I am very interested in your plans for exploring the possibilities for music to advance an agenda of social change.  I have always been interested in music with a message, whether in my own songwriting or in someone else's music.  Wouldn't we all be better off if protest songs were as important today as they were in the 1960s? I look forward to hearing more about how and where all of this is going.

David Geyer
Fact Sheet on Music 2 Life PDF Print E-mail
…a program of the Public Domain Foundation

The Music2Life (M2L) Contest and Fellows program encourage a new generation of musician activists by helping them promote their music of meaning, affirm their social causes and connect with each others’ work.

PROMOTE

  • Since 2000, more than 800 independent musicians from around the world have written and forwarded their compositions of social change for the M2L contest.
  • Songs are reviewed by celebrity songwriter panelists such as: Tom Paxton, Kathy Mattea, Judy Collins, Josh White, Jr., Buffy Sainte Marie, Baby Jay, Peter Yarrow, and Paul Winter. Several songs have been picked up and used by these artists.
  • Winning songs are premiered at the Kerrville Folk Festival and produced on CD for distribution/promotion through the Public Domain Foundation and other channels.
  • Winning songs are also offered to nonprofits to enhance their missions.

AFFIRM

  • M2L generates thousands of dollars for nonprofit organizations; its parent organization, Public Domain Foundation, has distributed almost $1.5 million to charities worldwide.
  • M2L winners use their talents for impacting causes they care about – raising funds for a variety of social and political issues, working in the field and advocating through their music.
  • M2L Fellows are supported with cash stipends and technical assistance for their music-based social change projects.
  • M2L Fellows documentaries are used to raise awareness and funds for critical issues.

CONNECT

  • M2L website and Facebook page create a home for musician activists to understand the field of social change through music and connect with one another.
  • M2L is working to build an online network – Music2Life Community - that links nonprofits with musical artists.

WHY M2L?

Our goal is to build a network of Musician Activists who use their music as a tool for measurable social change in their communities. Historically, critical social justice movements– women’s equality, labor and civil rights, world hunger, poverty and environmental challenges – have been supported, impacted and upheld through song and the musicians that create it. M2L furthers the causes of today’s musician activists.

  • Worldwide, independent musicians make up almost 30% of the billion dollar music industry – they struggle to make their voice heard and are hungry for opportunities to make a difference in the world.
  • Social change music is relevant to all ages and crosses all musical genres.