“A practical response to #BlackoutTuesday”

3T (Tour Tech Training) funds Black women to learn about the live industry
Founded by Nao & Mura Masa in partnership with Native Management & Sony Music UK

www.nativemgmt.co.uk/3T

The 3T Course launched in July 2020, as a proactive response to the music industry’s #BlackoutTuesday and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The programme provides black women with the knowledge and skills to join the live industry, so that when it comes back it comes back better than before. The 3T course was run by multi-Grammy, Mercury and BRIT-nominated artist Nao and Grammy-winning songwriter Mura Masa, with funding from Native Management and Sony Music UK.

The 3T course is a free and comprehensive twelve-week programme designed to provide a broad set of technical touring skills and to create opportunities for a new generation of Black women in the live music sector. This course aims to increase confidence and provide visibility for Black women who want a career in the live sector, and to assist women who are already pursuing these roles.

The scheme received more than 500 applications from Black British women in less than eight hours when it opened earlier this year. This October the chosen ten applicants became the first cohort of students to graduate, after studying for twelve weeks to learn skills across modules including lighting design, computer programming and audio engineering.

Nao said: “For years we’d spoken about adding more Black women to our touring party, but we literally couldn’t find a single one for any of the technical roles. Spurred on by what was happening around BLM we decided to stop talking about it and do something. As it turned out, there was no lack of women wanting to work in these roles, quite the opposite! They just couldn’t see a way in. It’s made me so happy to open that door a little and our great hope is that this group of amazing women then smash it down for the next generation”

Mura Masa said: “As a crew on my show, we had always privately discussed the lack of representation within the pool of people working in live music, so this course became an actionable way of us working to correct that. There was an awful lot of posturing and performative support earlier this year around the initial BLM protests, so we as a group wanted to go further and investigate how we could support a message of anti-racism within our discipline. I came in for a Q&A session during the first week of the course and re-joined for the penultimate week and seeing the progression and skill in this group of women made me thrilled to be a small part of it. This is the first step in a continuing and exciting journey for them, and hopefully a step in the direction of a wider change that the industry desperately needs to undergo. I’m so looking forward to seeing these women killing it on the road!”

Damaris Rex Taylor, Director of Marketing at RCA UK and a leader for Sony Music UK’s Social Justice Fund, said: "We are always keen to support our artists and this idea really stood out. It's been a pleasure to partner with Nao, Mura Masa and Native Management on 3T - meeting the women and listening to how helpful they've found the course inspires us to do as much as we can to make our industry inclusive and open to all."
 
The 3T course was supported in various capacities by a number of music industry stakeholders - 46 individuals and 17 companies have contributed their time and resources to give the students a thorough introduction to the live music industry. The funding came from Native Management, Sony Music UK, Nao, Mura Masa and a number of other private individuals.

Guest speakers included: Nao, Mura Masa, Damaris Rex-Taylor, Trevor Williams, Alexandra Ampofo, Whitney Boateng, Giles Kwakeulati King-Ashong, Kojo Samuel, Franki McDade, Tori Lucion, Ben Jackson, Selena Dion and Alex Cerutti amongst others.
 
More information and full credits have been published here - nativemgmt.co.uk/3T
 
Full course outline below:
Week 01: Live Music Industry Overview
Week 02: Backline Theory and Practical (inc. bands & DJ)
Week 03: Technical Skills (inc. cable making, rack building and tools)
Week 04: Playback Theory & Practical (inc. Ableton Live)
Week 05: Lighting Theory & Practical 1 (inc. setting up floor package)
Week 06: Stage Management & Women In Music Panel
Week 07: Audio Theory & Practical (inc. signal flow, patching & mixing))
Week 08: Wireless & RF Week 09: Tour Knowledge & Management (inc. life on the road, touring tips)
Week 10: Lighting Theory & Practical 2 (inc. follow spots & video)
Week 11: Big Weekend (inc. performances and showcases)
Week 12: Guest Lectures, CVs & NetworkingFirst cohort graduates from Nao’s 3T Course for Black Women