Alphabet Rockers

What Alphabet Rockers does

Alphabet Rockers is a privately held children's music collective founded in 2007 in Oakland, California, by Tommy Soulati Shepherd and Kaitlin McGaw, operating as a fiscally sponsored project of Sozo Impact (501c3) under the legal entity School Time Music LLC. The company produces original hip-hop albums, animated music videos, and educational content centered on anti-racism, social emotional learning, gender justice, and belonging for children, families, and schools. Its product portfolio includes six released albums (most notably the 2023 GRAMMY-winning 'The Movement' and the GRAMMY-nominated 'The Love' and 'Rise Shine #Woke'), the 'You Are Not Alone' picture book published by Sourcebooks, the 'We Got Work to Do' K-5 anti-racism mini-course ($37 per package), the 'So Get Me' podcast, STEAM school assemblies, professional development for educators, corporate musical keynotes, and custom songwriting services for children's media.

The business model is a hybrid of earned revenue and philanthropic funding. Commercial revenue streams include unit-priced album sales ($5–$15), curriculum licensing, quote-based performance and workshop fees for schools and corporate DEI clients, and merchandise. Distribution combines owned e-commerce, digital streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, YouTube with 5M+ views), direct school outreach, and exclusive booking through Sozo Artists. Philanthropic funding is administered via Sozo Impact and includes foundation grants from approximately ten funders (Gerbode, California Arts Council, Creative Work Fund/Haas, SF Foundation, Akonadi, East Bay Community Foundation, New Music USA, Zellerbach, Clorox Foundation, Alameda County Arts Commission, and City of Oakland), plus individual donations, monthly recurring gifts, stock transfers, and corporate matching. Primary customer segments are families with children and K-5 schools, with secondary segments in corporate DEI teams and nonprofit/conference programming.

Name

Alphabet Rockers

Legal name

School Time Music LLC

Website

https://alphabetrockers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Alphabet Rockers is an Oakland-based, GRAMMY- and EMMY-winning children's music collective that creates hip-hop albums, anti-racism curriculum, picture books, and live programs for families, K-5 schools, and corporate DEI clients, operating as a fiscally sponsored nonprofit project.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Music and Educational Media

NAICS

Record Production and Distribution (51225), Music Publishers (51223)

SIC

Phonograph Records & Prerecorded Audio Tapes & Disks (3652), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Creative Arts, Music & Movement Content (EDAGACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Group Music Classes & Ensembles (Band, Orchestra, Choir) (EDAMANAC), Online / Virtual Music Instruction & Platforms (EDAMANAI), Children’s Audio Publishing (Audiobooks & Podcasts) (MPAJAFAI)

Keywords

• Children's music
• Educational curriculum
• Anti-racism education
• Live music performances
• Social emotional learning

Headquarters

HQ city

Emeryville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Album Sales: Digital and physical album sales through website and digital music platforms
2. Curriculum Sales: Educational curriculum sales for schools and families focused on anti-racism education through music
3. Performance Fees: Keynote speeches, live performances, and workshop fees for schools, corporate DEI events, conferences, and nonprofits
4. Donations: Donation-based funding supported by fiscal sponsor Sozo Impact (501c3 nonprofit)
5. Merchandise: Branded merchandise sales alongside music and educational products

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Alphabet Rockers creates and sells original hip-hop music albums for children and families centered on anti-racism, social emotional learning, and belonging, alongside an online K-5 anti-racism curriculum, a published picture book, branded merchandise, and live services including school STEAM assemblies, corporate DEI keynotes, and team-building songwriting workshops. The unified offering delivers culture-building educational content through music, media, and live experiences.

Product overview

Alphabet Rockers is a GRAMMY and EMMY-winning family music collective that creates culture-building content through music, media, and education. Their unified offering centers on original hip-hop albums for children and families (including The Movement, The Love, Rise Shine #Woke, Go!, The Playground Zone), supplemented by a published picture book (You Are Not Alone), an online anti-racism curriculum (We Got Work To Do Mini Course), a podcast (So Get Me), and live programs (STEAM assemblies, professional development, keynotes, and team building workshops). The portfolio works together to build cultures of belonging through music, movement, and creative learning experiences for children and adults.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• We Got Work To Do: A K-5 anti-racism mini course teaching children about justice, belonging, and standing up to hate through music and movement
• So Get Me

