Live Nation announces career development programme

Live Nation has teamed with not-for-profit organisation SoLa Impact’s I Can Foundation to launch a new career development programme in the US.

The Live Nation Next Gen scheme is focused on helping young people, primarily from Black and Latinx communities, prepare for careers in the live music industry via free education and training at SoLa’s new Technology and Entrepreneurship Center in south Los Angeles.

The programme features an intensive 10-week programme of courses for local students ages 16 to 21. Each week the students are guided through a curriculum and learning from a host of industry professionals, volunteer advisory board members, and Live Nation executives. The sessions will cover various aspects of creating and managing live entertainment including budgeting, artist relations, booking, marketing, and ticketing.

It will culminate with the students producing their own youth-led live music festival at the SoLa Beehive on 18 June, with each student receiving a portion of the festival’s profits.

“We saw the opportunity to cultivate a direct path to building a more diverse pipeline for young people into our business”

“We saw the opportunity to cultivate a direct path to building a more diverse pipeline for young people into our business by investing in and partnering with the SoLa community,” says Ali Harnell, Live Nation Women president. “We want these kids to understand the opportunities there are to work in live music, and that Live Nation is a pathway for them to become the next generation of great minds influencing the live music business.”

Live Nation has also funded the creation of a jam room at the Tech center where members of the community can perform, record, train, and learn music-related skills, all free of charge to South LA students.

“So much of today’s music and popular culture has been built and nurtured through the creativity of Black and brown artists. It is critical that our young people are equipped to become executives, producers, managers, engineers, and professionals in the music and entertainment industry,” adds Sherri Francois, executive director of the SoLa I Can Foundation. “In Live Nation, we found a partner that was equally committed to creating a long-term pipeline of talented executives of colour in the music and live entertainment industry. It is impressive to see Live Nation’s intentionality in ensuring that diversity, equity and inclusion are pillars shaping the future of entertainment and technology.”

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