We joined forces with POWER UP - an ambitious, long-term initiative which supports Black music creators and industry professionals and executives, as well as addressing anti-Black racism and racial disparities in the music sector.
POWER UP called out for an experienced and diverse cohort of mentors to volunteer and get involved in this mentorship scheme, focusing on mentoring outstanding Black music creators and professionals who are at a crucial career tipping point. The mentorship scheme ran in tandem with the POWER UP Participant Programme at the beginning of January 2023, and shesaid.so are the mentoring partner and mentorship managers.
To achieve our aim, POWER UP X shesaid.so looked for acclaimed music professionals, both creators and executives, to mentor and coach future industry leaders.
The mentors had a deep understanding of the barriers faced by Black music professionals; extensive experience within your area or a specialist skill set. It was recommended by POWER UP X shesaid.so that mentor pairs dedicate 2 hours per month to the 4-month scheme.
Mentors were matched with mentees based on experience, aims, needs, background and requirements by a panel of mentoring experts from shesaid.so. Training and support was provided alongside regular check-ins with the shesaid.so mentorship manager.
To check out the success of year 1 and 2, you can click here.