Be

Back in 2015, only the 2nd year of Independent Venue Week, we ran 4 “Introduction to the Live Music Industry” workshops in venues over two Saturday’s in four locations around the UK. These sessions were hugely successful and formed the basis for what is now ‘Soundcheck Sessions’ and ‘Be’ as part of our ‘Young People’ programme.

The first official run of Be was delivered in 2022 at The Smokehouse in Ipswich – a community focussed music venue, along with their sister learning organisation, Out Loud Music.  This free, event offered a broad yet thorough introduction to 12 core areas of the music industry, for local young people aged approximately 16-25. Many, but not all, of the young people came from outside the mainstream – possibly excluded, from low socio-economic areas or other demographics that meant opportunities like this aren’t readily available to them. 

Across the course, a leading expert from a relevant trade body or leading sector organisation offered a broad, insightful, and thorough introduction to particular roles within their sector of the music industry. In these relaxed sessions, delivered via a mixture of talks, presentations & interviews, each speaker shared details on their organisation, offering the chance for signposting on to relevant organisations in areas the young people found most interesting across the course. After attending, the participants could opt in to receive an accreditation certificate recognising they have completed this introduction to the music industry, all within the setting of a local grassroots music venue.  

Further editions of Be have taken place in the likes of Lewisham, South East London which offered a five-week course with industry experts for the young people of that area in collaboration with Lewisham Music Hub. Further courses will be announced soon.

Coming Soon

'Be' at the Smokehouse, Ipswich

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FROM THE PARTICIPANTS

‘I’ve learnt a lot about different roles, different pathways, and beating the imposter syndrome down. Also breaking down barriers that might have been there because of what schools, colleges and university tell you about the way the music industry works. I’ve learnt there’s a lot more to the roles I knew about, I’ve learnt different names, terminology, job roles and umbrellas they fall under.'
The Smokehouse Ipswich
'Everything is kinda linked together. To anyone who would consider signing up to Be, I would say to do it. Attend as many sessions as you can, even if you don’t think its going to be aimed at you, or if you don’t wanna go into that area or think it’s interesting to you, just turn up anyway, you never know who you might meet, what you might learn, what questions you might get answered.'
The SmokehouseIpswich
‘I found the Q&A really interesting, enjoyable and helpful. Plus learning about the journey into the industry I found really interesting and engaging because this is what I want to do (be an artist) full time.'
The SmokehouseIpswich
'Amazing, interesting and very knowledgeable, thank you!’
The SmokehouseIpswich
‘I enjoyed learning about people's experiences about how they got involved in the music industry.’
The SmokehouseIpswich
‘I found it quite interesting in learning how to make a living out of being a musician and how you can get into being one full time without doing any sort of job to support.’
The SmokehouseIpswich
'I think it was really inspiring for people trying to find a spot in the music industry.'
Lewisham Music HubLewisham
'In the course I’ve learnt a lot more about the industry because before I thought it was just managers, labels and artists but my eyes have opened up to different areas and valuable points in the music industry.'
Lewisham Music HubLewisham
'Loved the BE course super useful and helpful. Loved how down to earth the speakers were and the fact they gave us insight and professional outlook ok the industry.'
Lewisham Music HubLewisham
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FROM THE PARTNERS

‘It’s essential for us as a venue to work with young people and aspiring artists to generate the next wave of young people accessing our facilities, whether they’re coming here as a volunteer or an artist themselves performing on the stage. So it’s been a really great way of engaging grass roots and hard to reach communities. Running the Be programme through the smokehouse has been really beneficial as we’ve been bringing in people who might not have necessarily known about the venue, but also demystifying what a venue is, and ensuring people understand it’s a safe and exciting environment to be around and be involved in. Running programmes and events like this will definitely bring new audiences into the venue, help to demystify what the roles in a venue are, and potentially people that have been on the course will want to get involved, volunteer, and look for employment opportunities too.’
Joe BaileyThe Smokehouse, Ipswich
''BE' in Lewisham was a great way to connect with a community of passionate youth project workers and their young people. Allowing the small group to meet industry professionals offered quite a bespoke offer and chance for the group to not only hear about their work but share examples of it and get realtime feedback. Most of the guests had some kind of link to Lewisham which was both locally relevant and aspirational. I look forward to the future of the young people.'
Angelle JosephProgramme Coodinator for 'Be' in Lewisham
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