Legendary founder of Motown Records
Motown Records founder Berry Gordy has pledged a $5 million gift to UCLA to establish the UCLA Berry Gordy Music Industry Center, it was announced this week.
The new center, launching in the 2024/25 academic year, will be part of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.
“I’m thrilled to create a center that provides opportunities for students at UCLA to prepare for careers in the music industry,” Gordy said in a statement.
“Music is powerful, inspiring, universal, crossing over political, cultural, social and economic barriers. It reaches all people and has been the guiding force in my life. These students will be the future innovators, artists, and executives that will lead us through the 21st century.”
A key component of the center will be initiatives designed to enhance career support, interweaving the music industry program with programs designed to support students as they launch into their music industry careers, especially students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, according to UCLA.
“This center will position the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music to become the leading music industry program in the world,” Eileen Strempel, inaugural dean of the school of music, said.
“It will help empower us to recruit and attract the best faculty and students, and to conduct research in cutting-edge fields. Thanks to Mr. Gordy’s gift our program will be the leading force in shaping the 21st century music industry.”
UCLA said the center will support the development of new courses and specialized curriculum in songwriting and production. It will also provide funding for the building of partnerships with primary and secondary schools to foster awareness of music industry careers.
Research sponsored by the center will investigate the intersection of technology and streaming algorithms with the concerns of social justice, Strempel said.
