
Burgeoning creators on college campuses across the U.S. are already harnessing their creativity for great ideas for the future of audio. At Spotify, we know that once they get the tools they need to amplify their voices, they'll be able to bring their stories to the world.
Enter NextGen, a program from Spotify for Podcasters designed to activate and grow podcast culture on college campuses, and make a career in podcasting more accessible for the next generation of Black content creators and storytellers. NextGen is funded by Spotify's Creator Equity Fund, which powers our commitment to showcasing and uplifting creators from communities that have been historically underrepresented in the audio industry.
We currently offer NextGen programming at New York University, the University of Southern California, and the University of Pennsylvania. We announced last fall that we'd be expanding the program to historically Black colleges and university (HBCU) campuses across the U.S., starting with Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Yesterday, during our first-ever NextGen Creator Day at Spelman, we announced three ways we're broadening our partnership and further supporting students aspiring to work in the audio industry.
NextGen Curriculum Program Spelman is offering a custom, audio-first curriculum designed to upskill students in the art of podcasting. It's co-created with Spelman faculty, starting with Dr. Michelle Hite, and Spotify's SoundUp team. The curriculum shows students how to design an audio newsroom, edit content, and produce a final podcast in place of a traditional paper or presentation.
We have more than 50 students who have reported having already created their own podcasts, and more than double that number who have indicated an early interest in a career in the audio industry, says Dr. Hite. These numbers weren't surprising to me because Spelman students have routinely indicated a sophisticated understanding of the importance of storytelling as a needed companion to their investment in social justice. Our students value storytelling as an instrument for expanding how people confront the possibilities for how Black lives can be imagined and considered. This partnership with Spotify gives them an opportunity to learn how to enhance and professionalize their interests.
The Spotify NextGen Scholarship Program This multiyear scholarship is for five first-year Spelman students interested in pursuing a career in audio media, including podcasting, storytelling, writing, sound engineering, and music. Each recipient will receive a $10,000 scholarship during their sophomore, junior, and senior years.
Spotify Labs Creator Program During a weeklong incubator program, the Spotify for Podcasters team will train aspiring podcasters with the goal of launching a new podcast. Students will participate in a series of interactive workshops that teach them how to successfully develop, launch, and grow a podcast using Spotify for Podcasters-our new, all-in-one podcast creation platform. Students who complete the lab will have a chance to win a podcast starter pack and have their show on the Spotify Student hub.
Leading with audio and centering it in our approach has led us to capturing our voices and the sounds of our environment in compelling ways, explains Dr. Hite. It has allowed us to establish an oral history in the classroom, and in doing so, we have expanded the register for hearing an environment of inquiry that reflects on Black people thinking about Black children-as well as other Black people-with love, respect, and probing. In Spotify, we have a committed partner who understands the importance of our objective and is skilled in storytelling that involves the richness of this landscape of Black life and can help guide us toward recovering parts of the story that we didn't know how to tell or capture so that it so profoundly reflects what we experience.
Together, we're setting out to create a new class of Black content creators-equipping them with tools and resources to develop their podcast skill sets and ultimately making a career in audio more accessible for the next generation of storytellers, said Spotify Equity & Impact Lead Kristin Jarrett. But this is just the beginning, and I'm eager to expand Spotify's NextGen program to more HBCU campuses in the future.
Lessons from the best in the biz In addition to the announcements, students heard from Congresswoman Nikema Williams, Spotify executives including Kristin Jarrett, and attended a fireside chat with Nailing It co-host Wunmi Bello and We Said What We Said hosts Rickey Thompson and Denzel Dion.
I'm so grateful to this partnership at Spotify for uplifting students and continuing to highlight more black excellence in this country, said the congresswoman. Spotify is coming in at a time when a lot of people are saying they want to support HBCUs, but they are stepping up and doing it.
For the Record also asked Wunmi, Rickey, and Denzel to reflect on their creative journeys and imagine themselves in the students' shoes.
What's one piece of advice you would have for your 18-year-old self? Rickey Thompson: Have fun and stop worrying about what others think!
Denzel Dion: Looking back with all the knowledge and experience I have now, there's not one change or risk that I wish I could've taken. I've taken all the risks in order to get to where I am today. I was young, ambitious, and had a goal. To make this happen, I had to move to LA at 17. But a piece of advice I have for my 18-year-old self is to ask for help when necessary.
Wunmi Bello: Be OK with making mistakes. Try not to see them as failures, as they add so much texture and knowledge to the journey. When I was younger, I felt like I had to do everything at once, and the reality is thi
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
18/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
18/06/2026
PTZOptics has unveiled new Visual Reasoning demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 (Boo...
18/06/2026
IBC2026 will take place at the RAI Amsterdam from September 11-14, bringing toge...
18/06/2026
InfoComm 2026 held its first-ever Media Day on June 17, providing journalists an...
18/06/2026
FOR-A America has announced a Trade Agreements Act (TAA)-compliant LED display solution combining Alfalite's Litepix LED displays and Brompton Technology...
