Homeless Musician Using iTunes to Get Off the Streets

Dred Scott is a homeless musician who plays for passersby at Denver’s open-air 16th Street Mall.

A local producer heard him, recorded his music and launched an album on iTunes to help get Scott off the streets.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKiiNq72040&feature=player_embedded

Released July 12, the album is called Live From 16th Street Mall and it offers six tracks of acoustic covers, including a haunting “Wind Cries Mary,” for $3.99. You can see him in action in the video above, performing “Purple Rain.”

Local news reports that “sales are already brisk and it’s hoped the money will help him get off the streets.”

Scott, who has been playing for over 25 years, told a local blog that he makes anywhere from three dollars to three hundred dollars a day busking on the same stretch of street where he also sleeps.

“To gain Dred an opportunity that he has not had in the past, hopefully get him some exposure where he can do music full time, and not just have to live on the streets,” said Tyler Ward who recorded Scott.

This isn’t the first time iTunes has raised money for a good cause, but it may be the first time Apple’s multimedia store has helped get someone back on their feet.

We’ll keep you posted.

Source: 9News.com

Nicole Martinelli

Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco freelance writer who heads up Cult of Mac Magazine, our weekly publication available on iTunes. You can find her on Twitter and Google+. If you’re doing something new, cool and Apple-related, email her.