(LOS ANGELES – June 22, 2021) – Apple today announced Today at Apple Creative Studios, a global initiative that will provide career-building mentorship, professional industry skills training, creative resources, and access to Apple’s full product lineup of iPhone, iPad, and Mac to underrepresented communities across the globe. Creative Studios will launch first in Los Angeles and Beijing, followed by Bangkok, London, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. later this year. In each city, Apple will work hand-in-hand with nonprofit community organizations to connect youth with mentors and established artists.

Today at Apple Creative Studios programming will hone creative passion in areas such as music, film, photography, and art and design, and will be available to young people who face barriers to meaningful artistic education. Across eight to 12 weeks of programming, mentors — in collaboration with Apple and community partners — will take participants through a curriculum of hands-on sessions, insider industry knowledge, and provide ongoing feedback on participants’ creative projects. Alongside developing creative skills, our mentors and community partners will nurture participants’ self-expression and encourage them to spark social change within their own communities. At the end of programming, Apple will host a celebration and showcase of participants’ final works in their local Apple Store location or within the community.

“Creativity and access to education are core values for Apple, so we are absolutely thrilled to kick off Today at Apple Creative Studios in Los Angeles and Beijing and to bring this meaningful program to several more cities this year,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People. “Building on our long history of using stores as a venue to host local artists to educate and inspire, Creative Studios is one more way we’re providing free arts education to those who need it most.”

Today at Apple will also offer public sessions open to anyone, led by the inspiring artists who are providing mentorship experiences to the young participants in Today at Apple Creative Studios. Everyone is invited to register for these sessions at apple.com/today.

Today at Apple Creative Studios – LA

Today at Apple Creative Studios – LA focuses on developing the talents of young musicians. Working with the Music Forward Foundation and Inner-City Arts and Social Justice Learning Institute, Creative Studios LA will amplify up-and-coming talents’ stories over nine weeks of free programming where participants will learn creative direction, writing, and production. Participants will create a visual album — called “LA Love Letter” — that hones their new skills to share their stories through music, design, and imagery all by using iPad, Apple Pencil, Beats headphones, and iPhone, as well as GarageBand, Procreate, Notes, and the Camera app. The young creatives will have the guidance and mentorship from Grammy Award-winning producer Larrance “Rance” Dopson, documentary photographer and filmmaker Bethany Mollenkof, and Apple Music’s Global Editorial Head of Hip-Hop and R&B Ebro Darden, along with special one-off sessions taught by additional artists. Creative Studios LA will also give participants unprecedented access to Apple Music creatives and executives like Zane Lowe during its Industry Week, where they can ask experts for advice to take their journey further.

“Music Forward aims to transform young lives by breaking barriers of gender, poverty, and race, and bridging them to pathways of success,” said Nurit Smith, Music Forward Foundation’s executive director. “Apple shares our commitment to empowering diverse voices in the creative arts and we are proud to work hand-in-hand on Today at Apple Creative Studios – LA to spark creative discovery, chart careers, and provide opportunity to Los Angeles youth.”

Today at Apple Creative Studios – Beijing

In partnership with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and China Social Entrepreneur Foundation, Today at Apple Creative Studios – Beijing will provide hands-on experience and career-building mentorship to migrant youth living in Beijing who have not had a chance to express themselves creatively. Across 12 weeks, Beijing’s programming themes explore photography and videography, music, and app design through using iPad, Apple Pencil, Beats headphones, and iPhone, as well as GarageBand, iMovie, and Procreate. Mentors include iPhone photographer Eric Zhang, drummer Shi Lu, and app designer Sun Yong, among others.

“The youth is our future, and young people in China today have been born into a time of rapid economic growth and shoulder heavy responsibilities,” said Wang Peng, deputy executive director of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. “We are cooperating with Apple on Creative Studios Beijing as it aligns with our vision to integrate social resources and encourage young people to solve social problems in innovative ways, and be part of a new generation that is creative, collaborative, and socially responsible.”

Today at Apple Creative Studios builds on Apple’s history of providing free educational programming in Apple Store locations worldwide through Today at Apple, and career development opportunities through programs such as the Community Education Initiative. In the US, it expands on Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to help dismantle systemic barriers and advance racial equity.

In exchange for participating, each of these up-and-coming artists received a Yamaha acoustic guitar, accessories, and related gear as well as the opportunity to be spotlighted on Yamaha’s official social channels.

Check out each Music Forward alumni’s Yamaha experience below!

Interested in partnering with us in our mission of empowering the next generation of diverse artists and industry leaders? Learn more here.

I first heard of Music Forward from one of my friends, who previously received one of their scholarships. I applied for an internship with Music Forward and ended up receiving an email from them with an industry opportunity from their partner Primary Wave.

