Our Founder’s Story
By: Vanessa Villanueva

 

The Library of MusicLandria is a non-profit music instrument library based in Sacramento, Calif. Unlike any other, MusicLandria offers a variety of music resources for free or on a donation basis to the public. Buddy Hale, the founder of MusicLandria, opens up about how this business was started, the idea behind it and what he envisions for the possibilities of this unique type of library.

 

“When I was growing up, my father battled with dementia, I went through the foster system and ultimately became an emancipated minor. I really struggled with isolation, a lack of personal identity, and had no helping hand to show me how to navigate the world. My life would have been very different if I had access to musical instruments and resources earlier. Musical exploration helped me define who I am in this world. It allowed me to identify my interests and passions and ultimately helped me create family-like bonds with a community of other music enthusiasts. Now that I’m in a place where I can create a resource that I wish existed when I was growing up, I can be the change I wish to see in the world. I can create a resource that provides opportunities for youth that didn’t exist when I was young, which is very rewarding” said Buddy.

 

When Buddy got older, he came up with the idea of creating a free music instrument library. With this idea in his mind, he worked towards a business degree at Sacramento State University. Buddy put every class project or assignment towards the creation of this library. After earning his degree in business with a focus on social entrepreneurship, MusicLandria was born.

“We really want to empower local musicians to learn and explore music through a hands-on experience. By breaking down the barriers to musical exploration, we want to impact people from all walks of life by allowing them to identify their voice, develop professionally, and build a tightly knit community of musicians,” said Buddy.

 

Upon the startup of this new business, Buddy donated every instrument that he owned to the library. Although it wasn’t much, it was enough to allow MusicLandria to begin testing out his idea to see what the impact would be. It is now two years later and the library provides free access to over 400 items; guitars, recording gear, synthesizers, effect pedals and beyond.

A lot of people ask where the name of the library came from. Well, MusicLandria is inspired by the Library of Alexandria, which was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. Buddy explains that “when we launched MusicLandria, our intention was to build the largest musical instrument library in the world, which we still plan to do, one step at a time.”

 

Buddy continues to address the needs of Sacramento’s music community as the business develops. He regularly sends out surveys to local musicians and music enthusiasts to fill out. In doing so, Buddy strives to identify the greatest needs of the music community and develop a plan to solve the biggest problems. His immediate goal is to build a music hub to house MusicLandria’s library, a recording studio, practice rooms and a main room for workshops. MusicLandria is currently seeking funding for a permanent location to house these free and donation-based services.