the music industry on low-income

Attending the BRIT School allowed me to study music, access quality facilities and surround myself with other creatives for free.

Whilst other institutions may offer similar services, there is no place other than the BRIT School that provides creative education at their standard for free.

Worryingly, there is increasing rhetoric that the school requires more funding now than ever before to sustain itself amidst the last decade of cuts to school funding.

The significance of free creative education to those from a low-income background cannot be disputed, moreover the devastating consequences of any fees being introduced would be irrefutable.

Socioeconomic diversity is undoubtedly an ongoing issue, and it was of no surprise when Channel 4s exclusive report found that less than 10% of film and TV workers are from working class backgrounds: the lowest in a decade.

Coupled with reports from 2022 that the proportion of working-class actors, musicians and writers has shrunk by half since the 1970s, it is hard not to argue that a large proportion of voices simply go unrepresented in these industries.

To break into the music industry from a low-income background is increasingly impossible.

Without economic support, the requirement to spend hours working in potentially other personally unfulfilling sectors for financial support is a glaring barrier that is difficult to overcome.

Record labels have generally shifted from developing artists from the ground up, to now essentially requiring artists to have built their own following and brand before getting involved.

For those from a low-income background, the logistics and overall costs of the merchandising, touring, rehearsal space, or equipment involved makes their goal seemingly unattainable.

It is not every label, nor is it that most have simply abandoned investing at all into any upcoming artists, but the number is certainly waning.

Networking is a fundamental aspect of the music industry.

Author Nastasha Carthew, the founder of The Working Class Writers festival, exposed the obstacles that prevent individuals from low-income backgrounds from networking to the Guardian.

She claims that whilst people “do want authentic voices”, challenges arise “when you haven’t got the mates who are going to publicise your book.”

“The lack of ability to take risks is another barrier, such as working two jobs or not having money to go out for drinks to build a network”, she added.

Bashing privately-educated musicians is not what I am, or anyone should be, in the business of doing.

Nor should they not be allowed to make music; imagine a world with no Radiohead, or Nick Drake?

Rather, it is clear that this is a systemic issue that must be addressed, challenged, and changed.

Never before has it been harder to be a creative from a low-income background, which only increases the importance of unions, grants, and schemes, and institutions such as the BRIT School.

The problem is easy to identify and argue, the solution is maybe less so.