Tag: Atlanta

4 Ways Spotify Is Expanding Our NextGen Audio Program This Fall

November 28, 2023

At Spotify, we empower and amplify the voices of underrepresented creators by carving out spaces for new stories and perspectives to be shared and heard. NextGen, funded by Spotify’s Creator Equity Fund, is our ongoing program designed to infuse, activate, and grow podcast culture on college campuses. It supplies students across the U.S. with the audio skills they need to pursue their dreams. 

Since partnering with our first HBCU—Spelman College in Atlanta—and announcing an audio-first NextGen curriculum and weeklong Spotify Labs Creator Program at our first NextGen Creator Day at Spelman, we’ve been working diligently alongside our partners to empower and support the next generation of Black audio creators. 

But there’s still more to do. And we’re excited to highlight a few upcoming initiatives.

Renovating Spelman’s Podcast Studio 

Spotify Studios refurbished and modernized Spelman College’s existing on-campus podcast studio, fully outfitting the space with state-of-the-art podcasting and video recording equipment and personalized design touches. We also provided portable audio equipment for students and faculty to utilize in the field. The newly renovated studio and mobile equipment will serve as focal points for hosting guest speakers and collaborative projects. We’re excited for students to use the space to create a variety of content, following in the footsteps of their original podcast, Emmett Till: The Cultural Afterlife of an American Boy.

Unveiling Our New NextGen x HBCU Partner Schools: Hampton University and North Carolina A&T State University 

The Spotify Creator Equity Fund has committed over $100K in scholarship funding for students at both Hampton University’s Scripps Howard School of Journalism And Communications and North Carolina A&T State University’s ACEJMC-accredited Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. 

To kick things off at Hampton, we partnered with the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications to bring Spotify’s Opening Act Roadshow to campus for a one-day internship informational session. This event offered Hampton students exposure to Spotify thought leaders—Kristin Jarrett, Lead, Equity & Impact and Creator Equity; LaShanti Jenkins, Global Head of Early Career Pipeline Team; and Briana Younger, Editorial Lead, Hip Hop—as well as skill-building workshops and networking opportunities. Students also saw firsthand what a career path in the tech and audio industries would look like, and they participated in a live playlist challenge. In the spring, we’ll also be selecting scholarship winners from the school, donating audio equipment to the campus, and working closely with faculty to support students in their content creation. 

Stay tuned for more on our NextGen Audio initiatives at both schools throughout the 2023-2024 academic calendar year!

Collaborating with Howard University and Nikole Hannah-Jones

We recently partnered with professor and Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones to bring a podcast narrative course based on the 1619 Project to Howard University during the 2023 fall semester. As students worked with Hannah-Jones to transform their narrative essays into a podcast that will be available on our platform, Spotify experts taught them about audio production. We also donated audio and recording equipment for students to use to create a three-episode podcast series that explores Black culture and influence and the legacies of slavery in America. We will be hosting a listening party for students in January 2024. 

Continuing our work with USC Annenberg

This year, NextGen’s collaboration with the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, including the USC Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab, will focus efforts toward open dialogue and career development for aspiring podcast creators from marginalized backgrounds. Throughout the fall, we’ve been providing USC students the opportunity to hear from top audio creator Edwin Covarrubias of Scary Stories, Wondery podcast producer and LA Times writer Dave Schilling, and author and What A Day host Tre’vell Anderson. We’ve also provided students access to Spotify executives—Creator Partner Manager Amber Watkins; Production Operations Lead Michelle Kitchen; Senior Program Ops Manager Nichole Henderson; and Community Development Lead Christabel Nsiah-Buadi. 

On Thursday, November 9, we welcomed 30 USC Annenberg students with a passion for audio storytelling to a Careers in Podcasting day at Spotify’s Los Angeles office to learn more about what a career path in audio looks like in 2023 and beyond.

Nearly a Quarter of All Streams on Spotify Are Hip-Hop. Spotify’s Global Editors Reflect on the Genre’s Growth

August 10, 2023

As hip-hop turns 50, fans around the world are celebrating its golden anniversary. For a genre that started at a block party in the Bronx, this milestone is a testament to the massive impact and influence hip-hop has had in virtually every corner of the globe.

And today on Spotify, hip-hop is thriving, with artists and fans from around the world discovering and connecting with one another. In 2023, nearly a quarter of all streams on Spotify globally are hip-hop music, led by artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, Ice Spice, and Metro Boomin.

But it goes further than that . . . 

