November 30, 2010; Source: Seattle Times | Musicians raising money for charity is not news, but the idea Dave Matthews has cooked up to raise $1 million from two upcoming performances not only is news but could be a game changer if it catches on with other artists. The Seattle Times reports that Matthews has teamed up with the website JustGive to allow fans who attend his shows to pass on the full price they paid for their tickets to any of 1.5 million eligible charities.

Matthews, who along with Tim Reynolds will perform on Dec. 6 and 7 in Seattle, has done benefits before for Hurricane Katrina and Haiti earthquake relief, family farmers and Tibet. This time, he wants to let people themselves decide where the money should go. “If I was to do a concert for one organization or another, there are a few people who might have reasons, political or social, why they don’t want to support that,” Matthews said. “That might discourage them from going to the concert.”

If concert goers haven’t decided right away who should get their donations, they’ll have a few weeks to visit the JustGive website, read about the charities listed, and then pick which one to get their money. Any proceeds not allocated to particular organizations will be divided among those that are selected.

If the idea works in Seattle, Matthews and his manager, Coran Capshaw plan to take it on the road to other cities. Not only does Matthews hope his tunes are catchy, but that his fundraising idea is too.—Bruce Trachtenberg