Our story · St. Louis, Missouri

A first opportunity
worth passing on.

We’re Future of Music, a youth-led nonprofit helping young people turn creative interests into skills, confidence, and possibility.

Future of Music students gathered with headphones, laptops, and DJ equipment — Young creators. Shared experiences. A place to get started.

Young people have ideas.
They deserve a place to begin.

Future of Music began with a young person’s curiosity—and grew from his determination to make getting started easier for someone else.

Aereon saw a gap between having a creative interest and knowing what to do with it. In St. Louis, he struggled to find guidance designed for young entrepreneurs in music and entertainment.

Future of Music was his response: a place where young people could explore their interests with support, rather than having to figure everything out alone. Early one-on-one mentorship focused on entrepreneurship and personal development—the knowledge behind building something, not just the talent that gets it started. Town & Style

That purpose became tangible during a workshop with Beyond Housing’s Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School, where students explored DJing and music production. Their reactions reflected more than excitement about equipment: they were discovering something new they could do. The St. Louis American

Students practicing together at a table of DJ controllers and laptops — Room to try something new.

A student mixing at a DJ controller while peers watch and learn — Learning by doing—and learning from each other.

The person behind the beginning

Meet Aereon Robinson.

Founder & Executive Director

Aereon Robinson working at a table of DJ equipment during a workshop — Aereon at the decks, sharing the craft that started it all.

From finding his sound
to helping others find theirs.

Aereon is a St. Louis DJ, entrepreneur, and youth mentor whose path from performing to nonprofit leadership earned a profile in the St. Louis Business Journal. He brings firsthand experience of starting young to his work with Future of Music.

Read the Business Journal profile.

Before founding FOM, Aereon Robinson discovered DJing through equipment passed down by his uncle. A small controller became an introduction to performing, then to running his own business, SaySo Entertainment. But building a business while young meant learning much more than music. There were taxes, paperwork, age restrictions, and decisions that few programs were helping someone his age navigate. Town & Style

Aereon’s own experience showed him how much a first opportunity could matter. His father helped him secure an early DJ appearance at a children’s pop-up event. That introduction led to relationships with clients who continued booking him.

As he gained experience, performing also became an education in networking, promoting his work, and developing a business. Those lessons helped shape FOM’s purpose.

“Music is the face of it, but entrepreneurship is what we want them to pursue.”
Aereon Robinson, in The St. Louis American

Aereon leading a classroom discussion about music genres — Sharing the possibilities within music.

Aereon seated with young students around a DJ controller — Making space for questions, curiosity, and connection.

Music is the beginning.
Opportunity is the purpose.

We create free programs where music opens the door—and mentorship, leadership, technology, and entrepreneurship help young people walk through it.

At the heart of FOM is a simple ambition: help young people take their interests seriously, build practical skills, and see possibilities for themselves.

Access: High-quality opportunities should not depend on what a family can afford.
Youth voice: Young people help shape the programs, culture, and future of the organization.
Real skills: Every experience should leave students with something useful in school, work, and life.
Community: Progress grows faster when schools, leaders, businesses, and families work together.

Music is where the story began.
Helping others get started is why it continues.

Meet our team Get in touch Support our work

Our story, in the community.

Town & StyleStudent Standouts: Aereon Robinson The St. Louis AmericanFrom teen DJ to teen mentor St. Louis Business JournalTeen DJ turns passion into nonprofit