Campfire Music Foundation

Campfire Music Foundation is a nonprofit founded to reduce issues of labor insecurity in the music industry and build public-benefit stream infrastructure that works for all ethical stakeholders. We believe that music is more than a commodity. It’s not possible to quantify the value a song brings to your life, and you can’t put a price tag on artistic expression. In popular culture, the idea that an artist not only can but should suffer for their art is pervasive. The starving artist trope is one facet of this popular trope, creating a need for instability in exchange for quality art. Even in the past this system has not been sustainable for small artists, and as streaming has quickly become the dominant method in which people consume music, it has become virtually impossible for small artists to make a living through the sale of their art. Spotify profiting $2.6 billion after paying all artists a combined $2 billion in 2021 shows that there is not a lack of funding for art or the possibility of well compensated small artists, there is simply a misallocation of funds. This lack of synergy between artists and the industry/systems through which they sell their art creates a need for organizations in the social sector - nonprofit and governmental - to ensure the wellbeing of artists. With the support of donors, nonprofit organizations, industry experts, and government funding, Campfire’s goal is to create a nonprofit streaming platform that directly competes with for-profit companies for share in the music streaming industry.