SECTOR SPOTLIGHT - MUSIC INDUSTRY
Advice for Creators by Creators
The Musicians’ Union represents over thirty thousand musicians working in all sectors
of the music business. As well as negotiating on behalf of its members with all the
major employers in the industry, the MU offers a range of services for self-employed
professional and student musicians of all ages. Visit the MU website to find out how
the Union helps musicians in the live arena, the recording studio, in education and as
writer/composers. www.theMU.org Students can join for £20!!!
Shao Dow – Rapper
Shao Dow is a professional rapper, manga author and possible ninja who scooped
the 2017 AIM Award for Hardest Working Artist – he has self-released three albums,
which have sold more than 25,000 copies, created a headphones brand and published
a manga book through his own company, DiY Gang Entertainment.
The London-born artist makes a full-time living from his music, manga and merchandise and has
even appeared on ITV’s Ninja Warrior UK. He was recently invited into Parliament to speak on
behalf of grassroots music venues across the country. Shao Dow has opened for the likes of
KRS-One, Wiley, Ghetts, Stormzy, Tech N9ne, 6LACK, Skepta and more. Shao Dow said:
People ask me a lot (A LOT) how to get into music, how to make it, how to get started. To
get started is easy, just make what you love and share it with the world. Learn what you did
well, improve on what you could’ve done better, rinse and repeat. How to ‘make it’ is difficult, requires all the
time, patience, hard work, dedication, skill and effort that you have, plus some more. And to how to get ‘into’
music ... well, if you need to be told the answer to that one, perhaps you’re not quite ready yet. To cut a very long
story short, a music career is an ongoing voyage of love and struggle, don’t expect all the answers or all the glory
immediately, make great music and enjoy the journey, not just the destination.
Emma McGann - Singer-songwriter
Emma’s musical journey
has seen her earn BBC
Radio 1 airplay and
features on air and at
festivals, nominations for
various awards in the U.S.
including 3 Shorty Awards
and an iHeartRadio
Music Award in 2017, a successfully fan-funded album via
Kickstarter, over 11 million views across her music livestreams
to date… and all as an artist waving the independent flag.
Intertwining tech with her music at every turn, recent years have
seen McGann explore virtual reality, crypto-based livestreaming
applications and even her very own Amazon Alexa Skill which
fans can interact with.
Emma said:
At the very early stages of pursuing a career in music, you should
be networking as much as you are writing/producing/performing
etc. It’s so valuable to connect with those around you and establish
new contacts, not just online but IRL. It might sound boring to you
compared to getting creative and making the music you love -
but it’ll be essential for both when you’re first starting out and
throughout the rest of your career. Be sure to go out of your way
to meet other artists and industry professionals that exist outside of
your current circles - it’ll open up a world of opportunities to further
your career.
ORGANISATIONS THAT CAN
HELP YOU ON YOUR WAY
There is loads of great work supporting artists and
communities across the UK and it’s worth checking out
these amazing organisations such as The Oh Yeah Centre
in Northern Ireland https://www.ohyeahbelfast.com/, The
Forté Project in Wales https://www.forteproject.co.uk/
and The Scottish Music Centre in Scotland http://www.
scottishmusiccentre.com/
Check out the UK Music members that represent these
amazing creators https://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/
https://mpg.org.uk/ https://www.thefac.org/ https://
www.prsformusic.com/ https://www.ppluk.com/
Further info for creators can be found in UK Music’s
Career Pack https://www.ukmusic.org/assets/general/
UK_Music_Careers_Information_Pack.pdf
Think about contacting a PRS Foundation Talent Development
Partner https://prsfoundation.com/talent-developmentpartners/
or visiting a UK Music Rehearsal Space https://
www.ukmusic.org/skills-academy/rehearsal-spaces/ or
uploading your music to BBC Introducing https://www.bbc.
co.uk/introducing attending BBC Music Introducing LIVE
https://www.introducinglive.co.uk/ or getting your work
online with Kycker https://www.kycker.net/
20 | Careermag for School Leavers Issue 15 www.careermap.co.uk