Conduction, an EdTech music platform reinvigorating music classes across the United States, recently raised $265,000 in pre-seed funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. With this funding, the company plans to advance its proprietary music software modules, increase corporate partnerships, and expand operations in schools across Pennsylvania and throughout the United States.
Conduction, which meets various national educational requirements, aims to enable students to compose and produce digital songs quickly. Each week, classes vote on their favourite song concepts, and Conduction sources local musicians to create music videos featuring the chosen songs within days. It allows individual schools and districts to reintroduce music into the classroom at a fraction of the expense of traditional programmes.
Unlike other music platforms, the startup provides learning experiences that align with the interests of present-day students. Students learn beat making, composition and songwriting, sheet music education, and band integration, all with an intense element of student engagement. These modules help increase classroom participation, reduce absenteeism, and create new digital education experiences.
Sharing about the platform, Joe Maggiore, CEO and Co-founder of Conduction, said:
Music is the one school subject meant to touch the soul, inspire awe, and light up life – yet today’s music classrooms fail to do this. Music curriculums are often stuck in the past, focusing on topics kids never would want to hear about – like outdated classical music from the 1700s. Today’s students want to become producers, DJs, songwriters, and beatmakers, and our schools are failing to meet them where they are in their interests while providing distinct curricular needs. We created Conduction to refocus music education on today’s student values while still finding a way to incorporate critically important national music education standards.
Conduction is collaborating with dozens of schools and districts and numerous community musicians to bring students’ digital songs to life. Over the last year, the organization has witnessed increased demand for its platform. It has met with over 100 schools eager to implement the solution into their education programs to improve the student experience. It also works with corporations interested in funding individual schools by reducing the cost of music education.
The Richard King Mellon Foundation, formed in 1947, is Southwestern Pennsylvania’s most prominent and one of the world’s 50 largest. Since its inception, the Foundation has disbursed more than $3 billion in grants and programme-related investments to benefit Richard King Mellon’s beloved Pittsburgh and beyond. In 2023, the Trustees awarded more than $176 million in grants and programme-related investments. It allocates funds to six key programme areas, as its 2021-2030 Strategic Plan outlines.
