Youth Music

"Creativity is a human need. It’s essential." - Jordan Stephens Following a decade of austerity, the grassroots youth music sector is facing a financial crisis. 41% of the vital projects we support have told us that they’re at risk of closure. Without action, the future of young people’s lives in music will be even more bleak. We have launched our urgent £1 million #RescueTheRoots fundraising campaign to address the funding crisis threatening grassroots youth music projects across the country. We will match every pound raised up to £1 million to create a total of £2 million to quickly distribute to youth organisations and emerging young creatives who are in urgent need of support. Donate now to safeguard the future of UK music: https://lnkd.in/erTZKiTc

Grassroots youth music projects are facing a crisis. Without urgent support, 41% of these vital spaces face closure within a decade ⚠️ The time to act is now. For every pound you donate, we'll match it - doubling the impact you make. Donate to #RescueTheRoots to ensure the future of UK music: https://lnkd.in/erTZKiTc Assets by Youth Music NextGen graphic designer Ruby Usiskin.

Does your organisation run an innovative project for early years, Disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent young people, or work in youth justice? There's just over a week left to apply to our Trailblazer Fund, which offers grants of to £30,000 ⌛ Deadline: Friday 11 April, 5pm

Renowned graphic designer Anthony Burrill has created a striking protest T-shirt to rally support for our #RescueTheRoots campaign. Set to launch at the beginning of the summer, the T-shirt features a bold design using his vintage letterpress style, featured in all of his work, and a powerful message, urging people to take action to protect grassroots youth music. Proceeds will go directly to funding our £1 million ‘Rescue the Roots’ initiative, a vital effort to safeguard grassroots youth music projects across the UK from a growing funding crisis. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eaF875pe

The Youth Music Catalyser Fund is now open for Expressions of Interest ✅ We’re offering grants from £30,001 to £300,000 to organisations in England that are ready to sustain, scale, or spark change in the music sector. If your work helps children and young people facing barriers to make, learn, or earn in music, you can apply for funding. Your project should align with one of our key themes: 🎵 Early years 🎵 Disabled, d/Deaf & neurodivergent young people 🎵 Youth justice system 🎵 Young people facing barriers 🎵 Young adults 🎵 Organisations & the workforce Find out more: https://lnkd.in/enPEjqja

New Exchanging Notes learning sessions (free, online!) Explore our page here - we've got A Brilliant Thing delivering a series of three leadership and resilience workshops as well as our regular introduction to safeguarding workshop with Rachel Graham from TiPP. More info: https://bit.ly/41Kv255

Is your organisation thinking about applying to the Trailblazer Fund? Check out our guidance docs to find out more about everything from eligibility to budgeting, decision making and more. https://lnkd.in/e6k5KecD

"Young people across eight UK regions will lose access to grassroots projects within the next decade." To combat the crisis threatening grassroots music projects, our #RescueTheRoots campaign will match every pound raised up to £1m, to create a total of £2m 🚀 Read more via The Independent: https://lnkd.in/egYwjaey

"It’s great to see Ed Sheeran’s open letter to the Prime Minister calling for an immediate cash injection into music education. And it’s important too that industry partners take concerted action themselves and work together to address the current funding crisis. Unfortunately the situation is even more bleak for grassroots youth music projects than the letter stated; our recent survey (January 2025) found that 41% are at risk of closure. That’s why we launched our Rescue The Roots fundraising campaign earlier this month, which we’re backing with £1m from our reserves in the first phase, to match pound for pound other co-investment and donations secured. The whole of the industry needs to join forces so we’re punching above our collective weight, to demonstrate to government that we’re working cohesively which will then help to secure public investment. Strategic collaboration within the sector itself is key. Then young people, particularly those who are marginalised, can benefit from the personal, social and educational power of participating in music on a long-term, sustainable basis. This, in turn, helps to create the future creative workforce both on and off stage." - Matt Griffiths, CEO, Youth Music

"Find your coping methods and don’t let the situation stop you from trying your best." Lily Fontaine, frontwoman of Mercury Prize winning band English Teacher, shares her deeply personal account of coming up in the music industry, and how she overcame the barriers that held her back. #WomensHistoryMonth https://lnkd.in/ezuXsCPn