Save the Music, the nonprofit foundation that gained prominence on cable television from the late 1990s through the 2000s, is going independent.
On Wednesday, the foundation announced that Paramount Global is ending its financial support for the nearly 30-year-old program, which has long championed music education in public schools. As a result, Save the Music is launching a $10 million endowment fund to sustain its mission as a fully independent nonprofit.
This transition marks the end of an era for the organization, which was founded in 1997 by a former VH1 executive and became a staple of the cable network’s programming. The foundation’s reach extended to highly rated benefit concerts such as VH1 Divas Live and television advertisements featuring top artists like Celine Dion and Mariah Carey.
Paramount’s decision to withdraw funding comes amid a challenging financial period for the media giant. Last year, the company laid off 15% of its U.S. workforce and wrote down $6 billion in cable network value as part of a broader initiative to cut $500 million in annual costs. It is also in the midst of an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.
Given these financial pressures, Paramount’s decision to end its partnership with the foundation was for “obvious reasons,” Save the Music’s Executive Director Harry Donahue told. As a final contribution, the company has made a six-figure donation to the endowment fund.
“Save the Music was founded nearly 30 years ago and since then, it has helped millions of students at more than 2,800 schools excel both academically and creatively through the enriching power of music,” a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement.
“We’re honored to have been a part of this critical mission from the beginning, and we’re excited to see Save the Music continue to thrive in this next chapter.”
Paramount PicturesDonahue noted that this transition had “been in the cards” since 2019, when the foundation removed VH1 from its name and began reducing its dependence on a single funding source.
Currently, 95% of Save the Music’s budget comes from non-Paramount sources, including major corporations such as Amazon, TikTok, and Meta, as well as leading record labels and philanthropists like MacKenzie Scott, who contributed $2 million to the organization. Nearly $4 million of the $10 million endowment has already been secured.
Since 2019, the foundation has also adjusted its approach to funding and promoting music education. Under Paramount (formerly Viacom), Save the Music leveraged VH1’s viewership, with the VH1 Divas Live concert series originally designed to support the program.
“The foundation would travel around the country with artists and celebrities, dropping off instruments at schools,” Donahue recalled. “They would have what I call the ‘classic Oprah moment,’ where a school assembly gathers, a star appears, and they unveil a big pile of instruments on stage, sending everyone into excitement. We really don’t do that anymore.”
Instead of focusing on high-profile, made-for-TV moments, Save the Music now integrates directly into schools and communities—many of which have suffered cuts to arts and music programs—by creating long-term investment plans to fund instrument donations and music classes.
However, prominent musicians remain part of the foundation’s mission. “Artist ambassadors” such as Ed Sheeran and Charlie Puth have made recent appearances at schools, continuing the tradition of celebrity involvement.
“The objective and the mission have always remained the same: we believe every student and every school should have access to music education,” Donahue said. “The way we achieve that goal today is just very, very different.”
