Led by recording artist Frank Hamilton, UK Music's Futures Group have created a comprehensive mentoring guide to offer support and advice to anyone seeking a career in the music industry.
The new guide - called Mentoring in Music - comes at a critical time as the UK music industry - which supports 200,000 jobs and contributed £5.8bn to the economy pre-COVID - fights to get back on its feet.
Artist and Bedroom Indie label owner Frank Hamilton, known for his pioneering One Song A Week project and critically acclaimed follow up album Songs To Make Life Slightly Less Awkward, said he hoped the guide would help new entrants to the industry navigate the best path to finding the right mentor.
Frank is a member of the UK Music Futures Group. Established in 2016 the group gives a platform to the next generation of future leaders in the industry.
He hopes that the guide will also encourage those working in all parts of the industry to lend their skills and expertise to advice h others by becoming a mentor.
Frank Hamilton said: ‘When it comes to mentoring and the talent pipeline, I think the music industry could be doing far better. There are already a lot of fantastic programs out there, but most of them are massively over-subscribed and under-resourced.
‘If this guide helps just one person to understand the process and make it seem more achievable, then I’ve done what I set out to do.
‘In truth I hope it can inspire many to seek out their own mentoring arrangements and improve their chances of success, both personally and professionally.’
The UK Music Futures Group has also devised a directory of current mentorship schemes, including the likes of we.grow and Cre8ing Vision.
UK Music Futures Group Chair Amanda Maxwell said: ‘The UK Music Futures Group was set up to give people from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to develop their skills and experience.
‘Schemes like the UK Music Futures Group and mentoring are key to driving the next generation of thought-leaders.
‘We hope that this guide will act as a reminder to the industry to be more pro-active in supporting emerging talent outside the usual channels. It takes all of us to make small steps to make change.’
UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said: ‘The future of the music industry relies on a healthy and diverse talent pipeline. We want to make sure people from every background get the best possible support to forge successful careers in the music industry.
‘We need to be ensuring we are developing not only the headliners of tomorrow, but also the business leaders, innovators and countless others that make our industry world-leading.
‘This guide is an invaluable resource for everyone in the music industry at all levels. Not only that but it shows the ingenuity, hard work and passion that our talent pipeline can deliver.
‘We are really proud of Frank and the UK Music Futures Group – they deserve huge credit for their fantastic work on producing this indispensable guide and directory.’
