BMC, AMAZON MUSIC GRANT SCHOLARSHIPS

The Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective and Amazon Music have selected the five recipients of the Your Future Is Now scholarship.

Joseph Michael Abiakam of Norfolk State University, Langston Jackson of Hampton University, Clark Atlanta University’s Kennedi Amari Johnson, Texas Southern student Courtney Roberts and Florida A&M’s Caleb Wilkerson are the HBCU students who will participate in an immersive rotation program with Amazon Music and Recording Academy department leads. Each will get a detailed look at their particular field of work in the music industry.

Launched in February 2021, the scholarship is a $10,000 grant for the 2023-24 school year. Later this summer, the BMC and Amazon Music will award two HBCUs $10,000 each for equipment for their music programs.

"We are immensely proud to collaborate with Amazon Music in renewing this exceptional scholarship program for the third consecutive year," said Ryan Butler, VP of DEI at the Recording Academy. "The imperative of Black representation in the music industry cannot be overstated, and this scholarship is a tangible manifestation of our unwavering commitment to promoting the aspirations of future Black music leaders.”

As part of Your Future Is Now, Amazon Music, The Same House and the Recording Academy are coming together to host a business development seminar for select members of the 2023 graduating class of Morris Brown College. The new, half-day music business seminar, taking place on 6/17, will offer professional development in the music business, publishing and music production.