  • Hip-hop is one of the most-listened-to genres globally on Spotify, and more than 400 million users around the world have streamed hip-hop music in 2023 so far.
  • RapCaviar ranks as the second most-followed playlist on Spotify. 
  • Around the globe, there are over 53 million user-generated and Spotify-curated playlists on Spotify that mention hip-hop or rap in the title of the playlist, and over 2 billion playlists that contain at least one hip-hop song. 
  • For the past three years, almost half of Spotify’s Top 50 most-streamed artists globally have been hip-hop or rap artists. 

One of the most distinct aspects of hip-hop culture is its regionality, with the unique sounds coming out of local U.S. scenes like New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Miami helping one of the most dynamic genres in the world flourish.

That’s why we’re celebrating these iconic regions with a series of original murals created by Raj Dhunna. 

Quase um quarto de todos os streams no Spotify são para o Hip Hop. Os editores globais do Spotify refletem sobre o crescimento do gênero

August 10, 2023

Quando o Hip Hop completa 50 anos, fãs de todo o mundo comemoram suas bodas de ouro. Para um gênero que teve um começo inesperado em um parque do Bronx, este marco é uma prova do enorme impacto e influência que o Hip Hop teve em praticamente todos os cantos do globo.

E hoje no Spotify, o Hip Hop está mais forte do que nunca, com artistas e fãs de todo o mundo se descobrindo e se conectando. Em 2023, quase um quarto de todas os streams no Spotify globalmente foram para músicas de Hip Hop, lideradas por artistas como Drake, Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, Ice Spice e Metro Boomin.

Mas, vai além disso… 

  • O Hip Hop é o segundo gênero mais popular globalmente no Spotify, e mais de 400 milhões de usuários em todo o mundo escutaram música Hip Hop em 2023 até agora.
  • RapCaviar é a segunda playlist com maior número de seguidores no Spotify. 
  • Em todo o mundo, existem mais de 53 milhões de playlists editoriais e geradas por usuários no Spotify que mencionam Hip Hop ou Rap no título, e mais de 2 bilhões de playlists que contêm pelo menos uma música de Hip Hop.
  • Nos últimos três anos, quase metade dos 50 artistas mais escutados no Spotify em todo o mundo são artistas de Hip Hop ou Rap.

Um dos aspectos mais distintos da cultura Hip Hop é sua regionalidade, com sons únicos vindos de cenas locais dos Estados Unidos, como Nova York, Atlanta, Los Angeles e Miami, ajudando um dos gêneros mais dinâmicos do mundo a florescer.

É por isso que celebramos essas regiões icônicas com uma série de murais originais criados por Raj Dhunna.

Five Spelman College NextGen Scholarship Recipients Are Rising to the Top

August 8, 2023

At Spotify, we are empowering and amplifying the voices of underrepresented creators. To do that, we must carve out spaces for new stories and perspectives to be shared and heard. So we created NextGen, our ongoing program designed to infuse, activate, and grow podcast culture on college campuses. Funded by Spotify’s Creator Equity Fund, this initiative exists to provide students across the U.S. with the skills needed to pursue their dreams.

After initially partnering with the University of Southern California, University of Pennsylvania, and New York University, we’ve expanded our outreach to historically Black college and university (HBCU) campuses. Spelman College in Atlanta is the first HBCU to offer NextGen programming, and as part of that effort, we have provided support for student-led original audio content, hosted special events and training programs, and will soon introduce an on campus podcast recording space.

Earlier this year, we hosted our first NextGen Creator Day at Spelman, where we announced a new audio-first NextGen curriculum, a weeklong Spotify Labs Creator Program, and the Spotify NextGen Scholarship.

The NextGen Scholarship provides multiyear scholarships to five first-year Spelman students interested in pursuing a career in audio media, including podcasting, storytelling, writing, sound engineering, and music. Students must be enrolled full-time and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. To get to know the applicants better, they also had to answer the question, “What story would you love to tell through media?”

After a competitive submission process, we are excited to announce the recipients of the scholarship program: Rokiyah Darbo, Taylor Mills, Ashley Rawls, Bailey Johnson, and Tellisa Massey. Each recipient will receive a $10,000 scholarship during their sophomore, junior, and senior years, and they will also have the option to be Spotify ambassadors. Get to know these talented students and their dreams.

Rokiyah Darbo (she/her)
Major: Biology

How can scholarships and learning opportunities like NextGen help HBCU students?

Black students are already at a disadvantage in this society simply for being Black. Scholarships like NextGen allow Black students to be involved in conversations that can help them build a future and provide financial support to their families.

Who are some creators of color who inspire you and whom you’d want to collaborate with? 

My top three creators are Elsa Majimbo, Anayka She, and Monet McMichael. It would truly be an honor if I ever got the chance to even be in the same room as these beautiful, hilarious, and successful women of color. I began watching all three of them during quarantine, and the reason why I love their content so much is because they are constantly keeping it real with us. They are hilarious, but at the end of the day, they also give really great big sister advice.

