Ofsted finds inequalities in music education persist

A music teacher playing piano for a class of children
02 Oct 2023

An Ofsted report examining music in schools has found inequalities in opportunities to learn an instrument continue to impact pupil success in the subject.

Grassroots music sector in ‘full-blown crisis’

Band playing in front of a crowd at a small venue
26 Sep 2023

Research conducted by Music Venues Trust finds 125 grassroots music venues across the UK have been lost in the last eight months.

Secondary school jointly run with orchestra opens

19 Sep 2023

A new state school run in partnership with a professional orchestra has opened in the West Midlands, offering enhanced music education for students in one of England's most deprived boroughs.

Shireland CBSO Academy in West Bromwich has been founded in collaboration with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). Pupils can take advantage of weekly workshops, performances, masterclasses and free instrumental tuition for at least two years. 

The school, which opened its doors to 138 Year 7s on 5 September, follows the national curriculum, with music embedded throughout. 

Principal David Green told the BBC, "We are a completely normal school. We have French, Art, Maths, Science - all the things you'd expect, but we have this really special partnership with the CBSO, which is giving these students a level of musical opportunity they just wouldn't get elsewhere".

The intention is for all students to study GCSE Music, which has seen a 45.2% nationwide drop in uptake since 2008.

CBSO’s Chief Executive Emma Stenning told the BBC there is "a crisis in music education in schools.

"There's not the funding, there's not the skill set, there's not the time made to study music. This school is here to buck that trend and prove what an amazing part of a young person's education music can be", she added.

Music festival suffers ‘crucial’ funding cut

18 Sep 2023

Organisers of a prominent festival in the UK’s classical music calendar have said they are “appalled and saddened” by Creative Scotland’s decision not to offer funding this year.

Lammermuir Festival, which takes place through September in East Lothian, applied for funding through Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund.

The festival has been in receipt of grants for the last 13 years, equating to up to 23% of its festival budget each year.

The news it missed out on funding in 2023 came 16 days before this year’s festival opened and followed multiple applications for funding, all of which were turned down.

A statement from the Chair and trustees of the festival said the funding “is crucial investment in an area of Scotland which does not have regular high-quality cultural events drawing audiences to the area”.

“To deliver this year’s festival as planned we shall be obliged to use a significant proportion of our reserves which we have judiciously built up over many years.

“Without Creative Scotland support the Lammermuir Festival’s future is under threat. We urge Creative Scotland to reconsider their decision and secure the future of Lammermuir Festival.” 

A spokesperson for Creative Scotland told The Herald: “Demand for Creative Scotland’s funding is increasing, and we receive far more applications than we have the budget to support.

“Whilst we recognise the important contribution Lammermuir Festival makes to Scotland's music sector, unfortunately, difficult decisions had to be made and we were unable to support their most recent applications.”

Brixton Academy to reopen once it meets safety conditions

Exterior of Brixton Academy
18 Sep 2023

The safety measures, proposed by the venue operator and agreed on by Lambeth Council, include stronger doors, new crowd management systems and more detailed risk assessments.

Music education body assembles youth advisory board

18 Sep 2023

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) has convened its first youth advisory board.

The board is made up of 30 children and young people aged between 10 and 25. They consist of pianists, rappers, singers and composers who will help shape the future direction of the music charity.

Members will advise on issues including repertoire, digital resources and events, while also contributing to the strategic direction of the organisation.

Georgina, a 23-year old French horn player said she hopes the board’s discussions “will help to make the wonderful world of music open and accessible to all”.

The board met for the first time last week and is part of ABSRM’s commitment to supporting the next generation of musicians and embedding the voices of young people.

ABSRM Chief Executive, Chris Cobb, said: “This is an incredibly exciting initiative and it’s great to be launching it with such a fantastic group of passionate musicians. 

“We’re looking forward to listening to, learning from, and collaborating with them.”

DJ warns of 'boys' club' music industry where freelance women feel 'unsafe'

18 Sep 2023

The DJ and author Annie Macmanus has told MPs that the music industry is "a boys' club" with a system  “rigged against women".

Macmanus was giving testimony at the Government’s Women and Equalities Committee on misogyny in the music industry.

Speaking on behalf of "a real range of" women in the music industry, the former Radio 1 broadcaster said that she had not experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct personally. However, she felt her 19-year career at the BBC had given her a "shield of protection" to discuss the issue openly.

She said: “There are common threads that run through everything I've heard.

"That is that women, especially young women in the music industry, are consistently underestimated and undermined, and freelance women are consistently put in situations where they are unsafe.

