Tag: POC

Honoring Black History Month by Spotlighting Black Creators and Culture

February 1, 2021

From celebrating Black Music Month in June to a Burna Boy takeover for Nigerian Independence Day last fall, Spotify is committed to celebrating and amplifying Black voices year-round. 

This February, in honor of Black History Month, we’re continuing to recognize and uplift the rich history and voices of the Black community through guest-curated playlist takeovers, brand-new podcasts, and more on our Black History Is Now hub. Read on to learn more.

Spotlight on Black photographers

In an effort to showcase a wide spectrum of Black talent, Spotify is licensing the work of seven Black photographers to curate specialty cover art for our eight key Black playlists. For example, the Black History Salute playlist, which shares work from poets, features photography from Shawn Theodore. Sound Stories: Black Music, a podcast playlist that contains a collection of stories that go behind the scenes of iconic artists and songs, presents the work of photographer Adreinne Waheed. 

Spotify’s Sound Up Australia—Amplifying First Nations Voices for a Second Year

February 27, 2020

Update as of May 10, 2021: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sound Up AU program as described below did not occur in 2020. In 2021, we invited Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander podcasters to sign up for The Sound Up 2021 program, which will be facilitated by our new partners Travis De Vries and Brooke Scobie from Awesome Black. Learn more about the 2021 program here.

For Indigenous communities, stories have long been passed down by word of mouth. Podcasting, a much more recent invention, can take the words of storytellers even further. Through Spotify’s Sound Up Australia podcast accelerator program, we’re helping to empower First Nations individuals in Australia to tell their stories using podcasting—and amplifying them across the world. 

Returning for the second year, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, writers, creators, and podcasters are encouraged to apply to our Sound Up accelerator program, a five-day residential podcasting workshop to be held in Sydney from May 11 to 15. Applicants don’t need to have any previous podcasting experience to apply, just something to say, a passion for the medium, and an eagerness to bring a podcast idea to life. 

“First Australians have been passing down their knowledge, culture and history from generation-to-generation through storytelling for tens of thousands of years,” says Natalie Tulloch, Spotify Sound Up Lead. “Spotify wants to harness the power of storytelling and bring it to the next generation through podcasting.”

From the pool of applicants, 10 people will be selected to attend the residential workshop, which will be facilitated by Marlee Silva, podcaster and co-founder of Tiddas 4 Tiddas, and Rekha Murthy, podcast expert. Participants will learn about the art of podcasting, receive mentoring and practical experience, and meet with podcasting and radio greats who also identify as First Nations people. At the end of the week, three finalists will be awarded a cash grant and all participants will be given equipment and software to produce their podcasts.

Sound Up Australia in 2018 awarded four grants for podcast production. One recipient, Rowdie Walden, used it to create Search Engine Sex, the ultimate sex and relationship podcast, and Spotify Australia’s first Spotify Original investment. 

“Sound Up is an incredible opportunity because it’s so rare in the media industry that you get to sit with the platform, the commissioning editors, and the managing director and develop your idea from the ground up,” says Rowdie. “It gives space to minority groups who otherwise wouldn’t get a foot in the door. Podcasting is such a fast-growing industry that it’s important we keep the push for diversity and inclusion in this space as well.” 

Aspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander podcasters can apply for this year’s Sound Up program here from May 11 – 15 by March 15. Travel and accommodation will be covered for those living outside of Sydney. 

Sound Up UK Is Back to Help Bring Female Podcasters of Color to the Mic

December 11, 2019

Despite the popularity of podcasts like 2 Dope Queens, women of color remain vastly underrepresented in the podosphere. That’s why Spotify created Sound Up, an accelerator program dedicated to lifting up and amplifying the voices of women of color in podcasting in the U.S. and U.K., First Nations women in Australia, and LGBTTIQ+ individuals in Germany. 

This year, the second for the program, Spotify’s Sound Up U.K. program was hosted in Manchester to help grow podcasting beyond the London hub. Over the span of four days, 10 hand-selected individuals participated in intensive workshops, delving into the writing, recording, and business aspects of the craft. The week-long program was led by longtime facilitators Rekha Murthy, Graham Griffith, and Christina Moore. Participants enjoyed the opportunity to learn from podcasting veterans—and at the end of the week, four were awarded a £10,000 grant to make their podcast idea a reality. 

While every participant grew as a podcaster, four ideas particularly wowed the judges. This year’s grant recipients were (drumroll please!): Tosin Mustapha, Clara Monroy, Esther Robertson, and Shade Nathaniel-Ayodele.  

We caught up with several of the Sound Up U.K. participants to hear about their experiences. Here’s what they had to say.

Viv May 

“Don’t doubt yourself. I’m a D.J., a songwriter, and now a podcaster thanks to everything I’ve learned at Sound Up.”

Shade Nathaniel-Ayodele  

“Starting with this seed of an idea and having it flourish into this bouquet of flowers—it’s been amazing. And the women that I’ve talked to, and the support we have for one another, it’s phenomenal.” 

Esther Robertson

“I’m lucky to be a part of a group of amazing women of color, it’s like we’ve grown up together.  I feel really empowered. You’ve got 10 strong women wanting the same goal.”

Lorraine Okuefuna 

“I was talking to a lot of the other women and I really do feel like my life has changed from this week. I’ve had so much confidence building and technical building—it’s honestly one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

Emma Sayers 

“Being around such a good group of people where we all got to share ideas and collaborate, as well as all of the things that have been thrown at us and all the help and advice that we received, it just feels really empowering.”

Adilah Hameed

“Every single one of us in this program has a passion for our subject and that’s why we all want to make it. It’s not about anything else, it’s purely because we love the subject that we want to discuss it. My biggest piece of advice is to have a passion for your idea.”

Clara Monroy

“For me, the biggest takeaway is that a lot of the barriers that I saw before the program were in my head. Sound Up has really helped me understand that it’s doable, it’s possible.  And there is so much that can be done, that needs to be done, there are so many voices that are not being heard.”

Amber Mehmood

“I feel so inspired by listening to everyone else’s stories—everyone did amazing.  It’s incredible just listening to how far we’ve come from the start of the week to the end of the week.”

Tosin Mustapha

“The highlight for me was the session with Renay Richardson. As a fan of hers, it was great to get her feedback on different ways of giving a new perspective.”

Check out Dope Labs, one of the podcasts from Sound Up U.S. grant recipient, Titi Shodiya.