Music

The Independent Society of Musicians (ISM) has labelled secondary music teacher recruitment as “not good enough” after the Department for Education revealed that it only reached 27% of its target.

The target for trainee music teachers has only been reached once in the last 10 years (in 2020/21). Before this year, the previous low was 64% in 2022/23, when 301 teachers were recruited against a target of 470.

For 2023/24, the government set a higher target of 790, which it missed by more than two-thirds. Overall, the government missed its target for all secondary teacher recruitment by 50 per cent this year.

The government published its National Plan for Music Education in 2021, outlining its vision for music education in England until 2030 and announcing that £25m would be available to schools to purchase instruments and equipment.

Last month, DfE announced that trainee music teachers at secondary level will be entitled to a bursary of £10,000 from September 2024 after previously axing the support in 2020.

ISM Chief Executive Deborah Annetts said: “Meeting just 27% of the secondary music trainee teacher recruitment target is dire and simply not good enough from the government.

“A career as a music teacher can be hugely rewarding, and our teachers make an enormous difference to the lives of their students.

“The government must urgently look at the decline of music in schools due to accountability measures, the EBacc and Progress 8, as well as the pay of teachers as current policies have led to this situation where would-be teachers are put off. 

“The government set out ambitious plans for music in the refreshed National Plans for Music Education; however, without the workforce to deliver it, those plans will never be realised, and the teaching of music may disappear in schools. All this will damage the education our students receive, our music sector and the precious talent pipeline.”
 

A music venue in Bath that has hosted some of the biggest names in UK music has closed with immediate effect.

The Music Venue Trust said that the city's Moles venue has filed for insolvency, stating that the rise in costs and overheads and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis have made it impossible to continue.

Since opening its doors in 1978, the 220-capacity venue has hosted acts including Ed Sheeran, The Killers, Fat Boy Slim, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, The Smiths and Idles during the early stages of their careers.

Tom Maddicott, co-owner of Moles, said: "Massively increased costs of stock, utilities and rent compounded by our customers also feeling the impact of the crisis has made it impossible to continue. 

"It’s obviously an incredibly difficult decision to have to take, for our team, the staff, the local community, and the artists that over the years have created such an incredible history of music.

"But the reality is that live music at grassroots level is no longer economically viable, and we will not be the only grassroots music venue forced to close. 

"There needs to be a major shake-up of the live industry with the big players supporting the grassroots where it all begins to secure that pipeline of talent."

Dartington Summer School and Festival, held in Devon for 75 years, will move to Norfolk in 2024. 

Attracting hundreds of professional and amateur musicians, the festival has taken place at Dartington Hall near Exeter since 1953, but earlier this month, the estate’s trust said the event was "under review". The trust also announced that Artistic Director Sara Mohr-Pietsch and the summer school team stepped down.

The independent Dartington International Summer School Foundation, which supports the event, has announced it will hold a summer school and festival in July 2024 at Gresham’s School in Holt, Norfolk. 

A spokesperson told the BBC it would provide "a fabulous base... with stunning performance and rehearsal facilities along with relaxing and comfortable residential accommodation for participants, all surrounded by beautiful grounds and woodlands".

Totnes councillor Georgina Allen said: "It’s such a shame to see this go – it has been a big part of the cultural offering of this part of Devon”, adding that she hoped other festivals and events would partner with the trust. 
 

The Council of Music Makers (CMM) has dubbed a government hearing on the impact of AI “profoundly tone-deaf” for giving more input to industry executives than creators.

Monday’s hearing (20 November) was part of a Department For Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) roundtable. Representatives from the music, film, book and photography sectors were invited to comment on the opportunities and challenges AI poses to the creative industries.

In an open letter, CMM said that while it welcomed Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer's acknowledgement that “creatives rightly have concerns – and proposals – about how their work is used by artificial intelligence now and in the future” and her commitment to consider the issues raised, the hearing was “profoundly unbalanced and tone-deaf”.

CMM said it was “hugely concerned” that the roundtable gave one seat to a representative of all creatives across all media but had three seats for executives from major record companies. 

The organisation noted that corporate rightsholders are duty-bound to prioritise the interests of their shareholders.

In a statement, CMM said:” Of course, both corporate rightsholders and music-makers believe that AI companies must respect copyright and other creator rights – on that we are aligned. But corporate rightsholders cannot and do not speak for music-makers, and it cannot be assumed they are making decisions in the interest of music-makers.

