It's time for a change, and Issa Rae is spearheading it.
On Thursday (13/1), Billboard announced that The Raedio Label, co-founded by the American actress, writer, and producer, will be launching the Raedio Creators Program for new emerging artists program together with Google.
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The Program aims to provide more resources to support new upcoming artists and underrepresented independent artists, as well as provide more representation of women of colour in the music industry. It will select two female artists and two composers to receive funding and resources to create, and retain full ownership of their craft.
Google's funding will be covering recording fees, producer costs, and marketing expenses for a three-to-five song EP for supported artists, as well as the production and development of one music video per artist, while Raedio's record label branch will supervise and distribute the projects on digital platforms.
As for the composers, Google will fund the recording and artist collaboration costs for a series of collections for TV, film, and brand syncs, while the Raedio music supervision branch will oversee opportunities to place the composers' original songs in various Hollywood projects.
The HBO Insecure Star started The Raedio Label together with Atlantic Records, an "audio everywhere company", comprised of four branches each dedicated to publishing, live events, music supervision, and a music library in 2019, and has helped emerging artists by placing their music in the hit series.
Her venture into the music business has been credited with breaking out new female and POC artists such as TeaMarr and Baby Tate, into the R&B and hip-hop scene. With her new program, she intends to further increase the representation of female artists.
“This partnership is perfectly aligned with my mission in helping open doors and provide opportunities for women to succeed and flourish in their craft, I can’t wait to see the impact this program and partnership has on the selectees and the music that is created as a result," said Rae in an official statement.
The #InsecureHBO Soundtrack is out everywhere today! Listen to original tracks from @Thundercat, @JoshLeviWorld, @Mereba and @Saweetie:https://t.co/Oqo9yIzCrU pic.twitter.com/0VjbSaOrt6
— Issa Rae (@IssaRae) December 3, 2021
Google's entertainment partnerships lead Elle Roth-Brunet, shared in a statement that Google is dedicated to leading diversity in the entertainment industry, starting with this project.
"We are proud to create these four grants in partnership with Raedio with a goal of underscoring the importance of providing access and opportunity for women of colour pursuing audio careers within the entertainment industry. This program is an extension of Google’s dedication to championing diversity within the entertainment industry and we look forward to hearing the artistic contributions of all who participate," said Roth-Brunet.
This issue features Issa Rae's artist NCognita, rapper TraeTwoThree, actress Shondalia White, rapper/designer PanamaDaPrince, Chef Troy Luke, and our December Holiday Buyers Guide. https://t.co/z2vePpxsVa pic.twitter.com/Zje1Z57PZI
— Urban Magazine (@urbanmagazine) December 20, 2021
Artists and composers can begin submitting their work for consideration in the Raedio Creators Program starting in early February, and recipients will be announced in March.
Watch this space for updates.
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