353 Media Group for Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC)
For the third year in a row, the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) in partnership with the Commercial Music Initiative at HBCU Tennessee State University, Music Makes Us, and the Recording Industry Association of America®, will host the Maymester Music Business Accelerator at TSU from May 6 through 23.
Ranked by Billboard as one of the top twenty-five music programs in the world, TSU’s Music School will welcome the intensive three week course, offering students access to leadership, mentorship, and career resources to help them break into the music industry.
Led by GRAMMY® Award-winning professor Larry Jenkins Jr., this year’s initiative will feature guest artists and speakers including Kaliii, Tariq Cherif, Sierra Lever, Mark Cheatham, Karen Civil, Lauren D. Williams, Swaggy Sie, J1, and more.
Students in the Music Business Accelerator Initiative at TSU will learn from a curriculum that was specifically curated by BMAC, covering a wide array of critical topics in the music industry including songwriting, copyright law, publishing, marketing, music distribution, touring, and publicity. Part of the programming will entail an Atlantic Records takeover featuring Kalii and leading executives, Sammye Scott and Tanece Moore, as well as a Def Jam Recordings takeover. The full schedule of events, including additional guest speakers and programming, will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Black Music Action Coalition and our partners are committed to empowering the next generation of Black musical artists and professionals in Tennessee and beyond,” says BMAC co-founder/CEO/president, Willie “Prophet” Stiggers. “Music Row and the Nashville industry have a prime opportunity to welcome them into the industry, especially with all of the tools we are giving them for success.”
The inaugural initiative in 2022 successfully placed students in internships across multiple music industry companies, like Wasserman Music, Warner Music Nashville, and LVRN.
Applications for BMAC’s Third Annual Music Business Accelerator at TSU are now open for TSU students.