Protect The Creatives (PTC) was founded to address inequities faced by songwriters, artists, and music creators, particularly those working independently or within under-resourced communities. The organization’s objective is to respond to two persistent challenges: creators losing ownership of their work due to limited access to education, and the lack of sustainable, technology-informed infrastructure supporting creative careers.
Headquartered in Nevada, Protect The Creatives is a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on education, workforce development, creative equity, and community impact. Protect The Creatives operates at the intersection of arts, technology, and education. Programming integrates data systems that support copyright, intellectual property, metadata management, digital distribution, and emerging creative technologies. This includes AI literacy in music, with an emphasis on responsible use, ethical considerations, and protecting creators’ rights in an evolving digital and AI-driven landscape. PTC also addresses broader social challenges affecting creatives, including economic instability and community safety, while fostering inclusive creative spaces across Nevada.
Core initiatives include educational workshops, songwriter symposiums, emotional intelligence mentorship, and live performance opportunities that reinforce learning through real-world application. These initiatives emphasize career readiness, entrepreneurship, and technical skills needed to thrive in the modern creative economy.
Our Mission
Our Vision
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Our Vision *
The long-term goal of Protect The Creatives is to build equitable, nonprofit-driven pathways that allow songwriters to earn income, increase exposure, and develop professionally without sacrificing ownership of their creative work. The organization’s vision is to operate as a full-service nonprofit music publishing organization, while also developing complementary functions as music festival programmers, a booking and live performance placement agency, a nonprofit ticketing platform, and a record label designed to serve the general songwriter community.
Central to this vision is the creation of a Grant Advance Program that provides financial support to artists without requiring the transfer of masters or creative control, offering a non-extractive alternative to traditional industry advance models. Protect The Creatives also seeks to develop a Virtual Concert Platform that provides ongoing performance opportunities and artist exposure through a curated digital format. To support education and long-term sustainability, the organization aims to create an 8-week Music Publishing Curriculum and a Virtual Book Club, all delivered through a membership-based program that allows artists to engage with these initiatives in a unified ecosystem.
An additional long-term goal is the successful implementation of the Rappers Against Pistols (R.A.P.) Initiative, which uses arts-based education and community engagement to support handgun violence prevention through proposed handgun buyback amnesty programs in at-risk communities.
Songwriter Initiatives
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Live Performance Practicum
The Live Performance Practicum is a hands-on training experience designed to prepare songwriters and emerging artists for the stage.
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Music Publishing Education
This initiative focuses on key areas such as copyright ownership, royalty collection, licensing, and contract negotiation.
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Publishing Administration
Financial literacy is the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing.
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Virtual Concerts
The Lights Please Virtual Concert Series is a platform for mid-level and emerging artists to gain exposure and build buzz through global virtual performances.
Rappers
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Against
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Pistols
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Rappers 〰️ Against 〰️ Pistols 〰️
The Notorious B.I.G.
A King Lost, A Mission Gained
Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G. or simply Biggie, was the embodiment of lyrical genius. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, he used storytelling, rhythm, and raw honesty to become one of the most respected and influential figures in hip hop history. With a voice as commanding as his presence and a flow unmatched in its time, Biggie turned his lived experience into art — chronicling the harsh realities of street life, survival, and ambition in America’s inner cities.
Biggie’s debut album, Ready to Die, wasn’t just a title — it was a bold statement of vulnerability, truth, and reflection. He gave listeners a front-row seat to his world, painting vivid pictures of struggle and resilience. As his star rose, he became a symbol of what was possible: a young Black man from the streets using words instead of weapons to change his future.
But on March 9, 1997, less than a year after the murder of Tupac Shakur, Biggie was gunned down in Los Angeles at just 24 years old. Two legends lost to gun violence in less than a year. Two stories that were just beginning. Two warnings that still echo loudly today.
Biggie’s murder — like Tupac’s — remains officially unsolved. And while the headlines have faded, the heartbreak and consequences remain real in the communities that birthed hip hop. The loss of The Notorious B.I.G. is a grim reminder that our culture’s brightest voices are too often silenced by guns before their full impact can be felt.
Rappers Against Pistols, a program by Protect The Creatives, exists to break that cycle. Through handgun-only buyback events, community engagement, and artist-led activism, we aim to rewrite the narrative that too often ends in tragedy.
We believe Biggie’s story shouldn’t just be memorialized — it should be mobilized. His voice should fuel action. His legacy should push us forward. His death should not be in vain.
As Biggie famously said,
“Damn right I like the life I live, ’cause I went from negative to positive.”
We carry that energy into every neighborhood, every conversation, every young creative we empower — helping them choose creativity over conflict, and life over loss.
Tupac Shakur
A Legacy Cut Short By Gun Violence
Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known simply as 2Pac, was more than a rapper — he was a poet, actor, activist, and one of the most influential voices in hip hop history. Born in 1971, Tupac rose to fame in the early 1990s with his raw lyricism, unapologetic truth-telling, and fearless commentary on systemic oppression, racial injustice, and life in America’s underserved communities. His music spoke directly to the realities of poverty, police brutality, and violence, but also to hope, pride, and resistance. Albums like Me Against the World and All Eyez on Me showcased his artistic brilliance and inner conflict — a man torn between the pain of his environment and a vision for something greater.
Tupac’s life was tragically cut short at just 25 years old, when he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996. His murder remains officially unsolved, and to many, his death is symbolic of a larger issue plaguing the hip hop community and under-resourced neighborhoods across the country: gun violence. Tupac’s death wasn’t just a loss for music — it was a painful reminder of how easily we lose our brightest voices to senseless violence.
His story is a central inspiration for Rappers Against Pistols, an initiative of Protect The Creatives aimed at breaking the cycle of handgun violence in communities where music and culture thrive, but danger often lurks. By launching handgun-only buyback programs and using the power of hip hop to promote peace, education, and healing, Rappers Against Pistols honors Tupac’s legacy — not just by remembering how he died, but by acting on what he lived for.
Tupac once said, “I’m not saying I’m going to change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.” Rappers Against Pistols is that spark. It’s the movement he would’ve stood behind — a call to disarm the violence, and arm the youth with opportunity, purpose, and creative freedom.