"It's infuriating, the amount of women who have stories of sexual assault that just kind of buried them and carried them. It's just unbelievable.”

She added that if an individual with a high profile were to speak out, “there could be a kind of tidal wave of it.”

The singer Rebecca Ferguson also gave evidence to the MPs. She described misogyny in music as “the tip of the iceberg” and said: "Bullying and corruption are being allowed to happen".

She told MPs: "There are plenty of times when you're placed in situations where you are being compromised and where people are abusing their level of power.

"But as well as that, the thing that worries me the most is the rapes that are going unreported. That's what concerns me the most - the fact that women feel like they can't speak up.”

The committee previously questioned Sir John Whittingdale, Media, Tourism and Creative Industries Minister, about the lack of legal protections for freelancers, the use of non-disclosure agreements to silence victims and improving standards to tackle discrimination. 

South Yorkshire bids to become music education hub

14 Sep 2023

South Yorkshire has thrown its hat in the ring to become the home of a new music education hub.

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) approved plans to apply to Arts Council England (ACE) funding to become a Hub Lead Organisation (HLO) at a meeting on Tuesday.

In June, it was announced that the number of music education hubs nationwide would be cut by almost two-thirds from the academic year 2024/25.

The change forms part of the new Investment Programme for Music Hubs, which ACE is delivering on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE).

Established in 2012, music hubs offer young people aged between 5 and 18 the opportunity to learn an instrument and join music groups and choirs, as well as provide training for teachers. There are 116 hubs across the country, including locations in Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Rotherham. 

The ACE-administered bidding process to become a new HLO opened in July. When the investment programme begins in September 2024, the number of music hubs will fall to 43, a reduction of 63%. 

A paper drawn up by officials said the new hub would build upon South Yorkshire's "rich, diverse and growing music ecosystem" and "enhance music education delivery across the region", according to the BBC.

Stuart Whatmore, Head of the Tri-borough Music Hub (TBMH), a leading figure in music education, has previously cautioned that the top-down nature of planned government reforms could create “more challenge, more crisis-management and potentially less creativity” in local areas. 

Sage Gateshead renamed The Glasshouse

An exterior view of The Glasshouse venue, which opened in 2004
13 Sep 2023

Decision to change name of venue taken after announcement last year that an arena and conference centre to be built next door would be called The Sage.

Brixton Academy: £1.2m spent on safety improvements

13 Sep 2023

Operator promises improved safety measures if venue is permitted to reopen and rejects concerns a new risk assessment process would become a “proxy for racial discrimination”.

Proms attendance up on pre-pandemic levels

13 Sep 2023

Average attendance figures for the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall this year were significantly up on 2019.

According to figures released by the BBC, more than half the main evening concerts at the venue sold out, with an average audience attendance across the season at the Hall of 93%. This is up seven percentage points on pre-pandemic levels in 2019. 

Nearly half (47%) of audiences at the Royal Albert Hall were attending a Prom for the first time.

Meanwhile, nearly one million people watched the First Night of the Proms on BBC Two, its strongest overnight TV audience since 2009. A peak audience of 3.5 million people watched the Last Night of the Proms on BBC One.

Sam Jackson, Controller of BBC Radio 3 said: "This has been a fantastic year for the Proms, and demonstrates the country’s appetite for classical music from the BBC. 

"In multiple ways, audiences are higher than pre-pandemic figures, and I’m particularly pleased to see so many young people coming to classical music, often for the very first time."

Music industry urges investment in teachers

12 Sep 2023

Government must recruit "an army of music teachers" to avert the risk of a lost generation of talent, leaders in the music industry have warned.

A manifesto published by UK Music ahead of the general election expected next year, calls on a new government to develop a comprehensive, medium- to long-term music strategy for growth.

In addition to investing millions in music education and boosting the number of teachers, it calls for controls in relation to the use of AI, action on the difficulties faced by artists touring in the European Union and the introduction of a tax credit to encourage new UK music production.

The manifesto also calls for an end to "rip-off" secondary ticketing practices.

UK Music’s Interim Chief Executive Tom Kiehl said: “We run a real risk of a lost generation of musical talent in the UK without urgent action to stem the decline in music education.

“The government must put music education front and centre by recruiting and training an army of new music teachers to give young people the chance to learn to play an instrument and the potential of a rewarding career doing something they love.

“Unless we invest in our young people and give them the opportunity of musical education, there will be an existential threat to the talent pipeline on which the music industry relies."

Mercury Prize winners call for funding across UK

11 Sep 2023

Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective have said music funding needs to diversify away from London to make more opportunities elsewhere in the UK.

