REGENT PARK SCHOOL OF MUSIC | PARKSCAPES | 2020
When kids became the ones supporting their own school, not the ones being supported / REGENT PARK SCHOOL OF MUSIC "PARKSCAPES"
Instead of "receiving" donations, why not "earn" them? Kids learning music ended up standing on the same ground as the pros who make a living from it.
The problem
Regent Park School of Music in Toronto is a non-profit school that teaches music to kids from low-income families. When provincial arts funding was cut in half, the school needed a way to earn money on its own instead of relying on government support.
The insight
Music today runs on sampling. So why not sell the kids' own performances as sample material? Every time a sample gets used, royalties keep flowing back to the school. It's a shift from being on the receiving end of support to being the one who earns.
The idea
Grammy-winning producer Frank Dukes spent three days in the studio with 14 students, recording everything from steel pans to cello, and turned it into an 11-track album called "Parkscapes." The target wasn't everyday listeners but musicians themselves. Every time the tracks get sampled, money flows back to the school.
What happened
When Frank Dukes shared one track with Taylor Swift, she loved the whole concept and used a sample from it on a song on her album "Lover." She even made a donation on top of that. The campaign won the Grand Prix and multiple other awards at The One Show.
Afterthought
Instead of saying "we're struggling, please help," they turned talent into a product and competed in the professional world. As long as the songs keep getting used, the donations keep coming in, year after year. And the fact that Taylor Swift genuinely loved it enough to use it proves this wasn't just a "nice story" — it was genuinely good music.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2020
