BACKGROUND CHECK:
Natalie and Ricky Kradolfer are the Australian co-founders of the EdTech (education technology) company Amplify Music Education. The couple established the Sydney-based start-up around 2020 to address a shortage of specialist music teachers in Australian primary schools. Their company provides a digital platform that combines high-quality video content and teacher-friendly lesson plans. This approach is designed to upskill and support generalist classroom teachers, enabling them to deliver the compulsory music curriculum to their students.
Natalie Kradolfer serves as the company's CEO, drawing on a background in the music industry where she previously worked as a publicist and radio plugger. Ricky Kradolfer, a music educator with over 15 years of experience, brings his teaching philosophy to the company, which focuses on engaging students with contemporary music they know and love. Before co-founding Amplify, Ricky was also a touring musician who played in bands, most notably City Riots. Together, their mission is to make music education accessible to all primary school children.
THE YEAR IN AUSTRALIAN MUSIC:
The growth of Amplify over the last year or so has been nothing short of astounding, with the program expanding to nearly 1,000 schools and impacting over 200,000 Australian school children. The incredible reach is now jumping the pond, with an international pilot in California.
The company has created nearly 20 full-time job opportunities, including flexible roles for musicians, composers and sound engineers, allowing them paid employment to teach between tours.
THE MUSIC SPEAKS:
Education may not be what immediately comes to mind when you think about ‘power’ in the music industry, but the power they bring in giving young people knowledge and passion around music from a young age is the most important role of all in the music industry. Having music education in your life sets you up not just as a performer, but as a consumer, and their influence in creating the people at shows and streaming music for the rest of their lives will be impacting for decades.
While the industrial power that educating 200,000 kids about music may not be seen immediately, the cumulative impact of the work they are now doing will pay off in spades as these children approach adulthood with an appreciation of music, a passion for checking out live music and a grounding that will improve their lives.
