Applications Open For Black Music Executives Pipeline Program

Black Music Executives Pipeline Program
 – Black Music Executives Pipeline Program

Diverse Representation and #ChangeMusic have teamed up to help increase the number of Black executives in the music industry with the launch of the Black Music Executives Pipeline Program. 

An announcement from Diverse Representation points out that while nearly 50 percent of established music artists are Black, there are less than 10 percent of Black executives at the vice-presidential level or higher.  
The Black Music Executives Pipeline Program aims to increase the presence of Black professionals in the music industry in the areas of record labels, music streaming platforms, talent agencies, and live music and touring by providing participants with tools and resources to build successful careers. 
The program is open to Black professionals with at least two years of professional experience. Twelve participants will be selected to take part in a three-month immersive program that runs September through November and includes one-on-one mentorship, a speaker series, executive training, and executive shadowing. Participants will receive a stipend during the program and certificates upon completion. 
Applications opened July 5 via changeindustries.org/changemusic and diverserepresentation.com. The application period closes July 20. 
Data collected in the application process will create a database tool that companies within the music industry may use to identify and hire a greater number of high-level Black professionals.  
Racial justice organization Color Of Change partnered with the Recording Academy last year on #ChangeMusic, one of the #ChangeIndustries verticals. In December the organizations announced the #ChangeMusic Roadmap, described as “a guide to move the music industry beyond conversation and intention and towards actionable racial justice.” The Black Music Executives Pipeline Program is heralded as “the first resource to be released from #ChangeMusic to help organizations execute the goals laid out in the #ChangeMusicRoadmap.” 
“The Black Music Executives Pipeline Program is a crucial step in the ongoing fight to end the music industry’s decades-long history of discrimination and exclusion of Black professionals,” Amity Paye, Interim Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Director of Communications of Color Of Change, said in a statement. “While there is no magic wand to undo years of degradation and harm, the Program provides resources and opportunities to let the voices of Black executives guide the future of the industry and drive real change in an industry that has always reaped the benefits of Black artistry without paying any dues in return.”
Ryan Butler, Diversity Equity & Inclusion Director at the Recording Academy, added, “As leaders in the music industry, it is up to us to usher in a new age in vision and set a new tone for our community and peers. The Pipeline Program stands not only as an illustration of our ongoing commitment to prioritize and promote diversity and inclusion efforts through the #ChangeMusic initiative, but also as a concrete way to honor the countless Black professionals and artists whose contributions have helped build our industry.”
Diverse Representation is dedicated to increasing the visibility of Black agents, managers, attorneys and publicists in the entertainment industry. The organization created a comprehensive database of Black executives in the sports and entertainment industries and also curates various programs, events and diversity initiatives.
Diverse Representation launched two other pipeline programs this year: the Black Entertainment Executives Pipeline Program and the Diverse Sports Executives Pipeline Program. The four-month virtual Black Entertainment Executives Pipeline Program, which ran March through June, aimed to increase the number of Black C-suite executives in television and film by pairing six participants with industry mentors and giving them the opportunity to shadow executives at production companies. The Diverse Sports Executives Pipeline Program, runs from July through September, with the aim of increasing the number of racially diverse C-suite executives across professional sports organizations, teams, and leagues.
“We are excited to be partnering with #ChangeMusic for this much-needed initiative,” Jaia Thomas, Founder and President of Diverse Representation, said in a statement. “Although Black creatives have long served as the tastemakers of the music industry, they’ve continually been shut out and passed over for leadership positions. It is time for us to wield greater influence over the decisions that affect Black artists, their work and their livelihoods. And we’re ready to take the first step to ensure that this goal becomes a lasting reality.”