The Black Music Action Coalition recently announced their collaboration with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to establish a new program for Black artists and female artists.
Known as the 2023 BMAC Music Maker Guaranteed Income & Mentorship Program, the new initiative is dedicated to creating opportunities for both Black artists and women artists.
Through the program, applicants will be given financial support such as rent, travel to shows, marketing services, utilities, food and legal services, providing them with $1,000 months in aid per month.
Those selected will also receive mentorship from BMAC and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame starting from February 2024 during Black History Month.
Through mentoring, the leaders will help the musicians develop and will increase their visibility in music networks. The musical contributions of Black artists and women artists will also be celebrated as part of a summit alongside Billboard, iHeartMedia and the Music Action Coalition.
“At BMAC, part of our mission is to support and cultivate talent,” said the co-founder of BMAC, Caron Veazey, in a statement. “Our aim is to help the next generation of musicians, songwriters, producers, managers, agents and other industry professionals to go after their dreams and turn them into reality.”
The announcement of the program comes amidst the removal of the co-founder of Rolling Stone and co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Jann Wenner.
Wenner was removed from the board of directors for his comments about Black musicians and female musicians, saying that they were absent from his latest book because they were not “articulate enough.”
The BMAC released a statement in response, highlighting that Wenner’s comments are emblematic of biases that continue to exist in the modern day music industry.
“He’s shown what many industry leaders still think about Black and female musicians, and his choice of words are an affront to the creativity and genius exhibited by so many artists,” said the BMAC in a statement.
For decades, the Black pioneers and creators of rock’n’roll have been overlooked in rock music specifically.
As an amalgamation of the blues, R&B, gospel and jazz, the sound of Rock’N’Roll was made by Black artists such as Little Richard, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Muddy Waters, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker.
Currently, although they formed the genre, Black musicians are underrepresented in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. According to a report by the Huffington Post, there are 108 Black musicians currently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, meaning they comprise approximately 30% of the 365 musicians that have a place in the hall of fame.
“The TRUE masters are the Black creators of the rock and roll genre; those by which each interviewee in the book has been touched and influenced,” said the BMAC.
