Last month, GRAMMY U fostered the intersection between current and future leaders of the global music industry with the launch of the 2025–2026 GRAMMY U Mentorship Program. Presented by Amazon Music, the program is cultivating the careers of over a thousand rising music industry professionals. The program evolved this year to include additional benefits like structured phases and curated supplemental virtual programming with guest lecturers. The program also welcomed its largest number of pairings since its inception, counting nearly 1,200 Mentor-Mentee pairs representing all 12 Recording Academy Chapters and GRAMMY U members from nearly 20 countries, including Australia, Brazil, and South Korea.
The GRAMMY U Mentorship Program matches eligible GRAMMY U members with Recording Academy Voting and Professional Members for a six-month period based on the GRAMMY U members’ career interests and pursuits. The pairs meet to create actionable professional goals and focus on quality discussions around career growth, networking and industry knowledge. While pairs are only required to meet three times throughout the program period, many choose to connect more frequently, often forming relationships that continue well beyond the program’s official end, with some even landing their first industry job through the program.
Learn more about the renovated 2025–2026 GRAMMY U Mentorship Program and its benefits below.
Amazon Music Teams Up With GRAMMY U
Amazon Music has served as a long-time supporter of GRAMMY U with a strong presence at national programs like the 2024 GRAMMY U Conference featuring keynote speaker Ben Platt. Over the last couple of years, Amazon Music has also provided GRAMMY U members with special mentorship experiences, including educational office tours in their Seattle headquarters and one-on-one mentorship pairings. This year, Amazon Music continues its dedication to GRAMMY U and mentorship as an official presenting sponsor of GRAMMY U’s Mentorship Program.
With this new partnership, the program can expand its access to additional resources, such as new educational panels and site tours. Amazon Music executives can also serve as guest speakers on virtual programs throughout the program period. Amazon Music will also continue its participation in select GRAMMY U national programs throughout the year through its ever-popular curated networking mixer, which brings industry professionals and GRAMMY U members together.
The Largest Cohort in Program History
This Mentorship Program period welcomes the largest number of participants in the program’s history, counting nearly 1,200 pairs globally, almost double the number of pairings just two cycles ago. The Mentors consist of more than 1,000 Recording Academy Voting and Professional Members globally, covering major focal points of the industry across six tracks: Producing & Engineering, Performance, Songwriting & Composition, Content Creation & Marketing, Music Business, and, new this year, Entertainment Law. The mentor pool comprises a number of major music companies and organizations, including Amazon Music, Universal Music Group, NBC Universal, Spotify, Warner Chappell, and, of course, the Recording Academy.
Mentees are pursuing a combination of traditional music careers, like artist management and songwriting, as well as rising fields like freelance DJing, content creation, music tech, and tour production. With nearly 250 non-student members paired, the program underscores that a music industry career path may not be linear and access to a Mentor could significantly amplify opportunities and drive success down the road.
This year’s cohort of mentees is diverse, representing 41 U.S. states and nearly 400 colleges and universities. The program continues to expand globally, with 20 international pairings from countries including Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Romania, Spain, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and more.
Romanian mentee Andreea Dascalu reflects on her return as an international participant. “It is my second time being a mentee in the GRAMMY U Mentorship Program, and I could not say enough good things about it. This time, I was lucky to be paired with the amazing Adaoha Njemanze, a PR professional based in Lagos, Nigeria, with whom I have already had my first meeting and from whom I can tell I have a lot to learn, especially when it comes to discovering new and effective means of putting your artist music and name out there in today’s attention-fighting world.”
Industry Legends Step Up To The Plate
This year’s program brings in hundreds of industry professionals. Meka Nism, a returning Mentor and GRAMMY-nominated artist, is paired with University of Miami’s Frost School of Music student Angelina Mack in the Recording Academy Florida Chapter, where they will focus on the artist relations industry. Michael Kauffman, a member of the Recording Academy New York Chapter and executive director of the music program at the Clio Awards, will work together with mentee Kendry Hilario to exploremarketing and content creation.
Within the Performance track, singer/songwriter Soleil has joined this year’s program as a Mentor. As the track highlights all elements of music performance, she and her mentee, Santiago Bolanos, could experience performance opportunities, studio sessions, and beyond during their time together. Songwriter and composer Laurin Talese in the Recording Academy Philadelphia Chapter will mentor Drexel University music industry student Alanna Bell within the Songwriters & Composers track, another track focused on the artistic aspect of the industry, allowing for writing, performing and recording opportunities.
