UMG & UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music Launch Berry Gordy Music Industry Scholarship

The launch of The Berry Gordy Music Industry Scholarship at The Herb Alpert School of Music was announced today (June 30) by Universal Music Group (UMG) in partnership with The UCLA Foundation. The new scholarship — which will support students enrolled in the school’s Music Industry program — is the next chapter in the 2024 establishment of The Berry Gordy Music Industry Center at the school.

In announcing the new scholarship, Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge said in a statement, “For more than 65 years, Berry Gordy’s name has been synonymous with artistry and the transformative power of music. Through this scholarship, UMG is honoring his enduring legacy by investing in a new generation of young people who will help carry that spirit forward — creators and changemakers who will have an opportunity to reflect the innovation and entrepreneurial genius that Mr. Gordy helped bring to the world through Motown, Tamla and the pioneering sound of Detroit.”

“I am thrilled that my friend Sir Lucian Grainge and Universal Music Group have committed to support this program with their endowment that will help open doors for many more students and continue to pave the way for music to be a force for good and change,” added Gordy. “The center provides vital opportunities for students at UCLA to help prepare for careers in the music industry, so that future generations of young talent will continue to innovate, inspire and bring together culture and communities through the power of music.”  

Chosen by the director of The Berry Gordy Music Industry Center each year, a student exhibiting academic excellence and demonstrated financial need will be honored as a Berry Gordy Scholar and receive funding toward tuition, housing and other educational expenses. Recipients will also be eligible to receive the award in consecutive years, depending on continued financial need and academic engagement.

“UMG’s partnership with The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music reflects our belief that increasing access to education and professional training is a powerful tool for transforming the music industry,” commented Robert Fink, acting dean of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and director of The Berry Gordy Music Industry Center. “This endowment ensures that the next generation of music executives, artists and entrepreneurs will not only be inspired by Berry Gordy’s legacy of innovation but also equipped to build on it.”

The Berry Gordy Music Industry Scholarship also works in alliance with UMG’s three-year-old, ongoing Sounds of the Future campaign. Established by UMG’s Task Force for Meaningful Change in 2023, the campaign supports initiatives promoting Black creativity, the preservation of cultural heritage and equity in the music industry. According to the press announcement, the scholarship is also aimed at directly supporting Sounds of the Future’s “invest” pillar, which is focused on “advancing the commitment to schools, institutions and community-led programs that preserve and pass down the creative legacy of Black music for generations to come.”

Included among the investment initiatives launched by Sounds of the Future this year thus far are donations to two nonprofit organizations: Roots of Music in New Orleans and Girls Make Beats in Los Angeles. And, in honor of Black Music Month, UMG hosted an immersive art installation at its Santa Monica, Calif., headquarters, curated in partnership with the Brooklyn-based archive concept shop BLK MKT Vintage. The installation also featured a specially curated Sounds of the Future playlist spotlighting past and present culture-shaping artists.