Notion's Creative Director on the Future of Music Journalism

Nicholas Douglas, Creative Director at Notion, talks about the changing face of music journalism and shares his advice for young journalists starting out.

8 Music-Making Projects Supporting Women and Girls

Read about some of the incredible work organisations we fund are doing to support women and girls in music.

Music industry Q&A with Jungle’s Tom McFarland

In November 2020, Tom McFarland, co-founder of Jungle, stopped by for a Q&A with young people from YouPress, to answer their questions about music, and working in the industry. Watch the video, and read the article for tips and advice Tom shared.

Making an album in lockdown: Circle of Light

Circle of Light gives 18-25-year-old budding musicians and creatives the opportunity to work alongside some of Nottingham’s leading artists and music professionals. During a three-week programme, participants are able to learn the ropes of the industry and nurture their creativity.

What it’s like to pursue a career in the music industry when you’re Disabled

Laura Moulding shares her journey as a Disabled musician, the barriers she’s faced, and why inclusivity in the music industry is essential for everyone to thrive.

Why are there so few Black music supervisors?

Jumi Akinfenwa, Senior Music Supervisor & Cultural Curator at Pitch & Sync, discusses with her peers the lack of diversity in music supervision.

Pressures of the music industry – what I’ve learned to support my mental health

Milli-Rose Rubin shares her journey in the music industry, exploring the deep link between creativity and mental health, and offering insights for navigating challenges.

BICEP On How to Start and Sustain a Career in Music Production

Electronic duo Bicep share their tips on how to start and sustain a long career in music production.

Bonding with my daughter and finding friends through music - Hannah's story

Hannah, 19, is a mum to 11-month-old Lilly. A Youth Music project has helped her bond with her daughter and find a supportive group of friends.

Since Lilly was eight weeks old, Hannah, from Bodmin in Cornwall, has been taking part in the ‘Music Makes Me Happy’ project for young parents with babies or toddlers, run by WILD Young Parents Project.

The weekly music-making sessions include ukulele, singing and Makaton (a simple sign language that can be used alongside songs or speech to help with children’s language learning). The songs and skills that Hannah’s learned from the group have provided hours of fun at home too, and given her a real sense of achievement.

"I feel happy that I’ve got somewhere" - Filip's story

Filip, 14, is a jazz drummer who takes part in the East by North East project run by GemArts in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The project provides music-making opportunities for young people across the city, including many like Filip who are from Eastern European families that have settled in Newcastle, as well as those from asylum-seeking and refugee families.

The five members of Filip’s group – known as The Marian Band – all met through the project and come from a mix of Czech and Slovakian Roma backgrounds. They meet up each week to rehearse traditional Eastern European jazz songs.

Bringing music to the wards - Fabrice's story

Fabrice loves to sing. “I've been making music since I was young – since I was born!” says the 18-year-old, who grew up in central Africa but moved to the UK with his family in 2014 and now lives in the North East of England.

Fabrice experienced some serious mental health problems which led to him spending several months in hospital last year. Making music with the Singing for Health project has given Fabrice some of his happiest memories from a difficult time.

10 year journey to becoming a music leader - Kallum's story

Kallum, 24, is a rapper from Cambridge who’s been taking part in music-making projects run by local youth charity Romsey Mill since he was 14.

With their support, he’s made huge progress in developing his lyrical style and technical skills. And he’s now taking on additional responsibilities as a music leader – helping younger participants write, record and produce their own material.

Expressing themselves through songwriting - Shelby, Phoebe, Kylie and Shona's story

Shelby, Phoebe, Kylie and Shona took part in a music-making project run by My Pockets at the Astra Youth Centre young carers’ group in Hull.

The girls, aged between 12 and 14, are all carers for siblings or parents who have additional needs or long-term health problems. As part of the project, they co-wrote a powerful song about their experiences.

Songwriting has helped them express their feelings, improved their relationships with their families – and earned them local celebrity status with their track being played on BBC Radio Humberside!

Discovering a career in music - Chi's story

Chi, 21, is a beatmaker and music producer from Oxford. The Beat Route project, run by the Ark T Centre, has helped him learn new skills and work out a direction for his future.

“I make quite a bit of chilled music, trap, drum & bass, anything and everything – it depends on my mood at the time,” says Chi. “I use Logic and Pro Tools to record a whole range of people, so it could be guitars, bagpipes, singers – I’m happy to record anyone!”

Chi’s currently studying for a degree in audio production at the prestigious SAE Institute, and working towards a career in music. It’s a big turnaround after going through some tough challenges when he was younger.

“I feel like I’ve found my own voice.”- Charlotte, Dwight and Finlay's story

Charlotte, Dwight and Finlay are all in Year 11 at Co-op Academy North Manchester. They took part in Exchanging Notes – a project in partnership with local music organisation Brighter Sound – which provided valuable experiences both inside and outside the music classroom during Years 7-9.

They’re now all taking GCSE Music – and they say that the project has played a big role in their musical development, as well as improving their confidence and ability to express themselves.

The Take it away Consortium

This report originated from surveys produced by the Take it away Consortium: a partnership between Creative United and Take It Away, Drake Music, Music for Youth, The OHMI Trust, Open Up Music, and Youth Music. These organisations are all committed to supporting Disabled musicians.

Recommendations from Reshape Music

The findings from Reshape Music tell us that a number of changes are required to make music and music industry careers more accessible to Disabled people.

Sam Denniston on Being Disabled in the Music Industry

“I have managed to do exactly what I wanted to do and I’m not a full able-bodied person firing on all cylinders. If that message could get out to anyone who needs it, that would be great."