It was revealed Wednesday that streaming platform Audiomack and the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) have launched an internship/mentorship program to promote the next generation of Black executives in the music industry (Feb. 22).
Audiomack and BMAC will select five Black undergraduates – or graduates who earned degrees as recently as April 2021 – to participate in three-month paid internships at Audiomack across various departments, including marketing, creative design, editorial and content strategy, content operations, and tech development, as part of the initiative titled "Black Music Executives Are The Future," powered by Culture Fusion Agency.
In addition, the selected candidates will be allocated at least two music industry executives to act as mentors during the program. Amina Diop, senior vp of Republic Records and artist manager; Andrew McInnes, CEO of TMWRK and artist manager; Cortez Bryant, CEO of The Blueprint and artist manager; Damien Smith, artist manager at Full Stop Management; Gordon Dillard, artist manager at SALXCO; Prophet, co-founder and co-chair of BMAC and artist manager; and Tariq Cherif, co-founder and CEO of Rolling Loud Festival are among the executives taking part.
“It’s disheartening to see that, of the 70 major and independent music companies, only 4.2% of high-level executives are Black,” said Audiomack vp, marketing & brand strategy Jason Johnson in a statement. “As leaders in this industry, we must commit to hiring, developing and elevating Black talent to better reflect the communities that we serve. With this partnership with BMAC, our hope is to establish a strong pipeline of young, Black talent to enter the music industry and equip them with the resources to thrive.
BMAC co-chair and artist manager Willie “Prophet” Stiggers added, “BMAC’s mission is not to only hold our industry accountable for dismantling systems that have historically prevented us from reaping the benefits of a culture we created, but to also to create new systems, new ideas and new leaders. It starts with leveling the playing field and ensuring that the executives and artists coming up, has the tools, support, resources, and access to excel.
