A2IM Announces Fellows for 2021 Black Independent Music Accelerator

The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization representing nearly 700 independent music labels, has announced the fellows for its inaugural Black Independent Music Accelerator (BIMA) program, a fellowship grant initiative created to amplify Black voices in the independent music community.

Fellows taking part in the 2021 BIMA program include: 180 Proof, Art Vs Transit, Build Your Own Dreams, Carnelian Productions, Chaos Club Entertainment, The Clarion Group, Creambridge, Doite Media, Electric Train Records, First One Up, glbl wrmng, Hutton Records, I Am Leven, Jazz Is Dead, JT Entertainment, Lauretta Records, Live TMG, Never Normal Records, Para Music Group, ProSound Media, SaulPaul Productions, Sending You Creative Entertainment, Sonnig Records, SpacedOut Studios Entertainment, Stay Solid Entertainment, Suckas Can't Join Records, Thndr, TouchedDown Sound, Verse and Hook, VICEVERSA, and The Zenzalai Group.

BIMA provides a platform for Black-owned businesses in the music industry, expanding visibility, networking, and mentorship opportunities for rising business owners. The program seeks to remove the financial barriers that often pose significant obstacles for minority-owned, independent music businesses, offering subsidized yearly dues to A2IM, as well as complimentary tickets to annual events such as Indie Week, independent music's largest conference taking place June 14-17 and featuring four days of virtual networking, talks, mixers, and more.

Opportunities offered through the BIMA initiative include meetings with the A2IM staff and Board of Directors, A2IM member-led mentorship sessions, and legal roundtables to sessions with SoundExchange and meetings with DSPs including Spotify and Amazon Music to discuss available marketing benefits. BIMA fellows will also receive label-to-label mentorship within the A2IM community as well as the opportunity to build relationships with streaming platforms.

BIMA is overseen by an Advisory Council, which includes Madeline Nelson, CEO and Founder of Heads Music; Troy Carter, Founder and CEO of Q&A; Fotemah Mba, Head of A&R, General Market at Cinq Music Group; Taryn Brown, Founding Principal at Taryn Brown + Company; Chissy Nkemere, Senior Director of Streaming Marketing at Concord and Global Co-Chair Diversity & Inclusion/Board Member at Women in Music; Henoch Moore, Head of Marketing, North America at Warp Records; along with Marcus Hollinger, SVP of Marketing at Reach Records.

With a Board of Directors that is more diverse than ever and the launch of BIMA to invest in the long-term growth of Black-owned music businesses and their leaders, A2IM is looking forward to continuing to find new ways to amplify diversity in the independent music industry.

BIMA is presented in partnership with a long list of sponsors, including Spotify, Amazon Music, Made in Memphis Entertainment, ADA, Reach Records, Songtrust, Taryn Brown + Company, Tunecore, Paperchain, Mad Decent, Materia Collective, AdRev, Symphonic Distribution, SoundExchange, Vydia, and Xelon Digital.

To learn more about BIMA, please visit here.

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