Judy Tint Helps Lead Inaugural American Music Mentorship Program

This collaboration between the U.S. Department of State and the Recording Academy uses music to bridge gaps between people, cultures, and nations.

A large group of people poses for the photo in front of a sign for the American Music Mentorship Program. Some people hold certificates. — International AMMP participants with Recording Academy Staff, State Department staff, and instructors, including Judy Tint (center, in black dress).

Judy Tint, music attorney and clinical associate professor of music business at NYU Steinhardt, recently served as one of two lead instructors (alongside Austin-based artist and activist Gina Chavez) for the first-ever American Music Mentorship Program (AMMP). Co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the Recording Academy®, AMMP convened 20 music professionals from around the world with American music industry experts to expand access to economic opportunity and equity through the creative economy.

The cohort comprised artists, managers, promoters, entertainment lawyers, and other music executives from Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco; participants were vetted and selected by the U.S. embassies in their respective countries. The two-week program was based at Recording Academy headquarters in Los Angeles and included workshops, panels, networking events, and offsite excursions to Google/YouTube, talent agency CAA, and Apple’s Culver City campus.

“I feel as if this was an experience I’d been preparing for and working toward for my entire career,” says Tint. “Everything I’ve done—as an attorney, a musician, an educator, a board member, all of it—is driven by my belief in the power of music to unite and uplift people, and to literally change the world. Somehow it led me to this place and these people, most of whom had never met before, but who became a family. Seeing the unifying power of music manifesting in this way has been one of the high points of my career, if not my life.”

Tammy Hurt, Judy Tint, and Ruby Marchand — Tammy Hurt (Chair of the Recording Academy Board of Trustees), Judy Tint, and Ruby Marchand (Chief Awards and Global Industry Officer, the Recording Academy). *© 2024 Recording Academy*

Tint helped craft the goals of AMMP prior to the program, and worked with onsite State Department and Recording Academy staff to facilitate the program overall. She also taught two master classes for attendees in the entertainment lawyer track, focusing on principles of team building, networking, and best practices in negotiations.

She is quick to credit the international participants in the program as well: “I’m sure I learned at least as much from them as they learned from me,” she says.

In addition, Tint moderated a panel, “Women in the Music Industry,” and presented an extended talk about her own life and career, which spans 30 years of experience as a musician, attorney, consultant, and producer in the entertainment industry. She will also mentor Juliana Imam, an accomplished entertainment lawyer from Nigeria, for the following year.

AMMP is part of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, launched in September 2023 to promote peace and democracy through music. The initiative also supports broader U.S. foreign policy goals to expand access to education, economic opportunity and equity, and societal inclusion.

Everything I’ve done—as an attorney, a musician, an educator, a board member, all of it—is driven by my belief in the power of music to unite and uplift people.

Judy Tint, Clinical Associate Professor of Music Business

“AMMP is founded on a core belief in the necessity—and the joy—of using music to bridge the gaps between people, cultures, and nations,” says Tint. “The discussions among the international participants, instructors, diplomats, and staff were illuminating and moving, and the bonds formed are strong and deep. Based on my conversations with the various parties involved, I hope and believe that there is more of this work ahead.”

Judy Tint with Antoinette Kyeremaa Boama, a Ghanian entertainment lawyer. *© 2024 Recording Academy*

The event culminated in a closing ceremony at the Grammy Museum on October 25, hosted by Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr., Acting Under Secretary of State Lee Satterfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary Nicole Elkon, and Recording Academy Chief Awards and Global Industry Officer (and longtime Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions Adjunct Professor) Ruby Marchand.

“This is truly a terrific project, and it is wonderful to see the power of music bring people together,” says Jack H. Knott, Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of NYU Steinhardt. “Here at Steinhardt, one of our core ideas is that our fields of study—music, art, education, food and nutrition, and health—are critical to bridging and connecting people across cultural and political divides, and this work contributes to that goal.”

Tint hopes to participate in future cohorts of AMMP, and plans to connect with representatives at NYU Accra in Ghana to discuss the potential for collaborative opportunities. “Now more than ever, the world needs all the harmony it can get,” says Tint.