The ClimateMusic Project

What The ClimateMusic Project does

The ClimateMusic Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, that translates climate science data into original music compositions to communicate climate change and motivate action. Through a collaborative process between composers and a Science Advisory Committee drawn from institutions including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Berkeley, Caltech, and Cornell, the organization has built a portfolio of eight original works (Climate, Icarus in Flight, Audyssey, What If We?, Voice of the Animals, on the brink, Feel It All, plus additional pieces under development) that map climate phenomena such as carbon emissions, population growth, and land-use change into musical parameters (tempo, pitch, dynamics, timbre, form). Multi-sensory performances combine these compositions with data animations (developed with Kinetech Arts) and Environmental Graphiti visual art (Alisa Singer).

Distribution occurs through the EcoEcho concert series — 90-minute live events live-streamed to a free Streaming Partner network of universities, religious venues, museums, and community centers — together with direct event bookings on a full cost-recovery basis, digital video on YouTube, and the Be Cool! youth climate-action campaign launched in partnership with Music Declares Emergency and extended internationally through the Be Cool! Connections solar-installation initiative with Twende Solar. The organization is led by founder Stephan Crawford (former U.S. Department of Commerce Commercial Service director) and executive producer Fran Schulberg (former OECD/Council on Foreign Relations) with a team of approximately 14 staff, contractors, and advisors, and a documented global footprint spanning the U.S., Mexico, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Canada.

Revenue is sourced from tax-deductible donations (channeled via fiscal sponsor Social Good Fund), event sponsorships (including Frederick & Shelby M. Gans and the Lehmann & Quirk Family Foundation), and cost-recovery performance fees. Strategic partners include California Academy of Sciences, Gardens of Golden Gate Park, the World Economic Forum's Center for Nature and Climate, the World Bank, The Explorers Club, the National Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, California Interfaith Power & Light, and HeadCount. The organization has been recognized as one of 109 projects in 54 countries and selected for the Explorers Club EC50 2024 cohort.

Name

The ClimateMusic Project

Legal name

The ClimateMusic Project

Website

https://climatemusic.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The ClimateMusic Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2015 and based in San Francisco, that commissions original music compositions translating climate science data into musical form, delivered through EcoEcho concerts, streaming-partner viewings, the Be Cool! youth campaign, and live event bookings for cultural, educational, and faith-based audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Arts and Education

NAICS

Musical Groups and Artists (71113), Music Publishers (512230)

akta.pro primary industry

Custom Music & Original Score/Composition (MPAIALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Songwriting & Composition (Topliners, Co-writers, Camps) (MPAIABAA), Music Production & Composition (Songwriting, Recording, DJing) (EDAMAAAF)

Keywords

• Climate music compositions
• Science-guided music
• Environmental arts education
• Climate communication
• Concert performance services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

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. Donations and Contributions: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations. The organization operates under fiscal sponsorship of Social Good Fund. Multiple benefactor and supporter tiers documented.
2. Event Sponsorships: Concert sponsorships from individuals and foundations. Financial sponsors for EcoEcho events include Frederick & Shelby M. Gans and The Lehmann & Quirk Family Foundation.
3. Performance Fees: Cost-recovery basis booking fees for performances at conferences, corporate events, schools, and other venues. Non-profit operates on full cost-recovery model rather than profit-generating.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The ClimateMusic Project creates original science-guided music compositions that translate climate data (temperature, carbon emissions, population growth, land-use change, sea level rise) into musical parameters including tempo, pitch, dynamics, timbre, and form. These compositions are presented through the EcoEcho concert series, which combines live musical performances with data visualizations and live engagement with climate scientists, and are made available for booking at conferences, corporate events, schools, and cultural venues on a cost-recovery basis.

Product overview

The ClimateMusic Project is a non-profit organization offering a portfolio of science-guided original music compositions that translate climate data into audible experiences. The core offerings include seven completed compositions: 'Climate' (2015), 'Icarus in Flight' (2018), 'Audyssey' (2022), 'Voice of the Animals' (2024), 'on the brink' (2025), 'Feel It All' (2026), and 'What if We?'—each created through collaboration between composers and climate scientists, supplemented with visual elements. The EcoEcho concert series provides live and live-streamed performance experiences distributed to partner sites. The organization also operates action campaigns including 'Be Cool!' (with Music Declares Emergency) and 'Play for the Planet,' along with the Be Cool! Connections initiative that pairs solar installations with cross-cultural educational programs. Supporting offerings include Climate Action Toolkits, a Young Composers Program with San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the ClimateMusic Podcast, Environmental Graphiti visual art, and event booking services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EcoEcho: Concert series featuring live performances and live-streamed events showcasing ClimateMusic compositions with multi-sensory experiences.
• Be Cool!
• Be Cool! Connections

Products and services

• EcoEcho Concert Series Multi-sensory concert experiences that viscerally communicate climate action urgency and solutions, live-streamed to Streaming Partner sites throughout the US and internationally, featuring ClimateMusic compositions performed by professional musicians.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,500 young people engaged in climate action through Be Cool! Campaign across 4 continents
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and flagship.