I hadn’t heard of Primary Wave before this, but I have had a budding interest in the music business. I really wanted to do an internship to explore what the industry looks like and this apprenticeship provided the opportunity for me to explore three different areas of the business within one internship and I thought it was super-unique so I decided to apply.

Music Forward helped me with my resume and with the application process. After submitting my resume and cover letter, I was invited by Primary Wave to participate in an interview with each of the department rotation leaders and the internship supervisor.

It was a really nice interview experience and I enjoyed meeting everyone. There was one moment during the interview that I thought I wasn’t going to get the role because there was a question they had to ask me three times as I didn’t really understand the question. However, I was transparent in my lack of understanding at that moment and after I was offered the role, my supervisor expressed that they actually really liked the way that I handled that situation. 

As my apprenticeship got underway, I realized that Primary Wave wears a lot of hats for an artist. They have departments for management, licensing, digital marketing, and brand partnerships.  At first I did wonder how the apprenticeship would all flow virtually. However, I was able to connect and build relationships with teams across the country because we were virtual and I’m not sure I would’ve had that opportunity otherwise. 

I did a lot of really cool things that I wasn’t expecting. I experienced three unique departments during my rotation – Marketing, Brand Partnerships, and Sync Licensing. In each department, I worked on some really cool things, like lookbooks for artists to align with brand partnerships. I also got to work on some more basic things like spreadsheets, which was great for acquiring more skills to better market myself for potential roles. 

The hardest rotation for me was probably Marketing, because it required learning many new skills that I developed like using Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and After Effects. I’ve never had to use those in a role so comprehensively in a professional setting, so it was definitely interesting to have to learn those things as a task on my agenda. Even though it was the most challenging, it definitely was very conducive to me learning and growing. Also, it was just super-cool to create a post and then see it on a legendary artist’s feed! 

During my Licensing rotation I had the opportunity to present pitches during the Friday Sync meetings. So, it was me sharing things like what songs in our catalog could be great to pitch for a commercial, a promo, for TV, a feature film, or a video game. It was great to play the song and to see everyone vibing on a Zoom call, getting into the headspace of where the song could fit.

My role was centered on me growing, learning, and observing in the industry and as a person. Within each department, and with each person that I was learning from I found that they each led in their own way and had different ways of giving feedback and direction. However, it was really cool to see those different styles because I realize you’re not always going to have the same type of supervisor in your career. Every single one of them was so great and answered all of my questions. I am really thankful for this opportunity with Primary Wave. It was definitely more than I even thought it was going to be, it was really cool!

Investments of philanthropic grants complements our other sources of funding and helps to broaden our reach of services. We continue to be a valuable partner to fulfill collective public goals in workforce development, providing information and tools to spark discovery, chart careers, and build sound futures for young people in the music industry.

Living Legacy Foundation’s Ballard Scholarship supports an outstanding youth in college pursuing a career in live entertainment, who has experienced homelessness and/or been a part of the foster care system. This is the third year we are partnering on this targeted gift which is, not only one of the few scholarships designed for students interested in the core aspects of the concert business, but also acknowledges the need to give students the financial bump needed to enroll in a degree they have a passion in such as music and boost their confidence in their ability to work toward a better future.

Music Drives Us has continued their support of our Blues SchoolHouse program in Boston, helping to produce a virtual show coming up on June 2^nd! With additional support from Boston Cultural Council, Boston’s youth will be able to experience, through an interactive, live musical presentation, how the history of the blues can serve as a musical timeline of American history and how blues music has influenced much of the music that we listen to today.

MUFG Union Bank Foundation, Norris Foundation, and Adams-Mastrovich Family Foundation grants power our workforce programs in Los Angeles. They partner with us on our core Creative Youth Development courses across the region and online. Their gifts encourage deeper community and educational partnerships and ensure our industry partners and professionals directly connect and mentor youth across Southern California. And New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation helps us do this in New Orleans!

Thank you to these foundations and all our philanthropic partners for your commitment to Music Forward and investment in our work. Together we will expand access and opportunity for youth across the country and break the barriers of gender, poverty and race into the industry so that all voices are heard and all youth dream big!

I had no idea what to expect before joining Music Forward’s Career Development spring cohort. After months of searching and applying for music opportunities, I was highly discouraged. My hope of breaking into the music industry seemed to be a distant reality. The COVID-19 pandemic certainly did not help the case.

One of my mentors, Andrew Surmani, recommended that I keep up with nonprofit organizations for future opportunities. Specifically, Music Forward Foundation. As a fan of the House of Blues and Live Nation, it was a perfect fit. Some time went by before I received a notice that applications were being accepted for the Office Hours Career Development Series. When I first applied, the cohort was at full capacity and then a week later I received an email that space had become available with a confirmation to join. I was ecstatic for the opportunity to learn from industry professionals and network with students who have similar career goals.

