Universal Music Group Establishes UCLA Berry Gordy Scholarship
The Berry Gordy Music Industry Scholarship at the UCLA Herb Alpert School Of Music builds on UMG’s Sounds of the Future initiative.
Universal Music Group has announced the establishment of the Berry Gordy Music Industry Scholarship at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. The scholarship honors the legacy and cultural contributions of Gordy and Motown and builds on UMG’s Sounds of the Future initiative as well as UCLA’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of music industry leaders.
The scholarship will support high-potential students studying in the school’s Music Industry Program. Each year, a student demonstrating exceptional promise and financial need will be named a Berry Gordy Scholar and receive funding towards tuition, housing, and other educational expenses. Scholarship recipients will be selected by the Director of the Gordy Center, and will be eligible to receive the award in consecutive years based on demonstrated financial need and academic engagement. The scholarship builds on the 2024 launch of The UCLA Berry Gordy Music Industry Center at the school of music, a hub dedicated to research, teaching, and community engagement and career support around the evolving global music business.
Sir Lucian Grainge, Universal Music Group Chairman and CEO said of the announcement, “For more than 65 years, Berry Gordy’s name has been synonymous with artistry and the transformative power of music. Through this scholarship, UMG is honoring his enduring legacy by investing in a new generation of young people who will help carry that spirit forward—creators and changemakers, who will have an opportunity to reflect the innovation and entrepreneurial genius that Mr. Gordy helped bring to the world through Motown, Tamla and the pioneering sound of Detroit.”
Berry Gordy said, “I am thrilled that my friend Sir Lucian Grainge and Universal Music Group have committed to support this program with their endowment that will help open doors for many more students and continue to pave the way for music to be a force for good and change. The center provides vital opportunities for students at UCLA to help prepare for careers in the music industry, so that future generations of young talent will continue to innovate, inspire and bring together culture and communities through the power of music.”
The Berry Gordy Music Industry Scholarship aligns with UMG’s ongoing Sounds of the Future campaign, launched by its Task Force for Meaningful Change in 2023. Now in its third year, the program supports initiatives that amplify Black creativity, preserve cultural heritage, and ensure equity in the music business. The establishment of this scholarship is an investment in advancing the commitment to schools, institutions, and community-led programs that preserve and pass down the creative legacy of Black music for generations to come.
The Sounds of the Future 2025 program have included career immersion experiences that provide a firsthand glimpse into how artists’ creative visions come to life through collaboration; immersive art installations tracing the throughline of Black creativity; and investments in grassroots initiatives that safeguard the future of Black music. This year, UMG has extended donations to two vital nonprofits: Roots of Music in New Orleans, which empowers youth through culturally rooted music education; and Girls Make Beats in Los Angeles, which supports the next generation of female producers, DJs and engineers.
