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The Color of Music Collective was founded by Mia Van Allen and Carla Hendershot inspired from their personal experiences working in the music industry. Color of Music Collective is an inclusive environment where LGBT+ and POC voices are amplified in discussions regarding what is happening in the music industry right now. Mia was inspired when she attended her first music industry panel and saw a black woman from the music industry speak about it for the first time after being in the music industry for 4 years now. Carla had a similar experience after being the only LGBTQ+ individual on a 100 person panel focused on the LGBTQ+ rights in the music industry.
Even the beginning of their friendship foreshadows the work they’ve begun to do. Meeting during an internship in Chicago, Mia and Carla networked for their company as the only POC and LGBTQ+ members to create a diverse front. Outside of this tokenization they took this opportunity to truly network and used these connections to prepare speakers for their weekly panels supporting genuine diversity in the workplace.
“I haven’t met one black woman in the music industry that didn’t have a powerful impact on our community and I feel like we are pushed not to be.” – Mia Allen
Outside of creating a dialogue, they have seen the music industry finally turning around with
companies hiring diversity and inclusion staff. Mia says they plan to build off of this momentum, “We're hoping that once they create more of a solid basis and we can start having those staff start talking on panels about what they’re actively doing during this time.” COMC also hopes to create a place of solace for people, especially with this being Pride Month as the next two panels will be dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community.
Their first panel, Navigating the Job Market in the Music Industry as a POC and/or LGBTQ+ Individual, originally wasn’t going to be held until the end of June. They decided to have this discussion when it was a worldwide trending discussion that everyone’s been having. I was able to attend and I can only describe it as inclusive, informative and uplifting. As well as it did go, this team has plans to improve and grow their platform through reaching out to college music business programs and high schools in New York with music programs. Emily Yankana, a fellow contributor, hopes to create a “separate channel to leverage the connections made if people want to reach out individually and have their own networking sessions. To connect members together where they can relate to someone and have their voice heard by someone who looks like them and identifies like them will create another opportunity.” This aligns with this collective’s hope to amplify voices from these communities.
“Simply seeing someone who I relate to in a powerful position in the music business makes me feel like I can do that too, one day.” – Carla Hendershot
Stay updated on their instagram @colorofmusiccollective