The London-based Jazz quintet, who won the prestigious music prize last week, were the ninth consecutive winners to come from the capital.

In total, three-quarters of the year’s twelve nominations were from London.

Bandleader Femi Koleoso told the BBC focus on music from the capital is due to funding.

“If we were to diversify that, the list would diversify,” he said.

“I celebrate places like East London Arts and Music, The Brit School and all the brilliant things in London that allow people like us to exist.”

“But at the same time I'd love to see it replicated elsewhere in the UK and then you might have 10, 12 nominees from different regions.”

During the band’s acceptance speech last week, Koleoso paid tribute to “special people putting time and effort into [helping] young people to play music”.

“This is a special moment for every single organisation across the country ploughing their efforts and time into young people playing music,” he added.

“Let me tell you something really serious – we've got something special in the UK. We've got something special by way of young musicians, so let's continue to support that.”

Group protests Brexit during Last Night of the Proms

11 Sep 2023

A music group arranged an anti-Brexit demonstration during the Last Night of the BBC Proms on Saturday (9 September).

The group in question, Thank EU For the Music, handed thousands of EU flags outside the Albert Hall on Saturday (9 September), which were waved by audience members throughout the evening, including during a performance of Rule Britannia.

An open letter shared on their Facebook page and addressed to BBC Director General Tim Davie said audience members took the European flags inside “in solidarity with musicians who feel (like countless others) the destructive impact of Britain's recent isolation from Europe”.

“We appreciate that the BBC strives to avoid controversy at all costs, but would gently point out that in doing so you might on occasion have chosen reticence rather than objectivity with regards editorial policy on Brexit matters,” the letter continues.

“I'm sure it cannot have escaped your attention that the artistic endeavours on stage now happen despite, not because of, the limitations that Britain's departure from the European Union have imposed on the creative industries.”

The display provoked backlash from Brexiters and Eurosceptics. Former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor led calls for an inquiry by the BBC.

“Disgraceful & misguided BBC messing up a British tradition; a political gesture which would make Sir Henry Wood turn in his grave. Utterly vulgar & wrong. Rule Britannia, not Rule EU!” he posted on Twitter/X.

Third of UK musicians earn less than £14k

Two cellists performing in public
11 Sep 2023

First census of UK musicians highlights the challenges of a career in the music industry, with low earnings proving a career barrier for many and significant numbers struggling to support their families.

Over 80% of UK musicians report loss of earnings due to Brexit

07 Sep 2023

A survey suggests that 82% of UK musicians impacted by Brexit have experienced a loss of earnings, with DJs and vocalists among the worst affected.

Commissioned by UK Music, the survey questioned 1,461 musicians, vocalists, composers, songwriters, lyricists, producers and DJs about the challenges they have faced since the UK left the EU more than three years ago. 

The results show that 30% of music creators have seen a change in their earnings during that period. Of those whose income had been impacted, 82% said their profits had decreased, while 18% said their incomes had improved post-Brexit. 

Nearly two-fifths of those hit by Brexit said it was no longer financially viable for them to tour EU nations. 

One of the biggest problems cited by artists affected by Brexit was securing visas and work permits, with 59% of respondents considering it a significant issue. 

Other barriers to touring in the EU cited by participants included administration costs (56%), transport costs (55%), shipping and logistics (54%), production costs (34%), carnets (32%), and cabotage (13%). 

UK Music Interim Chief Executive Tom Kiehl said, “Restrictions on visas, work permits, truck hire and merchandise sales along with excessive red tape are making touring simply unviable for many.

“The ability to tour internationally in the early stages of an artist’s career is crucial to their success and our sector’s ambition to grow British music exports amid fierce global competition. 

“We need the Government to make it a priority to secure a Cultural Touring Agreement with the EU to remove these barriers.”

Bringing live music to Birkenhead

An image of Future Yard building
05 Sep 2023

Covid was a challenging time for live music. But that didn’t stop Future Yard, a new live music venue in Birkenhead, from opening its doors - with the help of a loan - as Director Craig Pennington tells Seva Phillips.

Schools in deprived areas get music equipment funds

Pupils at Hallsville Primary School hold their ukuleles
05 Sep 2023

Money will go to 29 schools in areas of high deprivation to provide access to musical instruments to young people facing the biggest barriers.

Two-day hearing to consider Brixton Academy future

exterior of Brixton Academy
04 Sep 2023

Met Police want Lambeth Council to revoke venue operator's licence, claiming issues that led to tragic crush incident last year are yet to be addressed.

Interest in orchestral concerts at five-year high

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
31 Aug 2023

Researchers find non-traditional programming is attracting newcomers to performances.

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