So how did this story start? 

It really started for me 12 years ago as a middle school chorus teacher. My students loved singing, but they always wanted something more, a connection with the world of music they were listening to at home.  So we partnered with a local recording studio to build a Rock Friday program, where students read chord charts and played popular music on ukulele, drums, piano, guitar, and bass.  One day a week when you walked into my middle school chorus classroom, you would see around 65 kids on various instruments enthusiastically singing and playing along to one of Taylor Swift’s latest hits.  It was controlled (or not so controlled) chaos.

After the students started recognizing popular chord progressions and song form, we shifted to songwriting. Kids started writing their own lyrics, singing melodies, and playing chord progressions.  They’d play their songs for each other in class and then I’d watch as 12 year olds discussed advanced music theory concepts about why a song did or didn’t work.  It was wild.

About that time my school superintendent came to me with a challenge.  Our county was changing as a result of the film tax credits implemented in Georgia.  We now had a booming creative industries sector, and one of the largest film studios in the world just a few miles away from my school. Our district had recently adopted a tagline “Where Excellence and Creativity Merge.”  We had an infrastructure for academic excellence, but what inclusive supports could schools implement to encourage creativity? He offered me a new teaching position, building out the pilot that would later become Fayette County Public Schools Community for Creativity (CFC) initiative.

I accepted the challenge, but it was scary. I left a field where I was quickly on the rise to becoming a sought after conductor, and instead started all over in a different field- creativity. 

“Where Excellence and Creativity Merge”

Creativity is often confused with artistry. In its simplest form, creativity is the ability to produce new ideas or original work. It is the very top of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Our goal was a schoolwide infrastructure that could increase classroom standards’ depth of knowledge, while still connecting to individual student interests, needs, and our local workforce.

If we want to support learners in moving from consuming to producing, what supports and systems need to be in place for creativity to flourish? We decided to think beyond a typical school assignment and explore how the world engages daily in sharing ideas and stories.

That’s when we decided to create Hall Pass Entertainment.

I cultivated partnerships within the entertainment industry to assist students with creating the name, mission statement, logo, and distribution agreements.  We employed high school students in the CTAE Work Based Learning program as podcast, audio, video, and social media producers, providing the technical support needed for classrooms to record, edit, and release content. Our amazing fine arts department staff collectively manages the content, using our recording label not only as a tool to share products from our own classrooms, but to also promote multi-disciplinary projects across our department and school. Last school year, Hall Pass Entertainment’s content reached over 100,000 streams across our platforms. We are currently on track this school year to triple last year’s viewership, with streaming and merchandise revenue funneling back into the program.  In addition to supporting classrooms across our school in creating and distributing content, I also teach music technology, and oversee the production of two albums annually that feature original student music.

Hall Pass Entertainment didn’t start with lots of funding or a Mac lab.  In fact when we were first getting started, we cleaned out a closet, put up some foam tiles purchased from Amazon, and used a basic USB microphone hooked up into a Chromebook.  Instead, our growth and success has been the result of passionate teachers that want to build opportunities for students to create and share their own ideas.  Teachers that are willing to let go and let kids create. We believe in our mission developed by our students: Our purpose is to connect teens with the tools, training, and resources to jumpstart their careers. Our hope is that by sharing the Hall Pass Entertainment story with other schools, we can encourage music classrooms to embrace content creation as part of their curriculum.

This blog post will cover the basics of student content distribution, focusing on how music teachers can: 

• Identify the Why

• Narrow Your Scope

• Post & Promote

So you want to help your students create music they can share with the world! 

Before you press post, let’s identify your classroom’s WHY.

Identify the Why

1.  Learning | What is the connection to classroom standards?  How will sharing content online deepen content knowledge and transfer of learning?

2.  Product | What is the purpose of the product being made?  How can it make a difference or serve a purpose in the school or community?

3.  Audience | Who do you want to see your content?  How do you hope they interact with your content? What can your students learn by sharing their product with a specific audience?