18/06/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level have one major thing in common: the intensity and attention to detail ramps up dur...
18/06/2026
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and TMRW Sports have an...
18/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has unveiled Io Xpand, a Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion ...
18/06/2026
ESPN has announced its coverage plans for the 30th anniversary of the WNBA's...
18/06/2026
FOX Sports' Big Noon Kickoff will broadcast live from Wembley Stadium in Lon...
18/06/2026
InfoComm 2026 opened on Wednesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, bringing t...
18/06/2026
As media companies look to deliver more live, VOD, and snackable sports content ...
18/06/2026
Top L-R: Take Me Home, The Lake
Bottom L-R: TheyDream, Union County
Free Summer Screening Series Announced
Screenings for the Local Utah Community at...
18/06/2026
Improvements & new IR content
iamReverb Audio have just launched a free update that kits their convolution reverb plug-in out with some new features and int...
18/06/2026
Modelling suite gains improved captures, iOS support & more
Two notes Audio Engineering have just announced the launch of Genome 2.0, a significant update t...
18/06/2026
New AI assistance feature, video overhaul & more
VSL have just announced the launch of Vienna Ensemble Pro 8.1 and 8.1V, a pair of major updates to their ev...
18/06/2026
The average daily TV screen time in May was 3 hours and 36 minutes, marking a clear decrease of 15 minutes compared to April. This trend proved to be much stron...
18/06/2026
Integration embeds Gracenote content intelligence, including contextual segments...
18/06/2026
AJA Video Systems unveiled Io Xpand, a high-performance Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion chassis for AJA KONA and Corvid video and audio I/O cards. As dema...
18/06/2026
New NVRT-driven workflow enables on-demand traffic mirroring and guided troubleshooting for AV teams, integrators, and support organizations ahead of InfoComm 2...
18/06/2026
At InfoComm 2026, Mavis announced a major update to Mavis Studio, its live production app for the iPad, with new features designed to make professional AV produ...
18/06/2026
Transaction Positions Harmonic as a Pure-Play Broadband Company
Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in virtualized broadband solutions, today a...
18/06/2026
ACT Entertainment and NETGEAR have announced a strategic partnership that establishes verified interoperability between NETGEAR Switches and key technologies fr...
18/06/2026
IBC2026 is set to bring the global media, entertainment and technology community together at the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September, enabling industry players f...
18/06/2026
Pliant Technologies is proud to introduce CrewCom Flex , the world's first frameless matrix intercom system and the only complete matrix IP-based intercom s...
18/06/2026
The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced that a new cohort of members has joined the strategic initiative: ActionStreamer, Antigravity, Creative Artists Agen...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Linda May Han Oh Receives Guggenheim Fellowship The Berklee professor, bassist, and composer will use the fellowship to debut Dreams of Knowing, an interdisci...
18/06/2026
Techtel delivers Haivision live streaming system for TAFE NSW St Leonards, enabl...
18/06/2026
New study reveals 10 hidden data drainers costing Brits hundreds abroad - and the holiday hotspots where you could get rinsed the mostThursday 18 June 2026
The...
18/06/2026
Thursday 18 June 2026
How to watch the 2026/27 Scottish Premiership season on Sky Sports
Which matches are Sky Sports showing on the 2026/27 Scottish Premiers...
18/06/2026
Thursday 18 June 2026
Sky Sale: Latest deals now on, with discounts on iPhone Air & 2.5Gbps speeds
The latest deals have dropped from Sky Mobile, the award-wi...
18/06/2026
FOX Advertising and Toonstar Team to Create New Opportunities for Brands in Digi...
18/06/2026
Arqiva's Crawley Court and Chalfont Grove teleports re-certified at highest World Teleport Association standard
18 June 2026, Winchester, UK - Arqiva, the ...
18/06/2026
Apple today announced changes impacting iOS apps in Brazil that reflect a recent agreement with Brazil's competition regulator, the Conselho Administrativo ...
18/06/2026
Play favorite titles from popular game libraries, keep progress synced and jump ...
18/06/2026
The digital era gave the advertising and marketing industry speed; the AI era is giving it autonomous operations.
For companies building next-generation techn...
17/06/2026
EVS has announced it has received the EcoVadis Gold Medal for sustainability performance, ranking among the top 5% of companies globally in the Technology/Mid-S...
17/06/2026
Chyron has released Weather 2.4, an update to its weather suite for broadcasters and meteorologists. The release focuses on enhancements to the DataFlow module,...
17/06/2026
VSiN, The Sports Betting Network, has announced the launch of Best Bets TV, a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel. The 24/7 channel is currently avail...
17/06/2026
DAZN's Team Whistle and Snap Inc. have announced a creator program centered ...
17/06/2026
LiveU is providing video transmission technology for broadcasters, production companies, and public safety agencies across North America's busy Summer of So...
17/06/2026
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) has announced that Laurens Grant and Jacob Ullman have joined its Board of Directors. Chief of Staf...