CLOUD901 Mixtape Listening Party
Memphis Public Library and Information Center, Tenn.
Innovation Synopsis
The "CLOUD901 Mixtape Listening Party" held in Memphis Public Libraries’ teen learning lab showcased the music teens produced after working through a series of programs about tempo, signal flow, audio software, songwriting and recording. The listening party gave the public and industry artists an opportunity to discover the students’ work.
Challenge/Opportunity
Although Memphis, Tennessee, is known globally as a musically-significant city, CLOUD901 at Memphis Public Libraries is the only place where all Memphis teens can record music for free. Outside of programs within specific schools that target only small subsets of the city’s population, CLOUD901’s Audio Learning Lab program is the only opportunity teens have to learn about music production for free. The "Mixtape Listening Party" allowed program participants to share their music with all.
Key Elements of Innovation
The "Mixtape Listening Party" allowed the teens’ work to leave the confines of the library studio and reach members of a larger audience, including successful industry artists like Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell, who attended the event. Not only did this validate the participants’ success and, in some cases, accelerate their musical careers, but it also allowed the public to re-envision the library as a creative, sound-filled space for collaboration, innovation and art.
Achieved Outcomes
The "CLOUD901 Mixtape Listening Party" allowed the public to re-discover the library’s civic functions, the talents of our youth and the city’s musical heritage. The event also allowed young artists to gain career skills and broadly distribute their music. Two teen participants have developed full albums for production and the library plans to make the "CLOUD901 Mixtape Listening Party" an annual event.