As 3LAU comes upon his 1 year anniversary as an artist, he realizes how extremely lucky he is to have all of fans supporting him every step of the way. Yesterday, Justin launched a campaign that is truly special to him. Justin (alongside his team) has been working timelessly on it, and would be extremely appreciative of his fans' (new and old) continued support, now more than ever. 3LAU's hope is to influence our music community to use the power of his movement, to make the world a better place.
As you may already know, his first Beatport release/originally produced track will be released on April 30, which is a remix of James Egbert’s “Back To New.” In conjunction with the release, Justin and his team have created a campaign called “Back To New, Gives Back to PoP." As part of this campaign, 3LAU will be donating all of the proceeds from the Beatport release to Pencils of Promise (PoP), an organization dedicated to building schools in underprivileged countries. All Beatport proceeds will go directly toward building a brand new school, which costs about $25,000. To help pursue 3LAU's goal, he has decided to match every single purchase with his own $2.50.
A quick Q&A with Justin:
EARMILK: So many artists that are up-and-coming like yourself, take the proceeds they make and use them for themselves, why give back? Why PoP?
3LAU: I've always wanted to give back through music somehow, but wasn't exactly sure the best way to do it. Since I was in high school I ran a ton of different philanthropy projects, but to be honest, when college hit, those projects became less of a priority. In high school I was particularly fascinated by internationally based philanthropy, mainly because it was so hard for me to conceive or relate to populations of third world countries. This project continues that journey for me, and I'm excited to help build the school with my own hands, which is in the cards! Education in particular is extremely important to me, and in my evaluation of how funds can be best utilized. Pencils of Promise was recommended by friends of mine, and they have been nothing but extremely supportive of our initiative!
EM: What is PoP?
3LAU: They are a phenomenal, transparent, and dedicated group of people who are the most flexible organization I have ever worked with. They are also really targeting a key factor in the growth of the developing world. Education is a major, root cause of the hardships that third world countries are experiencing. Aiming for the core is always key when thinking about how to maximize the impact of funds.
EM: The proceeds will go towards the building of a brand new school. Tell us about what kind of school you foresee!
3LAU: At the moment it looks like we might be building two schools! I would love for the school to offer something in music, but I'm sure we (both me and friends) will work with Pencils of Promise to strategize around that. They are so flexible and so willing to work with us!
This is just the start of something that's bigger than me, and bigger than my immediate network. There will be lots of other content from videos to new songs, coming out in the next few weeks. We want other artists to do the same with their own releases, to run their own campaigns. As artists, we are all privileged to have such powerful fan bases, it's time we use that power to do something bigger than just music.
Below is an initial schedule of the campaign:
April 22nd (Yesterday)
Launch of Back to New Gives Back to PoP, Initial Campaign Video
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaQQ_dkqhBA&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
Launch of 3LAU HAUS, new monthly essential mix series
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/44033522" iframe="true" /]
April 29th (Sunday)
Back To New (3LAU Remix) Teaser Video, pre-release on Beatport
April 30th (Monday)
Back to New (3LAU Remix) Official Beatport release
3LAU has worked extremely hard with his team to nail each piece of content. Relative to anything he has ever worked on, this project wins his ultimate pride. We will keep you posted come April 29th and 30th!
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