ICON Collective seeks to inspire and uplift Black artists in the music industry with their newly announced Black Voices Scholarship.
Though the origins of dance music can be traced back to disco, house, and reggae with Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ tastemakers, we rarely see that same representation on the lineups and on the mainstages of massive festivals. While it has been a topic of conversation for years, the past six weeks have highlighted that there is a dearth of attention and mainstream access for Black artists in electronic music.
On June 1, the music industry decided to go dark to highlight the inequities Black producers, DJs, vocalists, and more face in the music industry, among other places. For some companies, it was clear that this act was purely performative ally-ship, however, others such as Bandcamp truly put their money where their mouth is. ICON Collective is seeking to do just that with the introduction of the Black Voices Scholarship.
There are many ways of taking steps toward alleviating these issues and one way that ICON Collective is using their area of influence is by improving access to their programs.
Upon looking internally at their own programs, ICON Collective saw that Black artists were severely underrepresented and decided to make a change. Being no stranger to providing scholarships in the past, the music school has helped those in need of financial assistance as well as women who want to explore and enhance their own skills. Now, they’re planning to uplift Black creatives in the music scene with this newly announced scholarship.
Recipients will receive $19,500 (of Icon Collective’s $25,995 tuition) for a one year study at their Burbank campus and in the area of their choosing. The scholarship is open to one student in each ICON program: Vocal Artist, Music Production, and Music Business for a total of three scholarship recipients.
With the deadline of August 10 fast approaching, we can’t wait to see what up and coming artists will take advantage of this opportunity. For more information and to apply, visit the Icon Collective Black Voices Scholarship page on their website.
