Midwest Music Deposit
Empowering Midwest Artists and Communities Through Creativity and Collaboration
We believe art and community are catalysts for growth. Our mission is to reshape the cultural landscape of the Midwest by fostering creativity, collaboration, and cultural inclusivity.
The Challenge Facing Midwestern Culture
Despite the rich cultural heritage and artistic talent in the Midwest, many artists — particularly those within Black communities — face uphill battles. From limited access to vital resources and funding, to gatekeeping in the industry and negative media portrayals of Black culture, too many creatives are left without the infrastructure they need to thrive.
Key Obstacles We’re Addressing
- Underrepresentation: Midwest artists often don’t get their flowers from their community and music scene for their work.
- Lack of Infrastructure: Artists leave our region to escape limited networks and outdated business models that make it hard to access needed education, support, and funding for sustainable careers.
- Cultural Misrepresentation: Media often highlights negative stereotypes in Black culture while overshadowing it’s depth, diversity, and impact on American culture.
- Gatekeeping: Artists frequently encounter barriers to collaboration, resources, self-promotion, and industry opportunities.
This environment stifles growth, prevents authentic cultural exchange, and hampers emerging creatives’ ability to flourish within their communities. By addressing these pain points head-on, we believe we can reshape the Midwest’s cultural landscape—one that values creativity, fosters inclusivity, and uplifts all voices.
Elevating Our Artists, Community & Culture
Our Vision
Our vision is to create a thriving ecosystem for artists in the Midwest, with focus is on Black culture in media. We aim to inspire future generations of artists to build their careers in the Midwest and contribute to local and regional culture.
We also aim to increase public recognition and appreciation of Black culture’s diversity and impact on American society and consciousness. Midwestern artists will be supported by a healthy business community that creates local jobs, eliminates gatekeeping, and provides new industry infrastructure for the region.
This will develop a culture-rooted public that values individuality, authenticity, heritage, and their local/regional talent. Ultimately, we want a future where artists can prosper from anywhere in the Midwest.
Our Mission
We comprehensively support, promote, and develop the artistic community in the Midwest with a focus on media, community-building, and education. We aim to:
- Create a multimedia platform that entertains, educates, and inspires music fans and creators.
- Showcase the diversity and potency of Black American music and culture to outshine negative/damaging portrayals of Black culture in media;
- Connect and enrich the public with the sound and culture of the Midwest through media and live events;
- Highlight up-and-coming artists from the Midwest to help deserving artists grow and thrive;
- Provide systems, education, resources, and support for artists and businesses that value and uplift their community;
- Create a community for artists and businesses that provides opportunities for networking, collaboration, and growth;
- Create infrastructure and jobs for the music and arts industries in the Midwest through innovation on traditional business models and collaboration with local/regional organizations.
Our Work
At our core, we’re a music and media production team. Our bread and butter is closed-set production that blends live performance videos, band production, and intentional curation.
Our platform consists of two series:
- Roots: Our flagship series gives artists the chance to perform custom arrangements of their music with live band.
- Sessions: Our entry-level series that pairs artists and musicians for intimate and spontaneous performances.
About Us
Our Purpose
We exist to uplift artists and communities throughout the Midwest. We do this by encouraging creativity, collaboration, and cultural inclusivity in everything we do—ultimately transforming the regional arts scene.
Our Values
- Lifelong learning: We embrace the path of the learner to explore every avenue for growth in creativity, community, and commerce.
- You don’t have to rob Peter to pay Paul: We prioritize the needs of our team and community, providing a model of selflessness that others can follow.
- Life is a team sport: We work, learn, and achieve in collaboration with our community rather than in isolation from it.
- Grit: We will outwork and outlast any challenge, obstacle, or change to realize our vision for the world.
- Originality: We push the limits of our imagination by embracing curiosity and taking calculated risks.
- Be human: We practice empathy to gain insight into the perspectives of others, building authentic connections and deepening relationships.
- Do good business: We define success beyond profit, emphasizing respect for our team, customers, and community through inclusivity, diversity, and integrity.
Ready to Build a Brighter Artistic Future in the Midwest?
Whether you’re an artist, supporter, or potential partner, we want to connect and collaborate. Let’s work together to empower creativity, promote cultural inclusivity, and foster growth for artists across our region.