Mumbai: With a goal to spotlight and nurture India’s growing audio community, Spotify has launched 'Sound Up', a global program created to identify underrepresented communities. It enables participants to hone their podcast skills through training, mentoring, workshops, and full-program support provided by the audio streaming platform. In India, Spotify will focus on women as an underrepresented community, with the hope to bring more female talent into India's thriving audio ecosystem.
The facilitators for this free program include renowned radio presenter, journalist, podcast producer, and audio content & production consultant - Mae Mariyam Thomas and an eminent writer, producer, and original content creator - Riya Mukherjee. Ten finalists will be chosen to attend the program later this year.
Spotify global lead-Sound Up, Natalie Tulloch said, “Since its launch in 2018, Sound Up has successfully supported the voices of underrepresented communities with an aim to tackle inequity. The program seeks to identify opportunities for new talent, and we are eager to find and represent unique female storytellers from India. Ultimately, we want to create a cascading effect where, as we support more women, they in turn act as role models and empower other women in their network to dial up the female voice in the audio industry."
“And to ensure everyone has equal access to resources and technology, Spotify will provide computers, internet access, and podcast recording equipment to the Sound Up participants," she added.
Earlier this year, Spotify launched AmplifiHer in India, a sustained initiative that includes women across music and podcasts, inspiring upcoming talent through their own career paths and stories of success and failure, and EQUAL, which caters to female artists and podcasters, by featuring them prominently on the platform.
In the past, Sound Up has been offered to women and non-binary people of color in the US, UK, Ireland, and Sweden; young people of colour from the Periferias in Brazil; and members of the LGBTIQA+ community in Germany.
Interested candidates above the age of 18 can now apply online until 26 July, with more details available at soundupindia2021.splashthat.com/.