What’s one thing you hope to achieve personally or professionally as a creator?

Confidence.

Taylor Mills (she/her)
Major: Theatre and Performance

How can scholarships and learning opportunities like NextGen help HBCU students?

Scholarships and learning opportunities from NextGen have endless possibilities. As a Spelman student, I am very grateful to NextGen because they have helped me financially and shown that they believe in my craft, creating spaces for HBCU students like me to thrive and learn about the business behind our future career goals.

Who are some creators of color who inspire you and whom you’d want to collaborate with? 

Some creators of color that inspire me are @ik.truth, Fydéle, and Janay Trench-Lesley because of their raw talent and content consistency! If I could collaborate with a content creator, it would be Vena E. because she’s unapologetically herself and inspires others to do the same!  

What’s one thing you hope to achieve personally or professionally as a creator?

As a content creator, I’ll continue to motivate people with my comedic twist! I plan to use Spotify NextGen’s resources, improve my craft, and continue to succeed as an HBCU student! 

Ashley Rawls (she/they)
Major: Music

How can scholarships and learning opportunities like NextGen help HBCU students?

Scholarships like NextGen can help HBCU students by providing financial support for those who may be institutionally disadvantaged. It is no secret that HBCUs are often underfunded, which in turn limits scholarship opportunities for students. Scholarships like NextGen help alleviate these challenges. It also allows more Black creatives to be involved in industries that lack diversity and Black representation. By giving HBCU students incredible opportunities like this, it fosters a space where Black people can be appreciated and continues to challenge the norms while maintaining culture. 

Who are some creators of color who inspire you and whom you’d want to collaborate with? 

Definitely Ravyn Lenae. I have been in love with her neo-soul beats and classically trained voice. Her debut album, HYPNOS, was absolutely enchanting, and having the opportunity to see her in concert was one of the highlights of this year for me. Her EP Crush was created in collaboration with one of my other favorite artists, Steve Lacy, and it was the album that made me fall in love with her music. I absolutely adore Steve Lacy and all of the projects that he has produced, so having the two of them on one album was heaven to my ears. I would absolutely love to collaborate with Ravyn and Steve because I feel like they have been the main inspiration for my own music and are really paving the way for modern-day neo-soul. 

What’s one thing you hope to achieve personally or professionally as a creator?

As a musician, I would love to be able to create my own personal sound and share my music with the world. I have always been infatuated with music and believe that my voice, and those of other phenomenal artists, deserves to be heard and recognized. We are the future of music and it is constantly evolving.  

Bailey Johnson (she/her)
Major: Double major in Theater & Performance, and English

How can scholarships and learning opportunities like NextGen help HBCU students?

For HBCU students, scholarships and learning opportunities such as NextGen help remove the boundaries and confinements of a student’s future. For example: Debt or fear of failure or lack of access to education can hold a person back from their future. Behind the locked door is a future that is limitless and inspired. Unfortunately, many people cannot or will not open their doors out of fear and having less fortune. However, I think of these scholarships and learning opportunities as a key that unlocks the door. I am very grateful to Spotify NextGen because they are helping me to pursue a future without limits.

Who are some creators of color who inspire you and whom you’d want to collaborate with? 

I have always been enamored by Meghan Markle and everything that she represents. I love that she started off as an actress who had no desire for the spotlight or the nobility, but she loved becoming a character and telling a story. I admire how she has elegantly accepted that the limelight is now a part of her own story, and instead of trying to hide from the spotlight, she is writing her own narrative. With Archetypes, Meghan tells her story her way and shines the spotlight on the female narrative. Through her podcast, she reminds me that all female stories matter! Meghan is a massive inspiration to me. I applaud her because even when the media tries to tear her down, she always finds a way to build women’s stories up. 

What’s one thing you hope to achieve personally or professionally as a creator?

Professionally, I dream of one day going to my favorite place (the movie theater) and sitting in the middle row, middle seat, with popcorn and an ICEE in hand, and looking up and seeing my face on the screen. I hope to one day see every pore and every blemish I have ever had on a giant theater screen. Personally, I hope that in that theater, I will have a feeling of satisfaction that tells my brain, “Wow. You did it, and I am so proud of you!” And then, after that, I hope to win an Oscar for Best Actress. 

Tellisa Massey (they/them)
Major: Documentary Filmmaking

How can scholarships and learning opportunities like NextGen help HBCU students?

I believe that scholarships provide students with a sense of security so that they don’t have to worry about the financial aspect of going to school. The learning opportunities give students a chance to have a deeper look into certain things they want to pursue and much more. 

Who are some creators of color who inspire you and whom you’d want to collaborate with? 

