New Foundation Aims To Become ‘Central Voice For All Music Charities’

In times of crisis, musicians have a history of leveraging collaboration to change the world. Amid the lengthy coronavirus crisis, with similarly lofty aspirations, the We Are All Music Foundation (WAAM) has announced its launch by unveiling its inaugural set of ‘Power of Music’ grant recipients.

The three grants, totaling $100,000, are being awarded to two New York City-based nonprofits: Education Through Music, and Hip Hop Public Health; and Guitars Over Guns, based in Miami and Chicago. They will be featured in a special episode of WAAM’s Power of Music Series live-streamed event this fall.

“In just over a year, we have been able to bring together a group of talented people to build a platform and central voice to support nonprofit organizations that use the power of music to positively impact people’s lives,” said Tres Williams, EVP, Business Affairs, iHeartMedia and Founding Board of Trustees member, WAAM. “We have only just begun to do our important work and are excited to bring on more partners and donors to help support our mission.” 

Montclair, N.J.-based WAAM is aiming “to become the central voice for all music charities that focus on social causes,” and is being modeled after the Robinhood Foundation, according to a press release from the organization.

WAAM’s Board of Trustees is led by an Executive Team comprised of three founding board members — Tres Williams, Michael Solomon, and David Zusman.

Williams, who in addition to iHeartMedia, has been on the management teams at Thumbplay, eMusic, Sony BMG and Zomba Group, was recently named to Billboard’s list of 2020’s Top Music Lawyers. Solomon is a veteran in the music management and philanthropy sector having co-founded talent management companies, Brick Wall Management, Agent On Demand, and 10x Management and is also the co-founder of Musicians on Call, the successful nonprofit that is the largest provider of live music to patients and caregivers in health care facilities. Zusman brings over 20 years of investment and business development experience, managing capital for endowments, pensions, and multi-billion dollar family offices as co-founder of private equity firm Talara Capital Management. He is also the creative force behind the songwriting and production collaborations at his Exit 151 Studios.

Additional information about the three inaugural grant recipients, which were announced by Mary Crawford, Managing Director of WAAM:

— Education Through Music: Was founded in 1991 to promote the integration of music into the curricula of under-resourced schools in order to enhance students’ overall achievement and general development. Education Through Music (ETM) forms long-term partnerships with schools to develop sustainable, long-term music programs. In the wake of NYC school closures in March 2020 due to COVID-19, ETM has adapted its programming to serve students via distance learning and in virtual environments, providing essentially uninterrupted service to its 70 partner schools and 36,000 partner school students in SY 2019-2020. 

— Guitars Over Guns: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Miami and Chicago that offers students from our most vulnerable communities a powerful combination of music education and mentorship with professional musicians to help them overcome hardship, find their voice and reach their potential as tomorrow’s leaders. Guitars Over Guns creates safe spaces for youth to express themselves through music and empowers them to make positive choices at school, at home and in their communities. Established in 2008, the organization has served more than 5,000 youth over the past twelve years.

— Hip Hop Public Health: The nonprofit’s mission is to foster positive health behavior change through the transformative power of music, art and science. Based in New York City, the organization focuses on creating health equity and rectifying health disparity in underserved communities. The group leverages scientific research which validates the powerful effect that music has on the brain. Hip Hop Public Health has created a unique platform to communicate the power and untapped potential of music to directly improve the mental and physical health of individuals, underserved communities and society.