HBO’s Insecure, Issa’s Rae’s first network show, just wrapped. Issa is now working on her next show, Rap$hit, with HBO Max. Issa also got married last year. And if that wasn’t enough, Issa has started her own record label, Raedio. Raedio is a partnership with Atlantic Records and was started in October 2019 to give women creatives access to the music industry. Their artists include Baby Tate and Teamarrr. Raedio has now partnered with Google to create The Raedio Creator’s Program. They will provide opportunities for women of color and underrepresented artists. The program will choose two female musicians and two composers to give funding and resources to. Below are a few more highlights from Billboard:
The Raedio Creators Program Supported by Google is designed to provide underrepresented independent artists with more resources as well as bring more representation of women of color in the music industry, which the actress critiqued in a now-viral Los Angeles Times interview. “It’s probably the worst industry that I have ever come across. I thought Hollywood was crazy. The music industry, it needs to start over,” Rae said. “Conflicts of interest abound. Archaic mentalities. Crooks and criminals! It’s an abusive industry, and I really feel for artists that have to come up in it.”
She started Raedio — “an audio everywhere company” with a record label joint venture with Atlantic Records and four more branches dedicated to publishing, live events, music supervision and a music library — in October 2019. Rae’s venture into the music business has proven fruitful in breaking new, mostly female and/or POC artists in the R&B and hip-hop space, including Baby Tate and TeaMarrr.
“This partnership is perfectly aligned with my mission in helping open doors and provide opportunities for women to succeed and flourish in their craft,” Rae said in a statement to Billboard. “I can’t wait to see the impact this program and partnership has on the selectees and the music that is created as a result.”
The Raedio Creator Program Supported by Google will select two female artists and two composers to receive funding and resources to create and retain full ownership of their music. The funding from Google will cover recording fees, producer costs and marketing expenses for the female artists to put out a three-to-five song EP. The Raedio record label branch will supervise and distribute the projects, which will be available on all digital service providers (DSPs). The songs from each EP will be added to Raedio’s music library so that they can be pitched for sync opportunities. Google will also fund the production and development of one music video for each artist.
This venture is not a stretch for Issa. Issa helped create the amazing soundtrack for each season of Insecure. I really like TeaMarr, especially her petty ass lyrics. Teamarrr was also featured on the Insecure soundtrack.
The fact that Issa saw an untenable situation in the music industry and decided to create opportunities instead of just complaining about it has made me a forever Issa fan. I also love this partnership that The Raedio is doing with Google. It may seem small to only assist four artists a year, but over time WOC coming into the industry will overwhelm it with representation. I will follow this program and am looking forward to seeing the new artists and composers. I am hoping to see a mixture of beat makers and actual movie/tv composers. As for Issa’s amazing ear for new artists, I am going to go listen to TeaMarrr’s discography in its entirety because what I have heard so far is that damn good.
Issa Rae is q bad a$$. Smart. And funny. And gorgeous. See a need? Meet it.
I recently got HBO MAX and came across Insecure and I just love her and her show. I am obsessed with it. I’m in season 4 pacing myself because I know season 5 is the last one.
I just finished binging Insecure and wow. First of all, I miss the characters and want more. Second, it was everything SATC wishes it could be. Four intelligent, successful women having all the sex with no apologies while searching for true love (not rich husbands). The women are sometimes shallow. Sometimes don’t give men a chance because they aren’t as successful or educated as them. But the characters feel so authentic and human. Plus it’s funny AF.
I will be supporting anything Issa Rae does next.
She is such an amazing person and such a powerhouse. I am just in awe of her.
She has come a long way. I just know there are great things ahead from her to us. She didn’t bend to executive pressures on Insecure and it was excellent.