musicto IRL
Where musicto.com works at the level of relationships, the Global Emotions Project at the level of information, and Insights from Others at the level of reach, musicto IRL works at the level of presence: people in the same room.
Othering needs distance. Every program before this one closes some of it, but all of them still happen across a screen. musicto IRL removes the screen.
It is the newest of our programs and the one still being built.
Outcome
The best shot at friendship
Friendships already form through musicto.com. People who met through building a playlist have gone on to stay in each other’s homes across continents – we know a connection made online can become something real. Meeting in person short-circuits the time that friendship takes online.
Friendship is the truest antithesis of othering. It is hard to decide that a whole group of people is less human than you when one of them is your friend, and harder still when that friend is from another culture, country, or generation.
How it works
musicto IRL runs small, sponsored events built around live music. The music is the reason to show up, but the point is what happens between the people in the room.
Our hypothesis is straightforward: the collaborative playlist that connects strangers online will connect them just as well in person. That is the mechanic we expect to build the events around. Exactly how it runs will differ from place to place, so we are developing it with organizers on the ground rather than fixing one format from above.
These events act as great introductions to musicto. Most of the people who attend will not have heard of us before they walk in, and some will leave as members of the community.
Results to date
musicto IRL has not run yet, so there are no results to report. What we have is a plan and the people to deliver it.
Our goal this year is two events, one in Scotland and one in the Philippines, each run with people already on the ground in those communities. The aim is not two one-off events but to learn and develop a set of best practices.
We will share what we learn here.
What funding accelerates
musicto IRL is the most directly funding-dependent of our programs. The others run on infrastructure that already exists. An event in the real world does not. It needs a venue, musicians, a local organizer, insurance, and the physical presence to make it feel like something, from banners to eco-friendly merch that carries the community back out into the city.
Funding lets us hold the first two events, in Scotland and the Philippines, learn what works, and build a format we can repeat anywhere the community already exists. It also lets us test the idea that what connects strangers online can connect them in person too.