Questions, answered.

Campfire Music Foundation is a Minnesota-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 88-3475249) building Campfire, a public-benefit music streaming platform that pays artists fairly and transparently while offering fans a more ethical listening experience grounded in music discovery, social connection, and deeper artist-audience relationships. The project was founded in 2022 at Georgetown University and is now based in Minneapolis.

Campfire is built by a team of artists, technologists, and organizers, guided by a board and advisors with backgrounds across music, technology, and nonprofit governance. The project began with student musicians and music fans in 2022 and is led today from Minneapolis. Meet the full team, board, and advisors on the Team page.

Two ways. First, Campfire is a nonprofit: there are no shareholders, and the platform is run as a public cultural good rather than for private gain. Second, Campfire uses a user-centric royalty model: the money you pay is distributed to the artists you actually listen to, rather than pooled across the whole platform. See How Campfire Works and the Royalty Calculator for the full picture.

Your payment is apportioned across the artists and rights holders whose music you personally streamed, after required licensing reserves. Campfire caps its own operational share of revenue, and as a nonprofit, any surplus is reinvested in the mission rather than taken as profit. A full breakdown lives on the Where the Money Goes page.

Campfire is running today as a private, invite-only pilot with a limited group of artists and listeners. Fans can join from the homepage For Fans signup (cfmusic.org/?signup=fans), and artists from For Artists (cfmusic.org/?signup=artists). Minnesota artists and listeners are prioritized first.

No. Campfire's catalog is independent by design: music comes directly from artists who own their own masters and publishing, plus independent catalogues considered case by case, with no major-label catalog. That independence is what makes user-centric payouts and local discovery possible. See For Listeners and Artist Eligibility for more.

Yes. The design principle is simple: listening data exists to serve the listener, not to be sold on. Your listening is not the product. The full Data and Security Statement is being published on the Data and Security page, and in the meantime questions are welcome through our contact form.

Independent artists who own both their masters and their publishing, and independent catalogues on a case-by-case basis. Artists upload directly and affirm ownership or control of their rights; the license is non-exclusive, so you remain free to distribute your music anywhere else. See Artist Eligibility for details.

No. Campfire does not permit sound recordings that are entirely AI-generated, and artist accounts must represent real people, not synthetic or fictional personas. Artists may use AI-based tools in the creative process, such as mixing or mastering, but the underlying work and final recording must reflect meaningful human authorship.

No. Campfire's license is non-exclusive: you keep your rights and stay free to distribute your music on any other platform. Artists upload directly and affirm ownership or control of their recordings. Artist Eligibility covers exactly what we ask.

Every stream involves three separate rights: the master recording, the public performance of the composition, and the mechanical reproduction of the composition. Campfire will secure all three before launch. Performance rights come through blanket licenses with the performing rights organizations, and mechanical rights through the blanket license administered by The MLC under the Music Modernization Act of 2018. There is no blanket license for master recordings, so Campfire will license every master directly and non-exclusively from its owner. Our Model explains the approach, and Get Registered is our free guide to registering with a PRO and the MLC so songwriters get paid what they are owed.

Yes. Campfire Music Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 88-3475249), and your donation is tax-deductible as allowed by law. Our latest financial report is on file with the MN Attorney General, Charities Division, and can be obtained at http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Charities/ or upon request. We provide written acknowledgment for gifts of $250 or more.

Donate, explore Ways to Give for stock, donor-advised fund, and monthly options, join the For Fans or For Artists signup on the homepage, or share Campfire with an artist or music lover in your life. Every gift moves us toward proving that music streaming can be fair.

Donations fund building and running the platform and the charitable programs behind it: development, licensing, artist support, and core operations. Campfire publishes what it has raised and how it has been spent since 2022 on the Transparency page, alongside its governance documents.