Music has always broken down barriers and created new paths for storytelling, community, and a sense of belonging. Organizations and communities that support and nurture artists provide them with a safe space for expression. Breaking gender stereotypes, bringing out the best in young talent, gathering people for a mass performance, and educating artists and their managers on how to better manage themselves are just a few of the notable works of the communities on our list. We’ve included links to their websites so you can contact them if required.
Here is a list of organizations bringing the music community together, whether it is through singing, lyrics writing, providing expertise, artist management, concerts, music education, or even just creating an opportunity.
Koolulam
Koolulam is a social musical initiative founded in 2016 with the goal of empowering communities and strengthening society through music. Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, Koolulam is at the forefront of gathering masses of people together in person or online for musical collaborations. They have organized musical gatherings uniting people of all cultures led by their co-founder and music conductor Ben Yaffet.
Some of their notable social music endeavors include Koolulam Online – Fix You – Coldplay, which had over 5,000 People singing from sixty-six countries, their gathering for Israel’s Independence Day celebration in 2018, and their rendition of Bob Marley and the Wailers’s ‘One Love’, at Tower of David sung in English, Arabic, and Hebrew.
The Koolulam adaptation of Jennifer Lopez’s ‘Let’s Get Loud’, organized to commemorate International Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 2019, served as the inspiration for Lopez’s performance at the 2020 Superbowl halftime show.
Koolulam is a combination of the word ‘cool’, the Hebrew words ‘kulam’ everybody and ‘kol’ meaning voice, and ‘kululu’, a celebratory ululation.
Click here for Kooluam’s website
Young Women’s Music Project
Young Women’s Music Project, which labels itself as a supportive community and a safe space for musical expression, provides an inclusive, supportive space for young women and non-binary people to get together to create music, acquire new skills, express themselves, and build self-confidence.
The community has been active since the early 1990s by the late Kate Garrett and is now run by musician Zahra Tehrani. They are based in Oxford, England. As stated on their website, “The goal of YWMP is to ultimately create a sisterhood so strong that we can truly feel liberated and freed through the medium of music, supporting each other every step of the way.”
Along with hosting gigs, events, talks, and regular workshops, the team also undertakes projects such as Wings– aiming to establish a distribution system in Oxford to assist menstruating women and mothers with small children who cannot access sanitary products or baby diapers.
Keep up with their events on Instagram by clicking here
Music Basti – By Enabling Leadership
Enabling Leadership is a global organization that believes that every child has the potential to be a leader. They have reached over 6000 children, 200 teachers, and 120 schools worldwide. Their program called ‘Music Basti’ is based in India. It was created to provide group-based music learning activities for students from disadvantaged and marginalized schools. Established in 2013, the program fosters essential leadership skills in students by allowing them to write original songs and host public performances.
As shared in their 2021 annual report, Music Basti attended 1180 students through their virtual programs. They taught students the fundamentals of music and how to write original songs and curate online performances. Students worked through songwriting and original composition sessions during the Music Basti Virtual concert.
Music Basti’s official website can be accessed by clicking here.
MMF Aotearoa
Music Managers Forum Aotearoa is a non-profit organization devoted to helping artist managers grow their businesses through education, networking, and advocating. The leadership team functions as a spokesperson for music managers and self-managed artists. Their goal is to represent the diverse voices and backgrounds of music managers and their artists.
MMF Aotearoa also hosts regular in-person and virtual group seminars, panel discussions, and networking sessions with leading music industry professionals sharing their bountiful knowledge.
Visit MMF Aotearoa‘s website by clicking here
Centre National De La Musique
The CNM was founded in 2020 to provide the French music industry with the tools and assistance needed to expand both nationally and globally. Centre National De La Musique is built to support artists, songwriters, labels, concert promoters, venues, managers, sound engineers, and others in the music scene. Its mission is to ensure the diversity, renewal, and freedom of musical creation as well as to serve as a liaison between the music industry and the government, beginning at the local level.
CNM also creates resources that provide insights into the global music industry and co-hosts Jazz Export Days, an event that aims to highlight the diversity of the French music scene. On SoundCloud, you can find their weekly podcast series ‘Backstage’, which has conversations with established personalities in music and arts from the world over.
Visit Centre National De La Musique’s website by clicking here
FACE
Foundation for Arts Culture and Education, founded in 2012, is an organization dedicated to strengthening, empowering, and educating communities through music, arts, and cultural interaction. FACE serves as a platform for the creation and sharing of ideas. It encourages artists and artisans to create meaningful works that lead to positive change.
FACE, based in Islamabad, Pakistan, is built on the idea of a continuous chain of live music concerts and festivals to ensure a steady revenue stream for musicians, artists, composers, writers, recording engineers, and artists managers. They have organized concerts and tours with international and local artists, as well as hosted music workshops in educational institutions. Famously organized is the ‘Face Music Mela’ in Lahore, Islamabad, and Passau.
The city of Karachi recently hosted Pakistan’s first-ever boiler room season, read about it by clicking here.
Click here for Foundation for Arts Culture and Education’s Website
Girls Make Beats
Audio engineer Tiffany ‘Delilah’ Miranda founded Girls Make Beats in 2012. GMB is a non-profit organization that educates young girls with a passion for music to be music producers, DJs, and audio engineers. GMB organizes seminars and workshops, summer camps, industry panels, and networking events to assist girls in advancing their careers as music producers, DJs, and audio engineers.
Girls Make Beats was featured on Forbes, Good Morning America, and Recording Academy. They have performed at Missy Elliot’s walk of fame event party, the LA Clippers Half-Time Show, and they also host a podcast series in which they discuss topics such as music, school, fashion, food, creativity, current events, and trending topics.
Click here for Girls Make Beatz Website