Answering the above questions is a MUST before starting on your content creation journey.  Why?  The internet is flooded with content.  There is nothing more disheartening than students working feverishly hard on a project and then no one views it.  Your school has a built in audience- your students, teachers, families, and community supporters.  By creating content for that audience with a specific purpose, you can begin to grow engagement, your classroom’s “brand,” and your listening audience…before you even sign up for a streaming platform!  Below are a few ideas on where you can start creating music with a target audience and purpose in mind.  Start with a small project to build enthusiasm and immediate success!

• Create music for a video advertisement on your school’s morning announcements.  

• Create 30 seconds of original music that students use as their ringtones

• Create music for a Dance Party!  This is easy to do using an app like LaunchPad, which is an easy way to teach song form through loops.  Use a black light and glow sticks to amp up the fun!

• Create a theme song for the school or a club/ organization.  For instance, we had a group of music technology students make the theme song of our school’s podcast show.

• Create music for a mixed media project.  Partner with another class and share your music with their students to use!  For example, work with Home Economics to make a cooking video, a literacy classroom to create music to accompany an original poem, a technology classroom to provide music for a video game, or an art class to make a virtual gallery!

• Email local community partners and organizations, asking for “gigs” where students can create music with purpose.  One of our students partnered with a local Relay for Life initiative to create music for one of their commercials.

As your classroom continues to create content, consider building your brand by creating a name for your recording label, along with a logo and mission statement.  Let your students lead this process- you will be amazed by their creativity and passion! Make sure to pick a name that has broad appeal with room for expansion. Our entertainment label started out in one classroom and now shares multi-media content from classrooms across our school.

So now your students are beginning to create music with a purpose.

You started small, creating music that is shared within your local school community. You’ve developed a recording label name, logo, and brand. Now you are ready to start distributing your student’s music to a broader audience!

There is nothing better than seeing a student’s smile when they first see their original music posted on a streaming platform.  But this process can be overwhelming for a teacher. Before you commit to multiple platforms, I suggest you narrow your scope to build your audience.

Narrow Your Scope

1. Content | Type of Media?  Length? Industry norms? Audience? Purpose?

2. Platform | Free or paid? Will you need a distributor? Examples of successful content.

3. Legal & Financial | Developing content distribution waivers to navigate intellectual property and streaming revenue.

Type of Content

First, consider the type of content and scale of the product your students will make.  Right now in music technology, we are creating 60 second shorts for YouTube.  This allows me to focus on teaching ABA form, which results in a short song perfect for this platform.  If students dive in and immediately try to make a 10 minute rock ballad, they will get discouraged, because they don’t understand the level of skill and knowledge that is needed to complete a project of that magnitude.  I like to begin with shorter projects and as my students’ knowledge grows, we progress to larger projects.

We focus on distributing original content through our recording label, or content that is in the public domain that has been altered. It is important to talk to students about copyright laws, public domain and the use of another person's original work. Students are used to seeing popular songs shared on social media pages, and don't necessarily understand the legal ramifications of using another person's song without permission. In order to distribute a cover of an already existing song, the student would need to acquire a licensing agreement. This can be a lengthy and involved process, negotiating with the publisher. The good news is that if a student covers a song and the song is posted on YouTube, the site's Content ID system will analyze the music and give it proper attribution for you. So posting covers of songs on YouTube might help your views increase, but you will not receive any streaming revenue from ads as it will go to the copyright holder. When deciding what platform you use to share student content, you will need to take into account the type of content they are making (original, covers, or both) and the necessary legal steps to distribute this music on the selected platform.

Platform

Internal Sharing

If you are just starting out, a simple sharing option is to use google drive or your learning management system to create a folder of student music.  This is a safe, easy way to share music internally, emailing or posting the link for a specific group of people to view.  I also like FlipGrid for sharing student content.  People can’t access the content without a link and group code.  You can also turn on/ off user comments.  When moderated appropriately, this can be a powerful tool for providing feedback on student content within a safe, restricted environment.  You also will not have to worry about Legal & Financial considerations, as long as you are following your school’s media/photo policies regarding student images and names (if used).