Mentors and Mentees may work together in various capacities throughout their time together. In the past, producers have brought their mentees to live recording sessions and have even produced singles together, while songwriters have co-written projects with their mentees and gone on to work together after the program ends. Within the Producers & Engineers track, returning Mentor and producer, songwriter, arranger, and music executive Kennard Garrett notes, “I have been a Mentor in the past, and the experience was great. I was able to pour into a young producer and serve as a sounding board for their ideas about their future career. Conversely, I was able to learn so much from my mentee, and the experience was equally beneficial and fulfilling.”
The Mentorship Program also covers newer and high-demand niche fields quickly growing in today’s music industry. Mentor Naledi Nyahuma, vice president of diversity, equity & inclusion at The Orchard, reflects on the impact of the GRAMMY U Mentorship Program within today’s competitive music industry. “The music industry may be big, but it’s a small community at heart. With so many diverse voices and overlapping paths, it can be tough to navigate alone. Mentorship offers essential support, and within an organization like the Academy, it helps creatives develop both artistically and professionally.”
A Three-Phase Structure For Guided Growth
One of the most notable changes to this year’s program is the implementation of a three-phase system. While the previous program structure provided meeting guidelines and check-in points, this updated structure offers benchmarks, much like a guided course. The program’s expanded structure now further supports mentorship pairs, encouraging intentional progression throughout the program period.
The three-phase system comprises: Connect, which starts with relationship building and sets goals and expectations for the pair; Cultivate, which guides the pairs through collaborative meetings; and Conquer, which encourages discussions regarding career growth and enhancement as their final phase.
In the Connect phase, pairs focus on setting up their first meetings and setting goals for the program. They discuss expectations, share background stories, and together establish a goal that the mentee wants to achieve by the end of the program.
In February, pairs continue onto the second phase, Cultivate, through March. This phase focuses on growth, skill-building, and professional direction. Conversations and meetings will likely include elements of expanding industry knowledge, building confidence, adjusting artistic or professional materials, and gaining experience through mock interviews or shadowing. Pairs may also collaborate on creative sessions, recordings, co-writes, performance opportunities, résumé or portfolio building, networking, and more.
The final phase, Conquer, will run through the end of the program in May and, hopefully, beyond. Pairs use their last meetings to fine-tune résumés, discuss job or internship postings, evaluate the mentee’s professional presence, and address next steps beyond the program. Many pairs also discuss how they can maintain contact with one another, building professional relationships that last beyond the program’s official end date.
Enhanced Virtual Programming & Academic-Style Learning
In addition to implementing the new three-phase structure, the GRAMMY U Mentorship Program has a new virtual curriculum for mentees that reflects the experience of an academic environment. Last year’s virtual “Meet the Mentors” series was the first iteration of the program’s supplemental program offerings. This year, the enhanced curriculum structure features virtual programs that highlight industry-relevant skills through Core Curriculum courses and guest lectures from industry professionals across the six tracks. These additional virtual programs are designed to create meaningful ways to expand mentees’ knowledge and provide additional touchpoints throughout the six-month program.
The new core curriculum, taught by Recording Academy staff, will cover foundational topics important to emerging music industry professionals, such as social media, communications and publicity, advocacy, partnerships, and entertainment law. Each session is intended to give mentees practical tools they can apply daily, regardless of their desired industry journey.
Guest lectures feature top industry creators and professionals from every mentorship track. All participating mentees also have the opportunity to learn from other tracks and professionals in the industry beyond their assigned Mentor. Mentees can learn about new professional pathways to different career types and emerging trends in their profession.
This year’s program offers a comprehensive experience for every GRAMMY U participant, from Amazon Music office tours to virtual programs. While applications are closed for the current 2025-2026 cycle, the GRAMMY U Mentorship Program runs annually from November through May. Applications for the 2026–2027 GRAMMY U Mentorship Program open in fall 2026. Prospective participants must be active GRAMMY U members to apply as Mentees. Industry professionals must be active Voting or Professional Members of the Recording Academy to apply as Mentors.
Interested participants can stay connected through GRAMMY U’s Instagram and TikTok channels, where updates, stories, and announcements from this year’s program will be shared regularly.
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