• Twende SolarcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Be Cool! Connections is a collaborative initiative between Twende Solar and the Be Cool! Campaign that brings clean, reliable electricity to schools without access to power while creating meaningful cultural connections through climate education and music. Twende Solar handles solar installation design and implementation while ClimateMusic provides the educational and engagement component through Be Cool! Campaign.
• Music Declares EmergencycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMusic Declares Emergency is a group of artists and music industry professionals declaring a climate and ecological emergency. They partner with ClimateMusic on the Be Cool! Campaign and songwriters' workshops, leveraging music industry networks to promote climate action.
• California Interfaith Power & LightsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCalifornia Interfaith Power & Light is part of a diverse inter-religious network of climate-minded faith institutions. They partner with ClimateMusic to engage faith communities in climate action through music and spiritual connection to environmental stewardship.
• Environmental Graphiti (Alisa Singer)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlisa Singer creates Environmental Graphiti, digital paintings derived from climate data charts and graphs. Her artwork accompanies ClimateMusic compositions, providing visual elements that contextualize climate themes. The art is held by over 30 universities and major science museums.
• San Francisco Conservatory of Music - Technology and Applied Composition ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration where students in the TAC program create climate-inspired compositions working with ClimateMusic scientists. Students translate historical climate data into electronic instruments and musical parameters, premiering compositions at events.
• California Academy of SciencesflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCalifornia Academy of Sciences hosts EcoEcho concert events, providing their Morrison Planetarium venue for climate-focused performances. Partnership enables ClimateMusic to reach science-engaged audiences at one of San Francisco's premier cultural institutions.
• Gardens of Golden Gate ParkflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-host of EcoEcho concert series alongside California Academy of Sciences. Partnership supports climate solutions programming connecting people, plants, and the planet through combined cultural and educational programming.
• World Economic Forum - Center for Nature and ClimateflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerHosted ClimateMusic's Audyssey premiere during Climate Week NYC at a private event. The partnership positions ClimateMusic at global climate discussions and provides access to high-profile audiences concerned with climate action.
• Kinetech ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKinetech Arts, founded by Weidong Yang, bridges dance, science, and technology. They developed advanced data animations for Icarus in Flight and other compositions, creating multi-sensory performance experiences.
• Khafre Jay / Hip Hop for ChangesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOakland-based hip hop artist and educator who founded Hip Hop for Change nonprofit. Collaborated on climate-themed music bringing hip-hop perspectives to climate communication and action campaigns.
• Youth Climate Action AlliancesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborator on Be Cool! Campaign providing youth-focused climate action resources and community building around music and environmental engagement.
• HeadCountsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnered on Be Cool! Campaign for digital voter registration training, integrating civic engagement with climate action through music.
• COPUS (band)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAward-winning composer Wendy Loomis and Royal Kent created What If We? composition exploring sea level rise, performed as part of ClimateMusic portfolio at various venues including World Bank and International Ocean Film Festival.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• 350.org: An international climate advocacy organization that mobilizes grassroots action on climate change. Comparable as a non-profit working to build climate engagement across global audiences, with complementary but not directly overlapping offerings (advocacy/campaigns vs. music-based experiences).
• Climate Central: A non-profit climate science communications organization that produces visual, written, and broadcast content to communicate climate research to broad audiences. Comparable as a non-profit working on climate communication, though focused on visual/data journalism rather than music-based experiences.

Broad incumbents

• Carnegie Hall: One of the world's premier concert venues with a broad portfolio of programming that increasingly includes socially-engaged and climate-themed commissions. Comparable as a major performing arts institution that could host and amplify climate music at scale, but operates with vastly greater resources and a much broader portfolio.
• National Geographic Society: A large non-profit scientific and educational organization that uses media and storytelling to communicate science and environmental issues. Comparable as a non-profit that combines science communication with cultural programming and audience engagement at a vastly larger scale than ClimateMusic.
• Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts: The largest performing arts complex in the United States, presenting music across genres through resident organizations. Comparable as a major cultural institution that has begun to integrate climate and sustainability themes into its programming, with vastly greater scale and resources.

Direct peers

• Kronos Quartet: Renowned contemporary string quartet that has commissioned and performed numerous works addressing environmental themes and social issues. Comparable as a small, mission-driven contemporary music ensemble that leverages its art to address global issues like climate change.
• Music Declares Emergency: A global group of artists and music industry professionals declaring a climate and ecological emergency. Direct strategic partner on ClimateMusic's Be Cool! Campaign and songwriters' workshops, addressing the same mission through music industry mobilization.
• Kinetech Arts: Founded by Weidong Yang, Kinetech Arts bridges dance, science, and technology, and developed advanced data animations for ClimateMusic's Icarus in Flight and other compositions. Both organizations create multi-sensory performance experiences that translate data into artistic experiences.
• Bang on a Can: A multi-faceted contemporary music organization presenting new and experimental music through concerts, festivals, and recordings. Comparable as a non-profit that commissions and performs new works that address social and environmental themes.
• Yellow Barn Music Festival: A chamber music festival and artist retreat program with a similar non-profit arts profile and intimate-performance model. Comparable as a small, mission-driven music organization producing original programming and developing new repertoire.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4B7hEEItn93Be1Hv9qJ7hQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/theclimatemusicproject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-climatemusic-project
• Instagraminstagram.com/theclimatemusicproject
• TikToktiktok.com/@climatemusic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 The ClimateMusic Project