The Music Forward team, DeMarco and Chelsea, leading the series were always lively and inviting while presenting information which kept the webinars engaging. For all of us students, Zoom has become an integral part of our days and at some point, meetings overlap and staring at a screen becomes tiresome. However, my experiences in the Office Hours Career Development workshops were never dull. Every meeting was structured with a clear goal in mind and most of the time we wanted the meetings to go on longer because we had fun engaging with each other. I also appreciated receiving the emails with materials before our meetings because I was able to look-up the industry professionals before each workshop and prepare myself.

In Office Hours, I felt confident learning from successful industry professionals while comfortable enough to ask questions. This allowed me to get the most out of the workshops, such as “Professional Pitch”. I learned how to create and deliver my pitch with the help of PR expert Debra Olshan-Cooper. I learned what brief information to include in my pitch such as my current job, career goals, and highlights/awards. Constructing my resume is also something I’ve struggled with for years. After editing my peer’s resume and receiving feedback on my own, I realized the importance of how you tell your story. My old resume was vague, but my updated one is concise with an active tone and quantified accomplishments. Thanks to the critique from my peers and Music Forward, I’ve received two follow-up opportunities for music internships, less than a month after completing the series!

My most memorable moment was the final “Meet a Mentor” workshop.

Jai Dior Hawkins, an artist manager and music business maven, was my mentor. Jai shared his experience, from being a student at UCLA to working for Bad Boy Records and Blue Flame Agency. Jai had amazing words of wisdom to offer. He encouraged us to be as multifaceted as possible in the pursuit of finding our niche.

When I asked, “What is the determining factor for long-term success vs a short run in this business?,” Jai answered, “Remain authentic and be yourself.”

In an industry where everyone wants to be next, this simple advice is key. It’s easy to forget who you are or your “why” which is what mentors like Kristen Juel, Founder/CEO of Juel Concepts, encouraged us to hold onto.

Overall, my experience in Music Forward’s Office Hours Career Development series this spring has been pivotal in the beginning stages of my music business career. Now I can confidently network, deliver an effective pitch, present a stronger resume, have a better understanding of what it takes to be successful in this industry, and be connected to a talented network of peers.

I am extremely grateful to have participated in this series. I’d recommend this program to any student or young professional with aspirations of breaking into the music scene.

One final piece of advice I’d offer to future cohort members is to take notes, take initiative, and always remember to thank those who pour into you along the way.

Concord recognizes the important role that charitable, nonprofit organizations play in the communities where its employees live and work. In addition to its Corporate Charitable Donations Program and the Community Giving Committee, Concord encourages employees to volunteer their time and energy (Volunteer Program) and/or to make matching donations (Company Match Program), to community organizations that will benefit from their efforts and generosity like Music Forward.

Here is a recap of our activations that featured Concord professionals giving back to the community:

• Dec 3rd: Artist Development Workshop: How to Get Music Placements- Young artists learn what professionals are looking for sync placements and how to submit their music and have success as an artist.
  • Karen Kloack, SVP, Sync Marketing- Recorded Music

• Dec 8th: Industry Sessions Panel: The World of A&R with Concord– A&R is focused on music and artists. From scouting talent and artist development, to creative input and liaising with labels, the gatekeepers and tastemakers across genres at Concord share their insights.
  • Pablo Ahogado- Director, A&R – Publishing
  • Margi Cheske-  President, Fantasy Records – Recorded Music
  • Chris Dunn- Senior Director, A&R – Recorded Music
  • Jeremy Yohai- SVP, A&R – Publishing

• Dec 9th: Career Development Workshop: Careers in A&R – Learn A&R career insights, how A&R professionals scout talent and oversee the development of rising stars in the industry.
  • Dan Bearman – International West Coast A&R Manager – Publishing
  • Anna Carpenter- Director, International A&R – Publishing

• Dec 11th: Office Hours – Young people connect directly with industry professionals during 1-hour group mentoring sessions.
  • Roxy King-  A&R Coordinator –  Publishing
  • Bradly Palmer-  A&R Manager – Publishing

Our program participants were thankful for the opportunity to connect with the Concord professionals and the great advice that the Concord professionals offered them.  Taja Rochelle, who participated in the Office Hours program shared, “It’s refreshing to know that it’s okay to not have it all figured out. You just have to go in, make movement, especially in the arts; you know everything isn’t going to be perfect,  but that’s the beautiful part of creating. Thank you, Roxy.”

As Music Forward continues to bridge our communities to the music industry, partnerships and collaborations with great partners like Concord will continue to be key as we empower our future leaders and create momentum to redefine what is possible for the youth and industry we serve.

WATCH THE FULL INDUSTRY SESSIONS: “THE WORLD OF A&R WITH CONCORD” VIDEO ON DEMAND