At Spotify, we empower and amplify the voices of underrepresented creators by carving out spaces for new stories and perspectives to be shared and heard. NextGen, funded by Spotify's Creator Equity Fund, is our ongoing program designed to infuse, activate, and grow podcast culture on college campuses. It supplies students across the U.S. with the audio skills they need to pursue their dreams.
Since partnering with our first HBCU-Spelman College in Atlanta-and announcing an audio-first NextGen curriculum and weeklong Spotify Labs Creator Program at our first NextGen Creator Day at Spelman, we've been working diligently alongside our partners to empower and support the next generation of Black audio creators.
But there's still more to do. And we're excited to highlight a few upcoming initiatives.
Renovating Spelman's Podcast Studio Spotify Studios refurbished and modernized Spelman College's existing on-campus podcast studio, fully outfitting the space with state-of-the-art podcasting and video recording equipment and personalized design touches. We also provided portable audio equipment for students and faculty to utilize in the field. The newly renovated studio and mobile equipment will serve as focal points for hosting guest speakers and collaborative projects. We're excited for students to use the space to create a variety of content, following in the footsteps of their original podcast, Emmett Till: The Cultural Afterlife of an American Boy.
Unveiling Our New NextGen x HBCU Partner Schools: Hampton University and North Carolina A&T State University The Spotify Creator Equity Fund has committed over $100K in scholarship funding for students at both Hampton University's Scripps Howard School of Journalism And Communications and North Carolina A&T State University's ACEJMC-accredited Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.
To kick things off at Hampton, we partnered with the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications to bring Spotify's Opening Act Roadshow to campus for a one-day internship informational session. This event offered Hampton students exposure to Spotify thought leaders-Kristin Jarrett, Lead, Equity & Impact and Creator Equity; LaShanti Jenkins, Global Head of Early Career Pipeline Team; and Briana Younger, Editorial Lead, Hip Hop-as well as skill-building workshops and networking opportunities. Students also saw firsthand what a career path in the tech and audio industries would look like, and they participated in a live playlist challenge. In the spring, we'll also be selecting scholarship winners from the school, donating audio equipment to the campus, and working closely with faculty to support students in their content creation.
Stay tuned for more on our NextGen Audio initiatives at both schools throughout the 2023-2024 academic calendar year!
Collaborating with Howard University and Nikole Hannah-Jones We recently partnered with professor and Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones to bring a podcast narrative course based on the 1619 Project to Howard University during the 2023 fall semester. As students worked with Hannah-Jones to transform their narrative essays into a podcast that will be available on our platform, Spotify experts taught them about audio production. We also donated audio and recording equipment for students to use to create a three-episode podcast series that explores Black culture and influence and the legacies of slavery in America. We will be hosting a listening party for students in January 2024.
Continuing our work with USC Annenberg This year, NextGen's collaboration with the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, including the USC Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab, will focus efforts toward open dialogue and career development for aspiring podcast creators from marginalized backgrounds. Throughout the fall, we've been providing USC students the opportunity to hear from top audio creator Edwin Covarrubias of Scary Stories, Wondery podcast producer and LA Times writer Dave Schilling, and author and What A Day host Tre'vell Anderson. We've also provided students access to Spotify executives-Creator Partner Manager Amber Watkins; Production Operations Lead Michelle Kitchen; Senior Program Ops Manager Nichole Henderson; and Community Development Lead Christabel Nsiah-Buadi.
On Thursday, November 9, we welcomed 30 USC Annenberg students with a passion for audio storytelling to a Careers in Podcasting day at Spotify's Los Angeles office to learn more about what a career path in audio looks like in 2023 and beyond.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
At Spotify, we empower and amplify the voices of underrepresented creators by carving out spaces for new stories and perspectives to be shared and heard. NextGen, funded by Spotify's Creator Equity Fund, is our ongoing program designed to infuse, activate, and grow podcast culture on college campuses. It supplies students across the U.S. with the audio skills they need to pursue their dreams. 
