Do you identify as a Black, Brown, Minority Ethnic Woman/ Woman of Colour and have a great sports related podcast idea?

Spotify UK & Ireland is launching the latest edition of Sound Up, a training programme for underrepresented aspiring podcasters. This year, we invite aspiring podcasters who identify as Black, Brown, Asian, Minority Ethnic Woman/ Woman of Colour in the sports genre with a great idea to apply for the programme. Our ultimate aim is to find, train, and develop the next generation of diverse storytellers from underrepresented communities in creating and producing high-quality sports podcasts. We firmly believe that there is a lack of sports content told by people who identify as women, specifically women who identify as Black, Brown, Asian, Minority Ethnic Women/ Women of Colour and it is our mission to find and elevate those voices.

Following the success of our expanded Sound Up programme over 2020 and 2021, Sound Up will now take place over the course of 6 months in a combination of in-person training and virtual workshops with 10 hand-selected attendees receiving a comprehensive introduction to the art of making a podcast. We will offer the training to creators looking to create either fiction or nonfiction sports genre-related podcasts.

We will kick off the first phase of the programme in March with a 6-week virtual audio training workshop, with sessions being held 3 x per week. Following this, creators will be invited to Phase 2 of the programme, a 1 week-long immersive in-person training which will take place in August 2022 in Birmingham. In this programme, participants will learn about the art of podcast creation, from initial ideation to storytelling, interviewing, editing, and producing from experts in the field. The virtual component of Sound Up will consist of scheduled live courses, recorded lessons, one-on-one meetings with the Spotify team and facilitators, and light homework assignments. At the completion of the training, our participants will be paired with a production company to produce, record, and edit their pilot episode. 

In partnership with Spotify, the programme will be facilitated by Unedited’s founders Bernard P. Achampong and Andrew Spence. Unedited is a black-led creative production company that has worked alongside Spotify to build the Sound Up curriculum and produce pilot podcast series with our alumni. Since the launch of Sound Up UK in 2018, Sound Up has worked closely with Unedited to support and train over 40 aspiring female creators across the UK and we are so excited to continue this year!

All 10 participants in the programme will be provided with an audio recorder, computer, headphones, and internet access. Applicants are also required to apply as individuals, rather than as shows/groups, and are required to be residents of the UK&I.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for creators that identify as female from underrepresented backgrounds who have historically not had access to the resources and opportunities present in the growing audio/podcast space. No prior experience in *audio* is required. We particularly welcome people who are strong writers and storytellers from underrepresented backgrounds.

Who’s eligible? 

Anyone who self-identifies as a Black, Brown, Asian, Minority Ethnic Woman/ Women of Colour who is passionate about podcasting and sports content, and has a great idea. No prior audio experience is required - we’re looking for the best ideas! Attendees are required to participate in all elements of our programming and assignments, as well as complete the final podcast pilot episode, including making themselves available to attend the week-long training class in person in Birmingham. Participants must be UK or Ireland residents and over the age of 18.

What does it cost? 

The programme is free. 

What does it include?

Participation in Sound Up comprises of 3 parts:

1. Virtual training: 6 weeks of part-time virtual training - a mixture of live virtual classes, recorded videos, and assignments. This will be a commitment of 8-10 hours a week. All scheduled classes will be in the late afternoons or early evenings. The virtual component of Sound Up will consist of scheduled live courses, recorded lessons, one-on-one meetings with the Spotify team and facilitators, and light homework assignments.

2. In person training: Our cohort of 10 will be selected to join us for in-person training in 2022 including 1 week of in-person workshops, panels, and activities around podcasting, led by experts and professionals. Travel to Birmingham, six nights of hotel, and breakfast and lunch each day are included. Dinner activities and/or a stipend will also be provided at Spotify’s discretion.

3. Podcast pilot production: Partnership with a third-party podcast producer/production company to assist you in producing, recording, and editing your pilot episode over a period of 2 months. This will be a time commitment on average of 10-15 hours a week. This producer/production company will be engaged solely to assist in making the pilot episode, not a full series. 
 

When are applications due?

Deadline extended to March 21st 2022, 11:59pm BST

What’s the application process? 

Once the application submission closes, our committee will review and choose 30 finalists for phone interviews. Once the interviews are complete, we will choose the 10 attendees. 

Please be patient with us if you don’t hear from us right away. We read every application carefully. Please review the terms and conditions of entry in more detail here. By submitting your application, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. 

What happens once I submit my idea? 

After you submit your idea, we review your application through our process (see above). Please note even though you’ve submitted your idea for review, you will retain the copyright for your entry and the podcast content. But, please note that there may be entries or ideas that are similar in nature, or may be similar to pre-existing or current creative concepts being worked on by Spotify.

Who owns my idea?

All work submitted to or worked on remains the sole property of you, the applicant. This means that either by submitting this application, being accepted, or receiving the final production grants, your ideas and your podcast are YOURS.

Sign up & share