Berkeley Music Group

The Berkeley Music Group (bmg) raised 6.8m funds for the renovation and re-purposing of the uc theatre into a Music venue in april of 2016 thanks to community minded people and foundations with great philanthropic heart who invested in and sustained our efforts to provide inclusive, diverse, and culturally rich Music programming, as well as transformative youth education programs. The uc theatre presents a diverse range of local, national and international artists and bands featuring the best in live entertainment. Bmg is dedicated to ensuring that the uc theatre strengthens the bay areas vibrant fabric of nonprofit arts and service organizations, while building a collaborative network of community partnerships with existing education, performing arts, and youth development nonprofits as well as to assist them with their fundraising and outreach through events at the uc theatre.

Bmgs concert career pathways youth education program teaches young people ages 17 to 25 the technical, creative, and business aspects of concert and event promotion. Our concert career pathways education program (ccp) seeks to remove the barriers of entry into the Music business for underserved communities. This nine month experimental workforce development program develops critical and creative thinking skills necessary to become successful in the 21st-century workplace. Bmgs hands-on work-based learning model is a combination of free workshops and paid internships where young people learn the best practices in essential jobs such as: production manager, event coordinator, stage manager, floor manager, box office operations, bar operations, talent buying, event budgeting, traditional marketing, social media marketing, promotions, community development, and more. Bmg offers these programs to youth attending local schools and underserved youth through partnerships with established nonprofit community organizations, and the general public. Bmgs ccp grads come from a diverse range of backgrounds; 50% are young women, 70% are people of color, over half are from low-income households. 80% of program graduates have been successfully placed in jobs, and most of them live up and down the hwy 80 corridor from san pablo to san leandro. In order to ensure that the program is accessible to young people for underserved communities, bmg formed an educational advisory committee, which is comprised of numerous nonprofit youth development organizations who work in these communities. Despite the wealth in the bay area, teenagers and young adults, particularly low-income youth of color, struggle to find educational opportunities that lead to living wage jobs. Ccp provides hands-on job experiences, fostering the understanding of work as an integral and satisfying aspect of life, and connecting youth passionate about Music business to a field in which there are current job opportunities and career ladders. Now more than ever, removing the barriers to entry in the workforce for people of color and the lgbtq community is critical to embrace and support. In general, Music industry management programs, like many industries in the united states, lack equity, diversity, and inclusion. The uc theatre believes that bringing together young leaders from a variety of backgrounds with diverse perspectives will help create a more equitable and diverse industry and provide a space for underserved youth to have their voices heard by their peers, some of whom come from more privileged backgrounds, providing exposure to and immersion in diverse voices and ideas. This unique management program supports up and coming leaders of the bay area that hold promise for reimagining the Music industry in ways that advance intergenerational and multicultural leadership, inclusion and equity.