Beyond the Classroom

If you want to share beyond the classroom, first have a conversation with your school’s administrator.  State your “why”- how will sharing student content with a broader audience deepen learning and increase community engagement?  Once you have the green light from your school’s administration, I suggest you start small with one platform.

When my students first started writing songs, we used SoundCloud as our streaming platform.  They have a FREE basic subscription and is very easy to use.  YouTube is another great FREE option when distributing content, but you will also need to add a visual element.  My students make lyric videos, which integrates literacy into our music technology classroom. Canva is my classroom’s favorite resource for easily creating videos that integrate music, text, and visual images.

Once you find success on one platform, you may wish to distribute to a wider audience, using platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.  The easiest way to do this is by using a distributor.  A music distributor is a middle man, connecting artists/labels to platforms that will sell or stream your music. For a fee, the distributor will allow you to upload your music to their platform, and they will do the hard work for you of getting the music on dozens of other streaming platforms.  They will also keep up with your streaming revenue and may offer other services, including licensing, mixing, and promotion.

Popular distribution companies include Tunecore, CD Baby, and DistroKid.  We use Tuencore to distribute two music albums a year.  Once you upload the music to their platform, it will take several weeks for it to clear their legal department to make sure there are no copyright issues.  You will need to have signed Content Usage and Distribution Agreements for each student on the album, to show that you have the right to distribute their music.

Legal & Financial

Please note: The information provided on this blog post does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials
available on this site are for general informational purposes only. 

Student Work Usage/Distribution Agreement & Media Release

No matter what platform you choose to use, I highly recommend drafting a Student Work Usage and Distribution Agreement along with a Consent for Media Release. This protects the student, you as a teacher, and your school.  I would suggest drafting a template, then working with your school system’s legal team to review and finalize.  It is also a worthwhile investment to ask an entertainment lawyer to review as well. 

For my school and students, it was important that we established the intellectual property of the student.  At the same time, we wanted to guarantee the rights of the school to distribute student work, and monetize our distribution to support the program.  Several items you may want to consider when developing your own content usage and distribution agreements: 

• Description of Program/School/School System distributing content

• Description of Content- May include but is not limited to music, graphic design, products, video, photography, creative content, and other intellectual property.  

• Distribution Agreement- In return for use of district resources including staff, equipment, technology, expertise, and industry connections, this agreement gives ________ School District the right to distribute student work.

• Affirmation of Student’s Intellectual Property- Content distribution agreement does not take away the intellectual property or right of the student to distribute their work independently.

• Financial Rights- Of the school district to collect and retain any funds raised in connection with using and/ or distributing the work or intellectual property for the benefit of _______ School District. This does not preclude the student from individually monetizing their work independent of the school system.

• Standard Consent for Media Release Verbiage

• Date, Parent, and School District Signatures

In addition to collecting signed Content Usage Agreements and Media Releases, I also post a disclaimer on all content we distribute: “The information expressed in this content represents the views and opinions of the original student creators and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of (entertainment label), (school district), or (school name).”

Protection of Student Intellectual Property

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, 

“Copyright protection exists from the moment an original work is “fixed” in a tangible medium. For example, fixation occurs when a song is recorded in an audio file or when a musical work is notated in sheet music or a digital file. You don’t need to do anything else at all for your work to be protected by copyright. As the owner of your work, copyright gives you the right to make and sell copies, distribute those copies, make new works, and publicly perform the work.”

Since students have copyright protection once the work is created in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) or posted online, I keep a spreadsheet of the content we post, with the names of the students involved in that work. I also make sure to give credit to the students in the description where the content is posted.  I keep this information along with our signed distribution agreements, so if there is ever a question about who created the song, we have that information on file.

Even though there is some protection of digital media once the work is posted online, I still let students know about the option to register their work individually with the U.S. Copyright Office.  Once a student registers their work, they can also join a membership organization like the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI). These organizations protect the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the public performance of copyrighted work.

