Saint Louis won the SIAE “Per Chi Crea” call for proposals for NEXT STEP, a project dedicated to the production and professional training of six emerging artists or bands.
NEXT STEP is an integrated path combining record production and professional training for emerging musicians under 35. The project offers free of charge-at no cost to the selected artists-the production of unreleased singles, the production of official video clips, digital distribution on major streaming platforms, and a national promotional campaign coordinated by the Saint Louis communications office and an external press office.
This year, the program takes a significant leap in quality: a structured cycle of master classes and lectures – 90 hours in total – taught by leading professionals in the Italian music, record and cultural industries is added alongside audio and video production activities. Topics covered range from entertainment organization and legislation to music branding, from business models to digital promotion, and new technologies applied to music such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.
An educational itinerary that combines artistic vision, management skills and professional awareness, preparing young artists to face the job market in a concrete and conscious way.
Professional-level audio and video production
The selected artists will work in Saint Louis College of Music’s in-house studios, supervised by a team of producers, arrangers, sound engineers and vocal coaches. Each track will be recorded, mixed and mastered in high quality and released under the Saint Louis Music Production label ( Urban49 series).
Each single released will be accompanied by an official video clip, designed as a tool for artistic and promotional enhancement of the project. The video clips will visually tell the identity of the six selected artists, combining musical language and contemporary aesthetic research.
Video production will be divided into two types:
- 2 video clips made entirely by Saint Louis’ in-house audiovisual team, with filming and post-production handled in their own studios
- 4 video clips made in collaboration with the RUFA – Rome University of Fine Arts, as part of the project “Music Meets Film Arts“, now in its third edition
The format, born from the meeting of music and film students, confirms the synergy between the two AFAM institutes and represents a laboratory of artistic co-creation combining musical, visual and technological skills. All videos will be jointly published and promoted on the official channels SAINT LOUIS e RUFA.
An international dimension: the partnership with the Mali Conservatory of Music.
NEXT STEP also includes an international artistic residency, curated by Karim Bengali, in collaboration with Mali’s Conservatoire des Arts et Multimédia Balla Fasséké Kouyaté, where the percussionist is a professor. An African musician with marked versatility and rhythmic sensitivity, Karim Bengali combines tradition and contemporaneity, blending African percussive languages with modern approaches to ensemble music.
Presentation and distribution event
The completed productions will be premiered during a Release Event included in the Jammin’ Festival , in landmark locations such as La Casa del Jazz or the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. The project will also be told through a video interview made in collaboration with Musicoff
In parallel, the following will be activated social campaigns of promotion and storytelling (artistic, productive and educational) on official Saint Louis channels, accompanied by the digital distribution of the singles on major streaming platforms.
Next Step artists.
Artists are selected through the application form on this page and are restricted to musicians under 35. The artistic committee consists of artistic director Stefano Mastruzzi, label contact person Alessandro Peana, recording artist Giampaolo Rosselli, and producers Fabio Balestrieri and Roberto Giglio.