“We urge record labels and the technology companies to actively engage with music-makers on AI. And we call on government to ensure that human creators are at the centre of its valuable work to ensure that the opportunities of AI are achieved in a way that benefits everyone.”
 

PRS for Music is extending its partnership with cloud computing service Oracle.

The music royalty distributor has moved its royalty payment database to Oracle Exadata Database Service on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), which it says has accelerated payments to its 165,000 members.

PRS for Music is the first collecting society in the world to have migrated its data processing systems to OCI. It attributes the move as “instrumental” in hitting a record-breaking £836m of royalties in 2022.

In the third quarter of 2023, PRS for Music broke its quarterly payout record, distributing £239m.

The society has previously promised to be distributing more than £1bn in royalities annually by 2026.

“Working with Oracle to migrate our distribution systems to the cloud was a seismic shift in infrastructure for PRS for Music, and a landmark moment in our industry,” said Mark Krajewski, Managing Director, Strategic Alliances and Chief Information Officer of PRS for Music.

“Exadata Database Service on OCI has been a catalyst for our ambitious data strategy, and with cutting-edge technologies in place we can continue to pioneer new activities to define the future of music royalty management. 

“We have more control over our data than ever before, allowing for better data-driven decision making and greater speed, transparency, and accuracy in royalty distributions.”

Two music programmes designed to provide support to people with dementia and their carers have been launched by The National Academy For Social Prescribing (NASP).

The £5m Power Of Music Fund has been established to distribute small grants to grassroots dementia choirs and music groups, with support from organisations including Utley Foundation, Arts Council England and Music For All.

Applications for the fund open on 22 November 22, providing money to cover basic costs, including room hire, transport and refreshments. 

One grant of £500k will be available for a new Centre of Excellence, which will test new approaches to embedding music as part of dementia care, gather evidence of cost savings for the NHS, and design new models of care which could be scaled up and spread across England.  

Already active is the Music Can website, which aims to help people living with dementia, carers and practitioners feel confident about using music as part of care, offering a directory of support, playlists, music activities and advice.

The platform builds on recommendations from last year’s Power of Music report and has been led by Universal Music UK and developed by Boston Consulting Group.

Speaking about the launch, Charlotte Osborn-Forde, CEO at NASP, said: “Music can be a lifeline for people living with dementia and their carers, creating moments of joy and connection when so much else is hard to cope with. 

“It is the perfect example of social prescribing and something that can have long-lasting impact on people’s wellbeing and take pressure off the NHS. 

“But dementia choirs and local projects often find it hard to keep going from one month to the next, and they are rarely well connected to wider healthcare services, meaning lots of people miss out on the benefits." 

“We want to help make music a standard part of dementia care – with doctors, link workers, and others offering music-based activities and referring people to the Music Can platform.”
 

The Department for Education has announced that trainee music teachers at secondary level will be entitled to a bursary of £10,000 from September 2024, after previously axing the support in 2020.

The tax-free sum, which is less than half that on offer for languages and STEM subjects, will be paid in equal monthly instalments over the duration of a trainee teacher's course.

It's hoped the bursary's reintroduction will significantly boost the number of music teachers. Last month, an Ofsted report on music teaching in schools found some schools were experiencing challenges recruiting music teachers at the key stage 3. In a few cases, music had been temporarily removed from the curriculum because of a shortage of specialists.

According to the National Foundation for Educational Research, just 31% of the target for music teacher recruitment will be met in 2023. 

UK Music’s Interim Chief Executive Tom Kiehl welcomed the return of the bursary for music but said: ”There is still far more to be done to fix the current shortage of music teachers.”

Chris Walters, National Organiser for Education, Health & Wellbeing at the Musicians’ Union, added: “We urge the government to revisit its own National Plan for Music Education and review the other barriers that stand in the way of the plan’s delivery, including straitened school budgets and mixed messaging to schools about the importance of the arts.”

Meanwhile, Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of the ISM, noted: “Despite the good news for secondary teachers, there is no bursary at primary level, where a lack of courses remains a point of great concern." In over two-thirds of the primary schools, Ofsted found that non-specialist teachers taught music, with over half lacking the subject knowledge to teach the curriculum well. 

The government has announced that trainee Art & Design and English teachers will also be offered a £10,000 bursary for 2024/25.