I have been inspired by many creatives, like Barry Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, and Issa Rae. If I could collaborate with one of them, I would choose Ava DuVernay because she has been able to create meaningful bodies of work while also opening the doors for other creatives. 

What’s one thing you hope to achieve personally or professionally as a creator?

I want to become my best self. People have always said, “You never stop growing.” Although I agree, I also believe that there’s something special when someone is more confident than they were yesterday, feel a little bit happier, or become braver. It’s not a complete 180-degree turn, but it is the process of taking those needed baby steps. So I want to experience that for myself; I want that change, and I want to use my creativity to guide that change.

Toast Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary With Our Special Playlist Hub, Murals, Animated Shorts, and More

August 3, 2023

Fifty years ago, hip-hop was born in the Bronx. And today, it continues to influence music and culture on a global scale. To celebrate this massive milestone over the next month, we’re creating murals in some of hip-hop’s biggest capitals, giving fans a personalized hip-hop listening experience with our DJ, and releasing a series of animated shorts. But to kick off the festivities, we’re launching the Hip-Hop Turns 50 hub.

Highlighting the contributions of hip-hop’s greats, this special destination will live on-platform over the next month and house more than 40 global playlists that reflect the various eras, regions, and trends that have shaped the genre over the last half-century. This includes many of our top data-driven and editorially curated playlists, as well as dedicated shelves for the 50 most-streamed rappers and hip-hop albums on Spotify. 

“We wanted to acknowledge the anniversary in more than one way. Three months ago, we kicked off conversations on social media with our Top 50 Hip-Hop lists and are now showcasing how hip-hop’s and Spotify’s history intersects,” said Carl Chery, Creative Director, Head of Urban Music, Spotify. “Throughout August, we’re paying homage to some of the artists that paved the way in their own cities with murals and billboards, creating an animated shorts series narrated by artists, and built out a destination on platform that features a variety of playlists from around the world. Stay tuned for more—here’s to the next 50″

Fans can dive into the best hip-hop songs of each decade with special curations for the ’80s, ’90s, ’00s, and ’10s, as well as the ’20s, where listeners can tune in to RapCaviar, our flagship hip-hop playlist, to find the best of hip-hop today. As part of the global hip-hop shelf—which features playlists like Spotify Italy’s Plus Ultra, Spotify India’s Rap 91, Spotify Korea’s KrOWN, Spotify U.K.’s Who We Be, the Spotify Middle East’s Arab Hip-Hop, and Spotify Philippines’ Kayle Hip-Hop—we’re showcasing the hottest, freshest, and most diverse hip-hop sounds being created around the world.

We’re also revisiting some of our editors’ top picks through our 50 years of hip-hop shelf, which features episodes from podcasts like the New York Times’s Popcast and Fab 5 Freddy’s 50 Years of Hip-Hop, as well as Spotify Originals like The RapCaviar Podcast, Dissect, The Ringer Music Show, and Nas and Miss Info’s The Bridge. 

You can check out more of For the Record’s hip-hop content from over the years by visiting our special Hip-Hop Turns 50 hub. 

Spotify celebrates in hip-hop’s biggest meccas

To honor some of hip-hop’s biggest game changers, Spotify is collaborating with illustrator and image-maker Raj Dhunna to design large-scale murals and billboards. These pieces will put a spotlight on artists in their respective hometowns and depict the ways rap’s most influential sounds spread from region to region. 

In New York, Spotify will unveil a mural acknowledging the history of drill as it grew from its origins in Chicago with legends like Chief Keef, and expanded into London and Brooklyn with artists like 808 Melo and Pop Smoke. A second mural will spotlight the impact of women in hip-hop and feature icons like Lil’ Kim and Cardi B. 

In Atlanta, Raj will create a mural that celebrates the evolution of trap music, which was pioneered by Atlanta’s own T.I. and cultivated into a global phenomenon by artists like New York’s Arcángel.

Raj’s designs will also appear on billboards in Miami and Los Angeles. The L.A. billboard will feature Dr. Dre and Mustard, two of the city’s musical titans, with a tagline that reads “Long live the West Coast sound. Hip-hop is everywhere.” The Miami billboard, meanwhile, will pay tribute to the provocative sounds of the region’s most influential women rap acts.

Spotify will also commemorate hip-hop’s growth in Mexico and pay homage to its current and foundational artists with a mural that features over 15 Mexican hip-hop artists, including Akwid, Cartel de Santa, Santa Fe Klan, and Gera Mx.

The party continues

In addition to the on-platform destinations and custom murals, our AI-powered DJ will provide expert hip-hop commentary all month long on Spotify, supplying aficionados with cultural context about musical legends and retracing how hip-hop has grown through history.

