We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Trujillo Vest, Jordan Stobbe, and Carls McKnight. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca Trujillo Vest, Jordan Stobbe, Carls McKnight below.
Rebecca, Jordan, Carls, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Outside of our respective music output, we consider our co-founding of Pandion Music Foundation (PMF) in 2022 one of our most meaningful projects. We are three women based across three continents– Rebecca Trujillo Vest (Los Angeles, USA), Carls Woolf (London, UK), and Jordan Stobbe (Melbourne, AUS). Our Board and staff are also solely composed of women. We met through an online songwriting course during the COVID pandemic. Together, we were inspired by the idea of helping other creators gain access to the resources that can help build their careers. This collective vision has been the engine driving PMF ever since.
PMF offers programs for artists ranging from songwriting and sync licensing to branding and production, along with our new wellness initiative Pandion Unplugged. All PMF programs are online, offered weekly, and are free. Anyone can register for upcoming PMF weekly workshops and Pandion Unplugged programs. Participants can opt out at any time. Benefits also include access to replays of PMF’s programs and an informative, industry-based newsletter.
All of Pandion’s services are 100% donor funded. That makes PMF different from the majority of other organizations existing in the music and entertainment space. Our work will not rely on music creators’ personal funds that should go toward creating, collaborating, and producing their art. That means fewer financial barriers, and more music. Click here for more information and to support PMF.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Pandion Music Foundation recognizes that many independent and emerging artists do not have the access to the resources that are required to build their careers. PMF was created to provide those tools and nurture the music creator community across all lines of diversity and inclusion. To date, PMF has presented 53 workshops with participants ranging in age from 18 to over 65. Workshop mentors break down as 47% men, 36% women, and 15% nonbinary and 2% other. In addition our new Pandion Unplugged wellness series has hosted weekly sessions since our launch in mid-September. Since PMF’s launch a year ago, programming has expanded greatly and increased 250% over the past 6 months alone. In addition, audience engagement has increased annually for Facebook (close to 90%) and Instagram (close to 120%); Mailchimp subscribers represent a 525% rise. PMF partners include Earthstar Creation Center, 2indie.com, and Sweetwater.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
We can be present and mindful of the challenges that music creators face. To that end, we can encourage our fellow music creators to participate in the free online PMF programs that include educational resources, workshops, and wellness guidance through Pandion Unplugged. By helping to spread the word about access to resources to help music creators’ careers grow and thrive, we can help sustain and nurture our creative ecosystem.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
We think the answer probably has a multitude of responses depending on who you ask. For us it’s a simple reply: making music that can bring joy to ourselves, listeners, and help foster positive change in the world. Our ability to give back through PMF continues this path and has its own rewards.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pandionmusicfoundation.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pandionmusicfoundation/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PandionMusicFoundation
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=gf&trkInfo=AQESmMqLrmGLygAAAYQ5tPtoupAazj-1jBXtj7rjvSPfbYjeJLv7McR-5UJ6NRz9i3tRoSVdGo36TlKCPpD9wvKOm8HH6EFtarhzlRZebHA7utzTVTzKlzOwvLmdhher7xyxkp8=&original_referer=https://pandionmusicfoundation.org/&sessionRedirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fpandion-music-foundation
- Other: Pandion Music Foundation Creators Circle Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pandionmusicfoundationcreatorscircle
Image Credits
13A4A PMF Co-Founders: Courtesy Pandion Music Foundation 1197 PMF Board: Courtesy Pandion Music Foundation 8-8-23 RTV portrait: Credit Mark Maryanovich 12219 Garden RTV: Courtesy Pandion Music Foundation DSCF2023 Co-Founder Jordan Stobbe: Courtesy Pandion Music Foundation Carly Picture Cropped: Courtesy Pandion Music Foundation