Symphonic’s Women Empowerment+ Program doubled this year
As part of International Women’s Month, Symphonic launched the Women Empowerment++, a mentorship program aimed to further the progress of women throughout the music industry. 💪🚺
by Janette Berrios from the Symphonic Blog
After experiencing the immense success of their 2022 program, 2023 doubled their mentees from 56 to an impressive 110 mentors across various scopes of the industry. Their mentees also increased from 160 to a whopping 190 mentees matched, bringing everything to a total of 165 mentors and 340 mentees, spanning the United States, Latin America, The Caribbean, Canada, Europe, Brazil, and Africa.
Senior Mentors involved with the program include:
- Portia Sabin, Music Business Association, President
- Virginia P Brick, Women’s Music Business Association (WMBA Nashville), President
- Rhea Ghosh, Cosynd, US Chief Marketing Officer
- Sharon Tapper, US Music Managers Forum, Executive Director
- Barbara Ocasio, Sound Royalties, VP of Operations
- Sara Gozalo, YouTube Music, Head of Music Label Partner Engineering
- Rachel Scarpati, Warner Music Group, Senior Director, Digital Strategy & Business Development
- Sarah Janiszewski, TIDAL, Senior Manager of Label Relations
- Julie Fernandez, Vevo, Senior Manager, Latin Artist & Label Relations
- Fernanda Bas, Meta Brazil, Strategic Partner Manager
- Marie Fol, Keychange, Lead
- Courtney Young, Too Lost, Head of Label Services/Marketing Manager
- Pamela Bustios, Billboard Magazine, Sr. Charts/Data Analyst
“We’re deeply gratified by the overwhelming support our program has received this year. Mentorships play a pivotal role in our industry, empowering women at every career stage with invaluable feedback, guidance, and tools to shape and achieve their aspirations. These relationships can profoundly influence one’s life decisions and career path. We’re honored to contribute, even if modestly, to fostering growth and bolstering confidence for women in the music industry.” – Janette Berrios, VP of Corporate Marketing
The program was originally established to help open doors in an industry where women have statistically been underrepresented in leadership roles. With Women Empowerment+, mentees get the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the music industry’s business practices and culture, focus their efforts, and hone their skills with some of the best in the business.
“The Symphonic Women Empowered Mentorship Program has been an awesome experience. I am so grateful to have been connected with my mentor, Maria! She has provided me with invaluable advice from her work and life experiences, helping me shape the next step in my career. Maria really has gone above and beyond to support me. I look forward to continuing our mentor/mentee relationship!” – Stephanie Falvo Liang, Senior Manager, Artist Relations, Business Development, Mentee
“Being a mentor and connecting with a woman my age seeking guidance in the industry was incredibly gratifying as I remember trying to find my place and constantly feeling confused but fearful of seeking guidance. There was less inclusivity and this program is eradicating that notion. Being able to help my mentee formulate her resume, build out her freelance clientele and ultimately land a gig. Everyone in this industry is “busy” but the choice to make time to participate in this program is one of the most gratifying ones I’ve made to date!” – Courtney Young, Head of Label Services, Too Lost, Mentor
When can I sign up?
This program launches again on Mar 11, 2023, opening applications for mentees until March 22, 2023.
Stay tuned for next round of applications.