Products and services

• The Movement Album 13-song GRAMMY-winning children's hip-hop album (Best Children's Album 2023) crafted with children in Alphabet Rockers' collective, featuring themes of belonging, justice, disrupting bias, ending oppression, and community care.
• The Love Album 2019 GRAMMY-nominated intergenerational hip-hop album giving voice to love, belonging, and gender justice, featuring over 60 guest artists.
• Rise Shine #Woke Album 2017 GRAMMY-nominated children's hip-hop album created to interrupt racial bias and lift up the voices of young changemakers, featuring collaborations with Disney's Genevieve Goings and producer Chief Xcel.
• The Playground Zone EP 6-song EP from 2016 focused on skin color, making change in the world, and being an ally on the playground.
• Go! Album 2012 children's hip-hop album featuring dance party music for learning, fitness, and early literacy with songs like 'Dynamite' and 'Animals from A to Z.'
• You Are Not Alone Picture Book Empathetic and inclusive picture book published by Sourcebooks that empowers kids to love their beautiful selves, celebrate their identities, stand up to hate, and have each other's backs; based on the GRAMMY-winning song 'Not Alone.'
• We Got Work To Do Anti-Racism Mini Course K-5 online anti-racism curriculum with three video lessons (Rise, Stand Up, Be You Get Loud), worksheets, and activities designed to empower young people to be proud of their identities and challenge bias.
• Musical Keynotes Musical keynote presentations by GRAMMY-winning Alphabet Rockers artists for conferences, corporations, and educational institutions, featuring storytelling, songs, movement, and live DJ for team building and culture-building experiences.
• STEAM School Assemblies High-energy STEAM music assemblies for PreK-6th grade students featuring singing, dancing, and beatboxing, covering topics of scientific inquiry, internet safety, and water conservation.
• Songwriting Team Building Workshops Corporate team-building workshops where teams write original songs with GRAMMY-winning Alphabet Rockers artists. Packages include songwriting workshops, professional recording, and stakeholder research options.
• Original Songs for Children's Media Custom songwriting and production services for TV, animation, STEM education, and children's media projects, including music videos and professional recording.
• Professional Development for Educators Arts integration workshops for California school districts and educators, tailored to learning and community goals, using visual arts, music, theater, and dance to build school culture.
• Merchandise Store Alphabet Rockers branded merchandise including clothing and accessories, offered to share messages of belonging and social change.
• Eclipse the Musical EMMY-winning animated science series from COSI for which Alphabet Rockers created the music, celebrating the solar eclipse through a children's media collaboration.

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sozo ArtistscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorManagement, booking, and licensing representation. Sozo Artists handles all live performance bookings, corporate events, and licensing inquiries for Alphabet Rockers.
• Othering & Belonging InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFellows program partnership with UC Berkeley's Othering & Belonging Institute. Collaborative relationship for advancing belonging and equity education research and programming.
• Destiny Arts CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth arts education partner in Oakland providing collaborative programming and community engagement opportunities.
• Hiiwav Black Music IncubatorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlack music industry development partnership supporting artist development and cultural programming.
• Lawrence Hall of Science at UC BerkeleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScience education partnership creating programming that combines music with science education at the Berkeley campus science center.
• COSI (Center of Science and Industry)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScience center partnership creating family programming that integrates music with science education experiences.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Secret Agent 23 Skidoo: GRAMMY-nominated family hip-hop artist whose retro-futurist kids' music with positive social messages directly parallels Alphabet Rockers' hip-hop-for-children-with-purpose positioning. Both serve the same mission-driven family music niche with award-winning credibility.
• Laurie Berkner: Often called 'the queen of kids' music,' Laurie Berkner is a GRAMMY-nominated children's artist with multiple albums, books, and a Nickelodeon series. Highly comparable as a children's musician who has crossed into publishing, video, and live performance.
• Dan Zanes: GRAMMY-winning family/folk musician with a deep catalog of children's albums, family concerts, and a focus on community and inclusion. Comparable as an award-winning, touring family-music act with multi-format offerings.
• Recess Monkey: Indie children's rock band with strong school assembly and classroom curriculum business, multiple albums, and frequent school performances. Closely comparable GTM through school programs and original family albums.
• Justin Roberts: Indie children's musician with multiple GRAMMY-nominated albums and an active school assembly and family concert touring business. Comparable as an artist-driven children's music brand with school distribution.
• Putumayo Kids: Children's music label producing world-music themed albums for families and schools, with educational tie-ins. Comparable as a children's album producer with curriculum-adjacent positioning and school market distribution.

Broad incumbents

• PBS Kids: Major educational children's media brand producing music-integrated educational programming at scale. Comparable as an institutional distributor of educational content for kids, but at far greater scale and broader curriculum scope.
• Sesame Workshop: Nonprofit educational media organization behind Sesame Street with decades of award-winning children's music and SEL curriculum. Comparable as a mission-driven children's education content producer, though vastly larger and more diversified.
• Pinkfong: SmartStudy-owned children's educational music brand behind Baby Shark with massive streaming reach. Comparable as a children's music content brand leveraging video and digital distribution, but global consumer scale vs. Alphabet Rockers' institutional focus.
• KIDZ BOP: Mass-market children's music brand (clean lyric versions of pop hits) with extensive touring, merchandise, and media presence. Comparable as a large-scale children's music business with multi-revenue-stream model, but very different content positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/alphabetrockers
• Xx.com/alphabetrockers
• Facebookfacebook.com/alphabetrockers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alphabet-rockers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alphabet Rockers