes Hurtarte. The fans and artists we work with are very much a part of the process and they always want to know exactly who we're working with and how the funds are being utilized. We can provide a level of transparency that's not usually available in larger-scale organizations.
A Growing Effort
Humbarte is quick to point out that Music for Relief now incorporates many artists beyond Linkin Park, though the band remains active on the board of the organization and contributes a dollar for every ticket of every show to the organization. We're grateful to be able to empower all kinds of different artists and their fans to make a difference globally, and we couldn't do it without the support of sponsors like Sennheiser who help keep our operations funded year-round, Hurtarte concludes.
About Music for Relief
Founded by two-time Grammy winning/multi-platinum rock band Linkin Park, Music for Relief is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing aid to survivors of natural disasters and the prevention of such disasters. Since its inception in 2005, Music for Relief has raised over $7 million for survivors of multiple disasters across four continents. Music for Relief also supports environmental programs as a means of disaster risk mitigation including the planting of over 1 million trees to help reduce global warming and Power the World, a program bringing clean energy solutions to the 1.3 billion people worldwide without electricity. The organization was recently recognized by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for the Download to Donate program to raise funds and awareness in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. For more information visit www.musicforrelief.org.
Download full press release
Link to document
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...
03/04/2026
Live Vertical Video automatically track the action on the court via AI technology and delivers a fully optimized, 9 16 live feed for viewers...
03/04/2026
As the Illini make their first trip to college basketball's biggest stage si...
03/04/2026
After last summer's Softball National Championship victory and last week'...
03/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
03/04/2026
Eight games across four tournaments will be played in three venues; accommodatio...
03/04/2026
The Ottawa Senators and Bell Media have announced a long-term rights extension for regional Ottawa Senators games on TSN and RDS. TSN Radio 1200 remains the exc...
03/04/2026
Massive production in Phoenix running out of Flagship Mobile unit, Features 50+ ...
03/04/2026
Iconic guitar pedals now available in plug-in form
Guitar effects experts Electro-Harmonix have teamed up with MixWave to turn a collection of their most pr...
03/04/2026
New multi-band AUv3 plug-in announced
Fred Anton Corvest (FAC) offer an extensive range of AUv3 plug-ins and iOS/iPadOS Apps, and their multiband effects pr...
03/04/2026
Just 84 units to be released in the US
Experimental synthesizer and sound-machine extraordinaires SOMA Laboratory have revealed an upcoming special-edition ...
03/04/2026
Emulates the input section of an Ampex 350
One of the latest arrivals to the Iconic Instruments range delivers a new tube preamp plug-in inspired by the cir...
03/04/2026
New York April 2, 2026 TelevisaUnivision, the world's leading Spanish-la...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, today announces the launch of its new German operation and the formati...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) today announces the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer, strengthening its leadership as the company conti...
03/04/2026
Net Insight introduces programmable Trust Boundaries that make live media interconnection predictable as traffic moves between facilities, networks and cloud en...
03/04/2026
Winning in the new media economy: Avid showcases AI-powered, connected intellige...
03/04/2026
NUGEN Audio CEO Dr. Paul Tapper to Lead Presentation About Dialog Intelligibilit...
03/04/2026
NAB Show 2026: PlayBox Neo Highlights Workflow, Security, and IP Advances
Brie Clayton April 2, 2026
0 Comments
PlayBox Neo will showcase the latest i...
03/04/2026
For Taku Hirano, Everything Is Connected From touring and composition to teaching and instrument design, the in-demand percussionist sees it all as one body o...
03/04/2026
Berklee Honors Humberto Ramirez with Master of Latin Music Award The alumnus and acclaimed trumpeter is honored for his influence as a performer, composer, an...
03/04/2026
Back to All News
Competition Heats Up with Intrigue and Spices: Netflix Unveils...
03/04/2026
Back to All News
Radioactive Emergency Ranks #1 On Netflix's Global Top 10 ...
02/04/2026
HBO and NFL Films have announced Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Sea...
02/04/2026
Haivision has announced the Makito ONE, a single-blade video encoding and decoding platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform combines dual-channel video encoding...
02/04/2026
Telestream has introduced UP.Lens, a cloud-based multiviewer and monitoring serv...
02/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5220, April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center), marking the company's 60th anniver...
02/04/2026
Net Insight has introduced programmable Trust Boundaries, a feature integrated i...
02/04/2026
Bitmovin has announced support for SGAI (Server-Guided Ad Insertion) in its playback products, using HLS interstitials. SGAI combines elements of client-side an...
02/04/2026
Riedel Communications' SimplyLive RiMotion R12 replay system is supporting B...
02/04/2026
LTN, a managed IP video transport company, and Ateme, a video compression and de...
02/04/2026
Harmonic has announced that TDF, a broadcast infrastructure operator in France, has deployed Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor and ProStream X Video S...
02/04/2026
Eluvio and the United Rugby Championship (URC) have announced first-year results...
02/04/2026
The Kansas City Current and Scripps Sports have announced that ION will broadcas...