The Recording Industry’s Music Performance Trust Fund Awards $119,000 USD in Academic Scholarships Throughout North America

Students expressed the complexities, possibilities and impact of Artificial Intelligence on their academic lives and future careers

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2024 / The recording industry's Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF), a leading non-profit organization enriching lives and uniting communities through the power of music in North America, has granted $119,000 USD in academic support to 114 college and university students for the upcoming school year.

The Music's Future scholarship this year awarded students at 27 colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada as they pursue music performance, therapy, education, and conducting degrees.

The Music Family scholarship supports member families of the American Federation of Musicians (AF-M) as they pursue higher education in their chosen field. This year, recipients represented 40 local music unions in United States and Canada. Some are pursuing careers in music performance, while others are studying engineering, law, art history, neuroscience, journalism and computer science, among other fields.

Unique to securing a scholarship this year was to submit an essay on whether and how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) are impacting current studies and future careers.

"Complex human dynamics cannot be shoehorned into an algorithm," wrote Elizabeth B., a music therapy major at Concordia University in Montreal, QC. "We are social beings, and our creative process of music-making and enjoyment is thus interpersonal and cannot be mediated by a machine."

"While AI will continue to be a powerful tool that can be used for good and bad, it will never take away the most valuable part of being a musician: the journey," said Ryan W., a music education major at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS.

Dan Beck, MPTF Trustee, commented that "the student essays this year were impressive, enlightening, provocative, and reassuring. I'm pleased to see the next generation taking the challenging issues of technology seriously in heart and mind."

These scholarships represent approximately 3% of the MPTF's total annual grant distribution. Funding for admission-free live music performances for the public good remains the primary focus of MPTF's philanthropy. Since reviving the scholarship initiative in 2020, the MPTF has distributed 576 scholarships to benefit aspiring professional musicians and the children of professional musicians.

About the MPTF: The recording industry's Music Performance Trust Fund is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit public service organization whose mission is to support admission-free, live events performed by professional musicians throughout the United States and Canada. The MPTF was established more than 75 years ago by recording companies including Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. Interested parties may contact Natty Hepburn-Beaty, Manager of Marketing Services, at nhepburnbeaty@musicpf.org or visit www.musicpf.org

Contact:

Natilyn Hepburn-Beaty, Manager of Marketing Services
nhepburnbeaty@musicpf.org

SOURCE: Music Performance Trust Fund