To close out the month, Spotify will debut editorially curated animated shorts that underscore hip-hop’s influence in over nine countries, featuring narrations from artists. 

Our celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary will let fans discover and connect with artists of the past, present, and future. But this is only the start. Stay tuned for updates throughout the month as we commemorate one of the most beloved genres in the world. 

Hit play on our flagship RapCaviar playlist and discover the artists who are making their mark in hip-hop’s history books. 

Spotify’s NextGen Curriculum Participants Release ‘Emmett Till: The Cultural Afterlife of an American Boy’

July 18, 2023

a collage showing the shadow of a man wearing a hat and buildings in the background.

In March, Spotify brought our NextGen Audio initiative to Spelman College in Atlanta for the first-ever Creator Day. There, we announced the NextGen Curriculum Program, Spotify NextGen Scholarship Program, and Spotify Labs Creator Program—all ways we’re further supporting students who are aspiring to work in the audio industry. Several Spelman students in the NextGen Curriculum Program have since been hard at work under the instruction of Dr. Michelle Hite creating a seven-episode podcast series investigating the brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till and the cultural aftermath of his death. 

Now Spotify listeners can stream Emmett Till: The Cultural Afterlife of an American Boy, where the students examine the way Emmett’s murder became a pivotal moment in American political, media, and civil rights history. Explore the way U.S. citizens have found purpose in Emmett Till’s short life and learned to center on joy and love even in the face of pain and struggle.

The new series is the first to come out of NextGen x HBCU, our program designed to activate and grow podcast culture on college campuses and make a career in podcasting more accessible for the next generation of Black content creators and storytellers. NextGen is funded by Spotify’s Creator Equity Fund, which powers our commitment to showcasing and uplifting creators from communities that have been historically underrepresented in the audio industry. 

Our NextGen Audio initiative will continue into the fall as we prepare to announce the five Spelman College scholarship winners and the second NextGen HBCU. Stay tuned to learn more.  

Creating a New Podcast Space for Underrepresented Voices in Atlanta

June 30, 2023

Quianah Upton and Jennifer Lind sitting in the new podcast studio in front of two mics at Nourish Botanica

Removing barriers increases accessibility. Making Space, a Spotify for Podcasters initiative aiming to elevate underrepresented creators by making studio-quality podcasting gear available to communities for free, is our way of doing just that. By partnering with local businesses—Greenville, South Carolina–based Savereign, a plant store, and Curia on the Drag café in Gainesville, Florida, are two recent examples—Spotify provides a safe place for storytellers to share and helps build a more diverse ecosystem of podcast creators.

Our third Making Space studio, which received support from Spotify’s Creator Equity Fund, is in Nourish Botanica, an Atlanta, Georgia, plant shop and community space that offers weekly markets, queer karaoke nights, plant festivals, free plant swaps, and more. 

Quianah Upton standing inside nourish botanica in front of the recording equipment

“I really appreciate Spotify partnering with us to model high-level creative entrepreneurship. I love the idea that we can be a Black-owned business in a historically Black neighborhood and provide a level of cool, quirk, and professionalism that you can’t find anywhere else,” shared Quianah Upton, the owner of Nourish Botanica. “It’s also a really good reminder to large companies worldwide how much artists and creative spaces need funding and collaboration support.”

Motivated by her own experiences of childhood food insecurity, Quianah conceived the idea for Nourish Botanica in 2013. Her hope was to create food-based events that featured talks surrounding art, storytelling, gentrification, food sovereignty, and justice issues. Now Nourish Botanica will be joined by a podcast studio. “Making Space will allow us to begin to build a safe space where dialogue, education, and conversation can take place,” Quianah explained. “Storytelling affects social justice, conveys history, builds empathy, and educates audiences by instilling a sense of belonging and community among those listening. Through our storytelling programming, Nourish Botanica works towards building an inclusive and equitable world.”  

Jennifer Lind is one creator who hopes to educate audiences by sharing her family’s history through her podcast, Telling HERstory. The Atlanta native had no podcast experience but was able to bring her idea from concept to fruition in just one month by using Spotify for Podcasters. Jennifer’s show explores the life and legacy of her maternal grandmother, longtime Augusta, Georgia, educator Rosa T. Beard, through interviews with those who were closest to her. 

After launching the podcast in 2020, Jennifer is now part of a thriving Atlanta podcast scene. She explained to For the Record that she’s excited that Spotify’s Making Space studio will provide another low-barrier way for those looking to get involved.

Did you have any idea how to make a podcast?

