activism & philanthropy Ashaunna Ayars
CO-FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIR, BLACK MUSIC ACTION COALITION Caron Veazey
CO-FOUNDER/VICE CHAIR,
BLACK MUSIC ACTION COALITION Pledging to monitor industry advances in racial diversity, equity and inclusion, BMAC released its first Music Industry Action Report Card last June. The organization also hosted its inaugural Music in Action Awards in September, honoring artists, executives and companies — including Motown chairwoman Ethiopia Habtemariam — that are fostering “meaningful change beyond the hashtags and performative gestures,” Ayars and Veazey said in a joint statement. “We reminded the industry why Jamila [Thomas] and Brianna [Agyemang] demanded ‘the show must be paused,’ hopefully inspiring our peers to continue to speak out and fight for social justice and racial equity.”
Heather Lowery
PRESIDENT/CEO, FEMME IT FORWARD
Femme It Forward, a joint venture with Live Nation Entertainment, celebrated its one-year anniversary in July with the release of Big Femme Energy Vol. 1, a “first-of-its-kind compilation led by an incredibly powerful all-female team of artists,” says Lowery, citing tracks by Tayla Parx, Lauren Jauregui, Kiana Ledé, Rapsody, Tierra Whack and Sinéad Harnett, among others. Another standout? The launch of its mentorship program, Next Gen Femme, which she says is working to “make careers in music more attainable to young women of color.”
Laura Segura
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MUSICARES
MusiCares, which the Recording Academy founded as a charity in 1989, rose to the occasion amid the COVID-19 pandemic, raising and distributing $29 million to 38,000 industry members in need. “I think the pandemic woke a lot of people up to the importance of preventative and mental health and its impact on our overall well-being, especially within the music community,” says Segura, 42. “I’m so proud of not only our team, who expanded all our services in those areas over the last year, but all the people who rallied around our community to uplift those in need. Through this effort, we were able to support the people who keep the music playing because music gives so much to the world.” Joni Mitchell will be honored at the MusiCares Person of the Year gala that has been rescheduled for April 1 in Las Vegas.