LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Live Nation (LN) has announced Live Nation NextGen, a new career development program focusing on helping young people, primarily from Black and Latinx communities, prepare for careers in the business of live music. Live Nation NextGen has partnered with SoLa Impact’s I Can Foundation at SoLa’s new Tech and Entrepreneurship Center in South LA, where the organization is providing training to inspire future leaders.
The program consists of a 10-week program of courses for local students ages 16 to 21. Each week, the students run through a curriculum and learn from a host of industry professionals, volunteer advisory board members, and LN executives. The program allows the students to go behind the scenes and see how live entertainment happens. The program ends with the students producing their own youth-led, live music festival on June 18th at the SoLa Beehive.
“It is critical that our young people are equipped to become executives, producers, managers, engineers, and professionals in the music and entertainment industry,” says 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 color 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.”
In addition, LN has also funded the creation of a jam room at the Tech Center where community members can perform, record, train, and learn music-related skills, all free of charge to South LA students.