I really knew nothing about podcasting! But most people who know me know that once I decide that I want to do something, it’s not a matter of if I’m going to do it, but how. When I decided to create the Telling HERstory podcast, I started researching everything I could, and that’s how I discovered the Anchor app, which is now Spotify for Podcasters. I saw that it was not only an all-in-one tool, but also free to use. And within four weeks of deciding that I was going to start a podcast, I actually launched it. To me, that is a testament to what a great tool Spotify for Podcasters is—it makes it possible for just about anyone to become a creator.  

Why do you think a podcast was the perfect medium for sharing your grandmother’s story?

I wanted to not only tell her story, but also the stories of those whose lives she touched, and document them for future generations. Especially as someone who comes from the community of color—and when you think back to our roots, of African American and African history, it involves a lot of oral storytelling. There’s something about podcasting that, in a way, goes back to those roots of documenting stories. And to have people say it in their own voice, it’s really impactful.

For example, I was able to interview Ambassador Larry L. Palmer in episode five. He was one of my grandmother’s former students who went on to become a Senior Foreign Service member and U.S. ambassador, serving under six different U.S. presidents. This is someone who had grown up in the segregated South, so there were a lot of barriers—and yet he was still able to go and do these great things. I interviewed him in January of 2021, and sadly he passed away in April 2021. And so to have his voice documented telling his story . . . that kind of solidified why this is so important. 

How did your grandmother influence your life?

One of the things that impressed me the most about her was her pursuit of education. She received her undergrad degree from Paine College in 1942, which was unusual for women then, especially Black women in the South. And then she followed that up by getting a master’s degree from Columbia University in 1951. So here she was, at a top school for her master’s at a time when most people weren’t even able to go to school. She started a legacy that not only changed the trajectory of her life, but the lives of generations to come. Education has also played a big part in my life. I have a doctor of pharmacy degree and two master’s degrees, as well. 

the recording equipment located at nourish botanica

What are you looking forward to most with the new Making Space studio?

I’m excited that other people who want to tell a story now have a free podcasting studio in the community that’s accessible with the tools and the resources they need. I hope that it will give a lot of people the boost in confidence they need to actually start that podcast they’ve been dreaming about.

What’s your advice to others who want to create a podcast but aren’t sure how to get started?

Don’t overthink it. I think we get in our heads and paralyzed by the thought of where to begin. If you have the tools, which we now have, whether you’re using the Spotify for Podcasters app at home or if you’re going into the new Making Space studio in Atlanta, that barrier is removed. 

Also, don’t question your story or your voice. People, me included, are nervous about putting themselves out there. When you start your podcast, know your “why” and know what your motivation is. 

I started The Avana Company LLC, a brand rooted in diversity and creative expression, to focus on amplifying voices and telling our stories because I believe podcasting can open doors. So many doors have been opened to me through this podcasting journey, and I would love to reach back and pull as many people as I can through those doors. A lot of people have asked how I started the podcast, so I decided to make a free launch checklist to help others get started. I want to help as many people as possible realize that it’s not impossible. It’s really about having the confidence to get started. If you have the tools and resources available, it can be a little less intimidating.

Everybody brings a unique perspective from their lived experience to a conversation. And so, the more people we can have out there sharing their stories, the better.

 

Hear more from Jennifer, and learn about the incredible legacy of Mrs. Rosa T. Beard, in her podcast, Telling HERstory, below.

 

Spotify Debuts New Programs for Aspiring Audio Innovators at NextGen Creator Day at Spelman College

March 21, 2023

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 20: (L-R) Denzel Dion, co-host of 'We Said What We Said', Spotify, host Wunmi Bello, and Rickey Thompson, co-host of 'We Said What We Said', Spotify, speak onstage during Spotify NextGen Creator Day at Spelman College on March 20, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Spotify)

Burgeoning creators on college campuses across the U.S. are already harnessing their creativity for great ideas for the future of audio. At Spotify, we know that once they get the tools they need to amplify their voices, they’ll be able to bring their stories to the world.

Enter NextGen, a program from Spotify for Podcasters designed to activate and grow podcast culture on college campuses, and make a career in podcasting more accessible for the next generation of Black content creators and storytellers. NextGen is funded by Spotify’s Creator Equity Fund, which powers our commitment to showcasing and uplifting creators from communities that have been historically underrepresented in the audio industry. 

We currently offer NextGen programming at New York University, the University of Southern California, and the University of Pennsylvania. We announced last fall that we’d be expanding the program to historically Black colleges and university (HBCU) campuses across the U.S., starting with Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Yesterday, during our first-ever NextGen Creator Day at Spelman, we announced three ways we’re broadening our partnership and further supporting students aspiring to work in the audio industry.

