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What if I told you that you could get access to exclusive concerts by taking a selfie? Through #iVoted, an initiative created in 2018 by Emily White, this has been an opportunity for many states. The pinnacle moment that sparked this idea was the 2016 presidential election was decided by about 22,000 votes in Wisconsin. In White’s perspective, that’s around the amount of people her local basketball arena can hold. As a professional in the music industry that comparatively could be a concert which White decided to tie-in voting then realized if the concept was taken nationally there could be much more impact.
By the 2018 midterm elections over 150 venues in 37 states were activated to let fans in on election night who showed a selfie from outside of their polling place. As in-person concerts are not possible right now #iVoted is inviting artists to perform by a webcast on election night. Fans can access the stream by rsvping with a selfie at home with their mail-in ballot or a selfie from outside of their polling place. Instead of having a lineup of White’s favorite artists, #iVoted has partnered with Chartmetric and has been utilizing their data to reach out to the top streaming artists in and or from each state. Having announced over 150 artists to date, swing states have been the first to start planning.
While #iVoted is still pivoting and experimenting from 2018, White addresses the statistic comparing young people in the U.S. who are more likely to attend live music events (53% of teens and 63% millennials, Nielsen Music 360 report) than vote (35.6% for 18-29 and 48.8% for 30-44 in 2018, US Census). Having a tangible impact on voter turnout through music is the most important goal.
“We're viewing this as a celebration of voting and getting together. It's also a really important right that not enough people take seriously so hopefully we can make it a little more fun.”
Outside of advocating for voter representation, #iVoted strives to see diversity within its organization. White gave a shout out to her COO, Melanie Shark, who pointed out the lack of black students on the booking team at the time. As a part of the board of Well-Dunn, an organization that funds music industry internships for underprivileged students, White has included students from that program, as well as LaGuardia Community College. The #iVoted team is over 50% women and non-binary with a booking team that’s over 70% women and non-binary.
“It's already an intimidating industry so if we don't see representation it can be that much more intimidating for those who want to break into the field. That's something we're trying to be much more proactive about.”
Stay updated with #IVoted on Instagram @ivotedconcerts
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