Join “The Original Social Network” with Just PLAY NAMM Foundation’s 2015 PSA

What happens when 350 people meet for the first time, to play a song never before performed? As revealed in the NAMM Foundation’s new public service announcement (PSA), when people play together they share, comment, connect, like and friend in real life. Real connections are made everyday by joining “The Original Social Network”—music!

“NAMM’s vision can be summed up with the mantra of encouraging more people to start playing music and getting fewer to quit,” said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM. “With over $20 million dollars in media exposure these past two years, our PSA messages to the general public have encouraged more people to play, creating demand for our member’s products and making a more musical world for everyone.”

NPR Music captured the footage and music featured in this piece for a Make Music Day Field Recording on June 21, 2014. On that sunny June day, 350 strangers gathered to play “100+ BPM,” an original composition by Sunny Jain of Red Baraat. The people in the crowd had never performed together as a group or this song before. No one knew who would show up or how it would sound. But it did work and sounds (as you can hear) amazing! The joy, community and energy witnessed in this video are completely authentic.

A second new spot for 2015, “Music Is My Life,” draws inspiration from the NAMM MUSEUM of Making Music’s current special exhibit, What Music Means to Me. This soothing spot features real players’ from age eight to 88 sharing their personal connections to playing music.

The NAMM Foundation’s Just PLAY campaign is a global, multilingual public service effort designed to inspire people to feel the benefits and power of playing music. Just PLAY has earned more than $20 million in donated airtime, placing the spots in the top 1% of PSAs played in the U.S. in 2014. “The Original Social Network” begins airing this spring on television, radio, billboards, digital, social platforms, and in NAMM member businesses.

NAMM encourages members to play the PSAs in their businesses, request free airtime from their local TV and radio stations for the PSAs, and share these spots on websites and social media channels. Assets including videos and posters are available at https://ww1.namm.org/news/articles/just-play.

View NAMM Foundation’s entire Just PLAY PSA campaign by visiting: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWy7ZAnb00SVYpUOi8Xyq9y2bE0w-UtjA

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About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation, supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its more than 9200 members, is a nonprofit organization with the mission of advancing active participation in music making across the lifespan. The foundation funds scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs. For more information about the NAMM Foundation, please visit www.nammfoundation.org and follow on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

About Red Baraat
Red Baraat’s critically acclaimed high energy fusion of North Indian bhangra, jazz, and hip-hop has made them one of the most unique and exciting bands performing today. www.redbaraat.com