LaKeith Stanfield Relates Acting to Music Ahead of the Third Season of ‘Atlanta’

March 21, 2022

When it comes to actors who seem to truly embody their characters, few come to mind like LaKeith Stanfield. The California native has blurred reality in his many roles over the past decade in movies like Crown Heights, Sorry to Bother You, Judas and the Black Messiah, and The Harder They Fall. But LaKeith is arguably best known for his role of Darius in Atlanta, a dark comedy created by and starring Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) that follows a group of friends, lovers, and associates navigating the city’s hip-hop scene. In Season 3, the foursome—Earn, Paper Boi, Darius, and Van—take on Europe as Paper Boi’s fame goes transatlantic.

Much like the characters in the show, LaKeith has also explored his musical side over the last few years, releasing synth-heavy rap and hip-hop tracks under the name Htiekal. But as LaKeith told For the Record, these two sides of him are really part of the same coin: “I think acting is music. It’s rhythm in action and reaction and feeling that goes from one place to another.”

LaKeith’s character, Darius, is a soulful, playful eccentric with a vision, and when LaKeith waxes poetic on the influence of music, the mentality that the two share becomes clear. 

“Music is easily the most powerful form of art,” he said. “Music is a portal and it takes you to where the artist is in their headspace. From the start of the album to the end of the album, you’re being zapped into a portal of experience and an aspect of me you haven’t seen. And that’s why my artist persona, ‘Htiekal,’ is my name backwards. I create because it’s the identity that others have yet to know and understand about me. With music, I can just scream in a way that I can’t express as an actor.” 

In the Spotify playlist LaKeith made ahead of the Season 3 premiere, he continues to blend music, television, acting, and reality—just as he did in our conversation. 

There’s been about a three-year hiatus between seasons. Anything in particular fans should brush up on going into the new season?

I don’t think brushing up, technically, is the thing to do. I think coming to it with a fresh perspective is nice because as much as things in the past seasons influence what you’ll see here, it’s really just a whole new approach. Everything we do is brand new. We’re always just on the cusp of reality. Whatever’s happening is always constantly being written. We have a text chain where we’re always sharing things that we find interesting with each other. And they always end up weaving their way into the show. So life imitating art, and vice versa.

The writers of Atlanta, including Donald Glover, are sneaky geniuses, and they are always having their antennas up, getting information about us and then incorporating it into the show. So they stalk us like mad and take things from our lives and weave them into the story, which I think is weird, but I also appreciate it because I understand how important it is to have real things to work off of. We don’t work out of an imaginary world—we’re working off of this world and then processing this world through an imaginary world. I do think it’s quite psychedelic—this show lets you explore things from a different angle. 

So that’s why some people tend to think that these characters—especially mine—are similar to us. In reality, it’s because a lot of the things that we bring to it are then fashioned into the story. It’s a very organic process. 

Atlanta serves as commentary on the hip-hop scene and industry in the city. What are some other commentaries that came into the season, especially with the world that you were facing at the time of shooting?

A big staple in Atlanta is identity and who you are, and who you are in relation to your environment. What we find is that identity has less to do with what you think of someone based on their exterior. You typically find parallels between people when you look deeper than what lies on the surface. I think that’s important to demonstrate when you’re talking about Black people in particular because that’s something that we’ve always dealt with and had to basically scream out at the top of our lungs that we’re just human beings. 

Now, Atlanta does this in a really cool, unique, fun, and interesting way where you don’t even know what’s happening. You don’t know that we’re explaining to you bits and pieces of the Black experience; it’s just entertainment to you and I think that is, that’s great. And so we hope that, you know, by showing you the absurdity, maybe it has you take a look at something a little more closely?

Like you said, Atlanta takes on racism in absurd and satirical ways. There’s a moment in the trailer that shows this season will be no exception—why was it important for the show to have this conversation on “both sides of the pond”?

All we’re doing is reflecting the reality that’s around us, and unfortunately race is a big part of that, not only in the U.S., but in Europe too. Don’t get it twisted—Europe is where all this sh*t came from. America took racism and amped it up to the heights unseen before but believe me, it started in places and pockets in Europe. It’s just very clear to me that there’s a hierarchy that’s been in place there for a long time. But it’s been more finessed over there and the air of racism that’s tangible to you doesn’t feel as strong as it feels here in America. 

I think you’ll find that most Black creators are quite exhausted with this topic. But we can’t ignore it because white people have made it an issue. So until our work changes the way that we’re perceived and seen, race is always going to be a conversation. But believe me, we would prefer to talk about other sh*t. But either way, we will continue to do what we’ve always been doing, finessing and telling our stories in the most honest light that we can. 

Music plays a huge role in the show. How does music play into time on set? 

