Music Impact Coalition Launches To Expand Equitable Access To Music Education

Leaders from more than 20 music and arts foundations and organizations will form the Music Impact Coalition (MIC), a national initiative aimed at expanding equitable access to music and arts education for public school students across the United States. The coalition will launch with pilot programs in North Carolina and Ohio, supported by a $2 million grant from Let Music Fill My World.

MIC will formally debut during music industry events in Los Angeles and will kick off with an Impact Summit in Memphis. Participating organizations include the Recording Academy, Save The Music, Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, Music Will, and additional national arts and education partners. The initiative is designed to test scalable, data-driven models for delivering high-quality music education in public schools, with the goal of informing a broader national rollout.

“When members of the Music Impact Coalition gathered in Memphis this past October, the summit reaffirmed a shared truth: systemic change cannot be achieved in isolation,” said Cayley Tull, co-founder of Let Music Fill My World. “We believe every student in America deserves access to the kind of music education that helps them grow into confident, capable adults. Music is more than an art form—it is a powerful tool that builds durable skills, strengthens school communities, and supports student wellbeing. By partnering deeply with state leaders in Ohio and North Carolina, we're developing a model that shows how music education can deliver meaningful results for students, schools, and entire communities nationwide.”

The coalition’s pilot phase will focus on removing barriers to participation in music and arts education while collecting research-based outcomes to guide future expansion. Planned awareness activations will also take place in cities including Los Angeles and Austin.

Research cited by the coalition points to measurable academic and social-emotional benefits associated with expanded access to arts education. A 2019 randomized controlled trial published by Brookings found that students who participated in increased arts learning experiences had fewer disciplinary incidents, improved writing scores, and higher levels of empathy compared to their peers. Younger students with greater exposure to arts education also reported stronger school engagement and higher educational aspirations.

Founded in 2025, the Music Impact Coalition is fueled by Let Music Fill My World and Artist For Artist. Its membership includes Adopt the Arts, Americans for the Arts, Arts Education Partnership, the D’Addario Foundation, Give a Note Foundation, the GRAMMY Museum, the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, the NAMM Foundation, the National Association for Music Education, Save The Music, NORC, and the Tullman Family Office, among others.

Let Music Fill My World was established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to support long-term, systemic change in music education through strategic investment and cross-sector partnerships. The organization is fully funded by the Tullman Family Office.