New music industry bursary programme, Rip It Up, launched for Black, Asian and diverse artists

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A music industry bursary programme, Rip It Up, has been launched for young Black, Asian and diverse artists from the North West.

Brought to life by the likes of Sound City and Off The Record, Rip It Up is a a bespoke bursary programme designed to support 10 Black, Asian and diverse artists and aspiring industry professionals aged 18-25 “to make an impact on the music industry.”

Rip It Up will deliver an eight session education programme, covering topics such as campaign strategies, publicity, recording/production, music distribution, management and more, alongside a financial grant to assist their studies. As applicants continue on the course, there will be opportunities for the aspiring artists to spend time in the studio and learn about building a project from scratch, while industry applicants will be offered paid work placement opportunities.

Speaking about Rip It Up, course leader Yaw Owusu said: “Rip It Up is a solution based response to challenges in the music industry for emerging Black artists and creatives based in Merseyside. I am happy to be supporting this by working with the participants to learn, develop and share, in the hopes that their experiences, skills and opportunities improve in regards to their careers in the music industry.” 

There will also be speaker sessions on offer from the likes of seye adelekan (Gorillaz) and Nova Twins, as well as global partners from Facebook and the Managing Director of indepdent label Killing Moon.

Applications are now open and close on the 15th February 2021. Rip It Up is for Black, Asian and diverse young people from across the North West, aged 18-25. You can apply here.

Rip It Up is supported by Youth Music’s Incubator Fund, who are also currently accepting applications for a second round of grants.