On set we play all kinds of things. I play things that appeal to my emotional states. Some things like Frank Sinatra put you in a sense of pride—I feel strong when I listen to that, I lean into my masculinity there as well. Things like Nirvana really put me in a more emotional space and I’m able to be reflective about my childhood and how experiences I had there led to who I am. Slipknot backs the feelings of an internal struggle, of war. Of people who are going against those who tell you what you need to be. And some music calms the storm of all that frustration, some things like Yo-Yo Ma—instrumental music, classical music by Black composers, Nigerian music, things from the motherland. Sometimes I’ll just play random music from Africa; I don’t really know what they’re saying, but I don’t have to because music communicates whether it’s through words or not. 

Tell us about the Spotify playlist you’ve created, In Between Takes. What are some notable tracks you’d like to point out? What story are you trying to tell or soundtrack?

The music is awesome and I really want people to have the relationship with the music that they want. I don’t want to influence it any more than I already have by curating something. I want you to go on that journey or not. I think it’s really personal and I love it that way. So I want to keep it that way and I want you to love what you love and dislike what you dislike like, because that allows me to live and be free through you. Love yourself.

 

Stream LaKeith’s “In Between Takes” playlist below to get ready for the third season of Atlanta, premiering Thursday, March 24. 

The Handmaid’s Tale, The O.C., and 7 Other Shows That Have Formed Our Music Tastes

April 25, 2018

If you ugly cry during This Is Us, it could be that The Cinematic Orchestra’s heartbreaking song is tugging at you just as much as Rebecca and Jack. And if Phantom Planet or Snow Patrol have shown up in your Spotify playlists, chances are it’s because you’re feeling nostalgic for The O.C. or Grey’s Anatomy. TV shows of a newer era are known not only for evoking an urge to binge watch, but for uncovering new artists and influencing the music we listen to.

When shows began writing music into the key moments in their scripts as opposed to doing it after the fact—shows of the early 2000s like The Sopranos and The O.C. get much of the credit for jumpstarting the approach—audiences became even more addicted and artists had a new platform for their music to reach the masses.

“There’s a difference between finding music just to bridge scenes and be a part of the background, and using the music to help move the narrative along. Music has actually become a character in itself,” says Xavier Jernigan, Spotify’s head of North America for shows and editorial and host of Showstopper, Spotify’s podcast that takes listeners inside the playlists of favorite TV shows. (Bonus: Every episode of Showstopper has an accompanying playlist so you can really dive into the music.)

Jernigan names The Sopranos season finale—that unforgettable diner scene featuring Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’”—as a turning point. “It marked such a seminal moment in a TV series and gave that song a whole new life—it jumped up the charts,” he notes. Maggie Phillips, music supervisor for Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, agrees: “TV has grown and changed since then. There is so much great content now and thus the soundtracks are better and more elevated,” she says.

For example, season two of The Handmaid’s Tale, which premieres April 25, features a mix of indie and older but perhaps forgotten female artists. “Primarily, songs are used as a tool to illustrate what’s going on in June’s head. They act in the same way as the voiceovers do. June as a handmaid can’t speak up, or talk about her life, but we connect with her by hearing what’s going on in her head through voiceover or song,” Phillips says.

To further showcase the synergy between show narrative and soundtrack, Spotify and Hulu recently expanded their partnership through a new all-you-can-stream subscription plan, Spotify Premium, now with Hulu.

“Hulu is doing the storytelling, and Spotify can help extend that story with the music and delving into the playlists. It extends the life of these shows,” Jernigan says. Below, he shares what TV-music marriages are on his must-see, must-listen lists.

Insecure: “Sometimes a particular song by a particular artist can be a statement the show is making. It’s exactly what encouraged them to have Kendrick Lamar’s song right as the first song. It was like, ‘We are here.’ When you’re in the world of Insecure that’s a different LA then say, NCIS: Los Angeles. This is L.A., but it’s not Hollywood.”

Dawson’s Creek: “In the ‘90s, shows like Dawson’s Creek used contemporary music like the Paula Cole theme song to tap into the sound of the moment.”

The O.C.: “They took what Dawson’s Creek was doing because it’s the same kind of show, updated it, and took it to another level.”

Glee: “That one was dope because it introduced people to the world of a capella. It used the common thread of music to help aid in acceptance.”

How to Get Away with Murder: “Music added a cool factor. How to Get Away with Murder brought out a different layer of emotion that people really identify with.”

This is Us: “The soundtrack is hopeful. It’s grounded in the journeys that this family is going through, collectively and individually.”

Big Little Lies: “They use some current songs that just have that older sound; they use a lot of Leon Bridges, for example. It makes the show feel a little more timeless.”

Atlanta: “They’re using music to highlight that city in a way that hasn’t been done before. It’s an insider view, and it’s the kind of music people who actually live in Atlanta listen to.”

Craving more music and TV insights? Watch the above shows and more onHulu, and relive your favorite soundtracks on Showstopper.