{
  "id": 14775229,
  "title": "Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective & Amazon Music Announce 2026 HBCU Scholarship Recipients",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/recording-academys-black-music-collective-amazon-music-announce-2026",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-15T19:33:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Billboard",
    "slug": "billboard",
    "url": "https://www.billboard.com/pro/recording-academy-amazon-music-2026-hbcu-scholarships/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Recording Academy and Amazon Music have revealed the recipients of their 2026 \"Your Future Is Now\" scholarship program. Sponsored by the Recording Academy's Black Music Collective (BMC) and Amazon Music, the scholarship initiative, launched in 2021, aims to nurture the next wave of music industry leaders at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The program offers five students a $10,000 scholarship, networking chances with top music industry executives, a hands-on rotational experience with department leaders from both the Academy and Amazon Music, and an invitation to attend 2027 Grammy Week events.\n\nIn addition to the student scholarships, the BMC and Amazon Music also grant two HBCUs $10,000 to purchase equipment for their music programs. This is the fifth year of the program, which has thus far distributed $220,000 in scholarships to 22 HBCU students and $100,000 in grants to 10 HBCU music programs. This year's scholarship winners are Anton Hopewell Jr. from Howard University, Dana Thompson Jr. from Spelman College, Kennedi Paschal Jr. from Howard University, Kyler M Reese, a Senior at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, and Tinuola Osuntusa Jr. from Virginia State University.\n\nMoreover, two HBCUs, Howard University and Spelman College, were awarded $10,000 grants to boost their music programs with new equipment. The Black Music Collective, an advisory board of music industry luminaries, is committed to enhancing opportunities for Black music creators and promoting greater representation across the music sector. Backed by the Recording Academy's DREAM Network, the Collective acts as a central resource for creators and business leaders in various genres.",
  "summary": "Now in its fifth year, the program has awarded a total of $220,000 in scholarships to 22 HBCU students, as well as $100,000 in grants to 10 HBCU music programs.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}