From U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.). What Musicians Should Know About Copyright. https://www.copyright.gov/engage/musicians/#:~:text=Applying%20for%20registration%20with%20the,sound%20recording%20or%20musical%20work.

So now you have content out in the world! 

It’s posted on Flipgrid, YouTube, or SoundCloud.  Your students are anxiously waiting to see the view count climb up, but it seems to be stagnant.  What to do?

Post & Promote

• Deadlines & Quality Standards | The balancing act of product vs process

• Promotion | Host a listening party and let your audience know content is live!

• Analytics | Discussing what worked and why

Deadlines & Quality Standards

Quality content will not only fill your classroom with pride, it will increase your viewership. I have a saying that I repeat constantly to my students- “The only thing that ever makes a song finished is a deadline.”   As a teacher, your most important job to help students with content creation and distribution is to set deadlines that allow time for feedback and revision.  This is important to continuously improve the quality of music your students are releasing. But sometimes, it is difficult to balance a student’s individual abilities and limitations with product quality. 

I love to collaborate with students in our school’s feeder pattern to help us meet a deadline and bridge this gap between content creation and distribution.  Right now I have a 7th grade student who wrote a song for our spring album.  He isn’t ready vocally to record his own song, but he still wants it to go out into the world as part of our spring album.  So we built a connection with a high school student who is singing the song my middle school student wrote.  The learning process is still deep and meaningful, without sacrificing product quality.

We also sell merchandise for our entertainment label.  We use this money to help us hire a guest producer to mix/ master our music to get our album ready for distribution. Most of the time this is done virtually, just sharing files and emailing back and forth with the sound engineer until we are happy with the project quality.  When the sound engineer is local, we love to bring them into our studio with the kids to share their editing process. 

Another option is to partner with your school systems Career & Technical Education department. Our middle school employs high school seniors as Work Based Learning producers to support student creation.  We currently have a music producer, podcast producer, and social media director on staff.  These high school students are building their portfolio of work for college applications, while at the same time helping our middle school students produce quality content for distribution.

Promotion

In addition to focusing on producing quality content, we host listening parties to celebrate the launch of our music albums.  This gives the artists a moment to shine, while increasing content views. 

Below are tips for a successful listening party:

• Have an Album Launch Party.  Introduce your artists and countdown to officially “launch” the album.

• Create fliers with QR codes that link to the album.  Ask your guests to scan, listen, and like on their own devices.  The goal is to increase engagement

• Share your album virtually.  Send out a mass email through the school’s list serve.  Post on social media and consider running ads to reach a wider audience.  Use a hashtag to build album engagement.

• Interview guests at your Album Launch about their favorite song.  Post on social.

• Designate social media influencers- students, parents, community organizers, etc.  Make them a press pass and give them a list of social media hashtags and handles.  Ask them to post and share to increase your reach.

• Create t-shirts and album cover posters signed by the artists.  Sell at your Album Launch Party!

• Create a competition with the artists to see who can get the most streams for their song!

Analytics

Lastly, when the album is launched and the PR blitz dies down, it is time to look at analytics.  This is my classroom’s favorite part. Pull analytics from your streaming platforms and create a google slides presentation.  Questions to ponder:

• What songs received the most streams? Why?

• What major age demographics are drawn to our music? 

• Were there specific times our views increased?  

• How long did people listen/ watch our content?  

• Which platforms had more engagement with our content?

• How does this data inform future content creation efforts?  What changes should we make?

Closing Thoughts On Distribution

The key to content distribution is to start small with a targeted audience. As your students’ content improves and your comfort level with distribution increases, so will your streaming platforms and opportunities for collaboration.  At the end of the day, I believe this work is vital to helping music students bridge the gap between performance and creation, transferring learning to a world that they already engage with daily at home. By allowing students to create, share content, and review analytics, they will receive authentic feedback, gain insight into jobs in the entertainment industry, and develop strategies for creating content with purpose.