Campfire Music Foundation is a registered Minnesota non-profit corporation, and is recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Our EIN is 88-3475249.
Campfire Music Foundation was founded in July of 2022 to address widespread issues of labor insecurity and revenue sustainability under the current system of music streaming. Originally thought-up as a final project for a music industry class at Georgetown University, the organization has since grown into a registered 501c(3) nonprofit led by a group of young, passionate individuals whose agenda is backed by a strong collective of national and regional artists, industry experts, policy-makers, international music advocacy groups, and other leading music stakeholders.
Our work is two-fold: to develop sustainable music streaming technology while also advocating for collective change to the system of music labor and recorded music economics that has exploited working artists for over 100 years. We believe that while the issues facing local, national, and global music ecosystems are multi-faceted and complex, a long-term solution starts by fixing music streaming and making recorded music a dependable and transparent revenue stream for independent musicians and other music workers.
What we do primarily focuses on the intersection of music streaming economics with the broader music policy goals of workforce development, public-sector revitalization, youth engagement, community activism, and anti-trust. We recognize the issues of economic inequity facing working artists and independent music communities and want to serve as industry leaders who usher in a collective movement that changes the music industry for good, forever.
Campfire Music Foundation also hosts concerts, music conferences, and other educational events on top of our technology efforts. We work with local and national musicians, music advocates, independent labels, educators, venue operators, and other independent stakeholders to foster dialogue around issues of digital labor scarcity and create long-term solutions that directly increase economic sustainability for working artists and their local communities.
Johannes (Hans) Larson is a drummer, music advocate, nonprofit leader, and entrepreneur from Minnesota. A recent graduate of Georgetown University with degrees in American Music Culture and Computer Science, he has worked at the intersection of music, technology, and public benefit throughout his career.Johannes has collaborated with a range of mission-driven organizations—including the D.C. Music Summit, The Internet Security Research Group, Blues Alley Jazz Society, and the Minnesota Land Trust—and is actively involved with the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) and the Music Policy Forum, where his work supports youth engagement, workforce development, and long-term sustainability for the music ecosystem.Johannes is the founder and president of Campfire Music Foundation, a nonprofit startup building a new kind of music streaming platform designed to better serve artists, address labor insecurity in the music industry, and provide an authentic, community-based listening experience for fans rooted in music discovery. By prioritizing fair and transparent artist compensation, Campfire seeks to reimagine how streaming can serve working musicians and music communities alike.
Born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, Jackson St. George is a senior at Amherst College triple-majoring in Economics, Psychology, and Fine Arts. He is a rising associate consultant at Bain & Co and serves as the Vice President of Campfire’s Board of Directors with extensive experience in marketing, public relations, management consulting, and nonprofit work.
Hailing from St. Paul, Minnesota, Davis Provost is a fourth-year student at Grinnell College, majoring in Economics with a Statistics concentration. With a substantial background in financial accounting and data analysis, Davis serves as the Board’s Treasurer. He is the president of Grinnell’s concert association and has assisted in bringing many major artists to the school, such as Japanese Breakfast, Redveil, and Surf Curse. He enjoys a variety of music, but some of his favorite albums are Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and Worry by Jeff Rosenstock.
Symone Wilson is a multi-faceted artist, entrepreneur, independent label owner, and prominent regional music stakeholder based out of Minneapolis. Her interests lie at the intersection of arts, business, and advocacy, where she is dedicated to developing thriving and sustainable music ecosystems. Symone’s artist alter-ego, SYM1, is a eurodance and industrial music producer and performer using a background in alternative Internet subcultures to inspire a hyper-pop renaissance of the early 2000’s rave and club scenes.
Hailing from the great state of New Jersey, Brian Zhu is a recent graduate of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with degrees in International Political Economy and Government. He is a founding director of Campfire Music Foundation and has experience working in think tanks and public policy-oriented nonprofits such as the Atlantic Council. At Georgetown,he was a Pelosi Scholar and the President of the GUSA Federal and DC Relations Committee. He has played clarinet from a young age, dabbled in saxophone, and is an aspiring guitarist.
Originally from Duluth, Minnesota, Will Smyth is a recent graduate of the University of Montana, where he double majored in Media Art and Environmental Studies. Will serves as the team’s graphic design coordinator with extensive experience in typography, illustration, animation, filmmaking, and digital design. In his free time, Will works as a radio host at KBGA college radio and spends time on the river of Western Montana studying watershed ecosystems.
