Bridging the gap between community music and the music industry
After consulting with 50 young people accessing music-making opportunities through the ArtsTrain music project there was a clear demand for; 'how to promote our music', 'how to stay safe' and 'what jobs are in the music industry'.
Based on the feedback from young people we contacted Arts Council NPO Small Green Shoots to devise a bespoke music panel to meet the interests and needs of the young people.
This year ArtsTrain has been working in partnership with Arts Council London NPO Small Green Shoots to raise awareness around the music industry and bridge the gap between community music programmes and the commercial music industry.
A youth consultation with the young artists on the ArtsTrain academy programme highlighted that 95% of them wanted to find out more about the music industry and understand how it works. As a result we worked closely with SGS to organise a music industry panel including Nick from Coda, Ara from Jump Off and Mark from Deep Recordings.
THE PANELLISTS
Ara from Jump Off Ara set up and runs London's biggest HipHop Night, Jump Off. Which is also one of the most recognised online sites for Urban Entertainment in the UK. Ara was ranked 23rd In the Guardian Ethnic Media Power List and gave the young people an insight to all things social media!
Nick from Coda Nick has been working in the live music sector for the past 10 years. He set up his own brand - Best Kept Secret, specializing in electronic and urban music which he merged with Coda, one of the worlds leading independent booking agency. His roster currently consists of Emeli Sande, Aloe Blacc, Devlin, and much more. He provided info on performance opportunities, where/ how to get gigs etc
Mark Rose from Deep Recordings. Mark is a producer, engineer and manager of Deep Recording Studios. He is also vice president of the Music Producers Guild and a Pro member of PRS, PPL and APRS. He gave the young people an insight to how it all works from a musicians perspective and talked through what organisations and societies are there to help and how they work.
TALKING NUMBERS
7 Young performers
6 Young songwriters
2 Young Producers
10 Music Leaders
100% of the young artists had never had access to music business professionals
YOUTH VOICE
“It was an amazing opportunity to get to hear from people who are doing it now in the industry and get their views. It was also good to hear both sides of the industry….. I mean how tough it is but also that with the right attitude and skills you can make a living doing what you love!” (Young Artist, 17)
MUSIC LEADER VOICE
“The training was useful in providing knowledge and general understanding as to how to make it in the music business. Young people were provided with knowledge, key facts and exposed to success stories which they could identify with. Training notes and useful literature provided will enable young people to further investigate and plan their own routes to success” (E. Imuere, Music Leader)
“I think an excellent balance was struck between realism, harsh realities, inspiration and motivational case studies. Having Nats leading was also very beneficial as she kept the flow and drew links between it all. An excellent session. “ (G. Hewitt, Music Leader)