Half a million commuters use Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) every weekday. We sit next to each other as we travel to and from work, but we rarely interact beyond a polite gesture or subtle acknowledgement. Our mobile devices further insulate us, as we retreat into our own private virtual worlds. Surprisingly, recent research has shown that we consider our commute an important place for socializing. According to this research, we tend to socialize with friends and loved ones via text message, email, and social networking platforms.

Given the habit of socializing on the commute, we want to encourage commuters to engage with their fellow citizens through their shared love of music. To this end, Atlanta’s Mobile Music has crowdsourced a communal playlist and top 10 charts in the hopes of helping commuters pop the “audio bubbles” that separate us.

Becca J.G. Godwin wrote a nice article about the project for the AJC. We were also recognized by SouthArts.

Special thanks to our partners Georgia State University’s School of Film, Media, & Theatre, Liquid Blackness, and the MARTA Army and to our sponsors Georgia State University’s Center for Collaborative and International Arts and the Creative Media Industries Institute.

We are asking commuters to contribute to our playlist and spread the word about this project. If you are interested and would like to help please use the flyer below:

Flyer PDF