In 2005, co-founders Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke created the concept of the Songs Around The World by uniting together musicians from many different countries and cultures to perform on the same track. Mark and a small crew traveled across 5 continents with a mobile recording studio and cameras with the vision of building a global family through the power of music. The first song released was a version of “Stand By Me”, featuring over 35 musicians from 10 countries who had never met in person. Since then, this international version of “Stand By Me” has been viewed over 100 million times online. Since the release of the first video, Playing For Change has sold over 550,000 units worldwide, topped the World Music Charts, and has had over 200 million online video views.The success of the Songs Around The World inspired Playing For Change to unite together many of the greatest musicians they have met throughout the journey to create the Playing For Change Band in 2009. These musicians come from different countries and cultures, but through music they speak the same language.In addition, the organization started the Playing For Change Foundation was launched with the goal to create positive change through music and arts education. In the last seven years, the Foundation has served over 700 kids in nine music schools and programs in countries including South Africa, Ghana, Mali, Rwanda, Nepal and Thailand. The programs include free classes in dance, instruments, languages and musical theory, all taught by local qualified teachers.