COL young artists get industry experience at Leicester Music Conference

The Circle Of Light crew had a very fun and fruitful day out in Feb 2024 when they attended the inaugural Leicester Music Conference.

30 of the young people they support attended the event where they had the opportunity to meet and learn from professionals from across the UK music industry. Founded by Yasin El Ashrafi and Kate Rounding, the event's purpose is to provide a new annual hub for East Midlands music industry networking and development.

With attendees enjoying panels on everything from performance, management and funding to inclusivity, digital marketing and rights management, there was a wealth of experience and knowledge on tap for the young creatives to engage with. Organisations such as PRS For Music, The Musician's Union, Tik Tok, the Music Managers Forum, and Association of Independent Musicians (to name just a few) were all there dispensing advice and insight.

The opportunity was also the first step in COL's journey to expanding their reach beyond their home city of Nottingham and into the wider East Midlands and beyond - 2024 will see connections made and strengthened for the project as it reaches out to other UK locations, using it's resources and experience to help grow real industry experience and opportunity for young artists and entrepreneurs across the country.

Project founder Tricia Gardiner took part in panels at the conference alongside COL artists Gabe McKenna and Tom Hodson - both of whom have accessed and received YM Next Gen funding through their involvement with COL - offereing insight and advice on how to gain crucial funding to advance young artist development. The day also featured top notch performances from a diverse and talented bunch of East Mids artists, including COL's own Maugz, Elmz XIX, EM and Omari Marsalis.

Click the video in this post to watch our short film showcasing the day's events through COL's eyes, and see you at LMC next year!