A Black music collective is working with Toronto artists to give them a platform to thrive at home before they take their shows on the road.

"Anybody who supports and helps to develop the creative is what we focus on," Advance executive director Keziah Myers told AfroTech. "The reason being is because we recognize a really large gap around who is on stage and who is behind stage. "If you look on stage and recognize that the stage is representative of the culture, but you look backstage and realize that it's not diverse at all, and you don't see anyone who even understands the culture, then how is that authentic? And how are we ensuring that the creative, the artist, the producer, the talent is seen and heard if, on the other side, you have someone so detached from that experience that they can't relate."

Advance aims to develop Black professionals on the support side of the music industry but elevate them with the resources to grow. For example, their programming includes the Music Industry Discovery Program, where grade 11 and 12 students learn everything, from the work of a publicist or data analyst to social enterprise.

The program involves parents, educating them about sustainable career paths within the music industry and addressing concerns about their children entering the global music scene.

"The reason the parents are involved is because, coming from a community like ours, many parents have heard the horror stories of the music industry, or they automatically think you're going to be a starving artist… They don't understand what the infrastructure is," Myers explained. "We bring students and parents into the scenario to help them learn about sustainable career paths within the music industry."

Advance also advocates for the artists at music labels, where Black representation can be scarce. Myers recalls the murder of George Floyd and how the industry changed after the 2020 incident.

"As soon as George Floyd was murdered, the labels were like, 'Shoot, we have no Black people here; let's hire,'" Myers told AfroTech. "But then what you're starting to see is that Black people are not supported within, or they've given them contract positions. So, if I've given you a contract position, or there's no upward mobility and mentorship that's happening, then now what, right?"

"Now it's Advance that comes in and says, 'Hey, Label X, what if you actually funded the department the same way you fund the others?'" Myers added. "And then the president there will say, 'You know what that's a really good idea. I didn't think about it.'"