State Champ Radio music education
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This past summer, we were selected among 13 Syracuse University students in the Bandier Music Business Program to study the music business hands-on by visiting five cities across three countries in Latin America.
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Bandier visits different emerging music markets almost every spring, with previous trips touching down in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea and Indonesia, among others. This year, for the first time ever, Latin America was our destination, and we visited Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, where we met with over 75 executives across virtually every sector of the music business. We gratefully learned from top executives at Spotify, YouTube, Sony, Universal, Warner, Live Nation, Believe and countless local labels, publishers, collecting societies and more. We also attended multiple festivals (including Laufey at Popload in Sao Paulo!) and nightclubs, immersed ourselves in local culture, and enjoyed incredible food.
What we encountered challenged what we know about the music industry in the U.S. and opened our eyes to the different opportunities and challenges to be found in different territories. Here are our takeaways as students of the music industry looking to make an impact across countries and cultures.
Different Strokes
Some of the aspects of the music business in Latin America were surprisingly (at least for many of us traveling there for the first time) different from what we’ve known in the U.S. For starters, YouTube ad-supported models were much more important in these markets. In the United States, paid subscriptions easily account for more than two-thirds of the total recorded music market, and 80 percent of streaming revenues. But in markets like Colombia, ad-supported streaming was worth nearly 40 percent of the entire market. This puts enormous focus and importance on finding ways to improve conversion rates from ad-supported to paying subscriptions.
Relatedly, with much of the internet access coming from mobile partners, music partnerships with telecoms become even more important. In Brazil, for example, Deezer offers “free” service with TIM Brasil; and in Colombia, Claro users having access to Claro Música, now a top five service in the country.
Merch was also very different from our U.S. experiences as we traveled; counterfeit merch thrives in some of these markets, to the point where some tours and shows have accepted they cannot compete with the enormous markdowns happening just outside Latin American venues.
And finally, as AI-generated music rises in popularity, we were fascinated to learn more about Latin America’s legal framework, rooted in continental law, including moral rights. While the U.S. enforces moral rights in some ways, largely in the context of encoding them into other laws, these rights were more powerful and central in Latin America. Moral rights are not transferable and are distinct from economic rights (like copyright) and focus on the author’s personality and identity. We heard from certain executives that moral rights could be used as an important tool for protecting artists from AI engines that might look to train without permission.
What’s Next (Emerging Genres in South America)
We aren’t just studying the music business – we are all also huge music fans. And we found a lot of exciting new sounds in our travels that deserve a bigger audience. In Colombia, Latin Afrobeats, a blend of African diasporic beats with reggaetón and champeta, is showing regional growth on the DSPs, and combines elements that will already be familiar to music fans. Executives told us that this movement largely emerged from Cali, and has spread along the Atlantic coast to Cartagena, Barranquilla and elsewhere, with consumption growing in Bogota, behind artists such as Zaider, DFZM, Hamilton and Junior Zamora. (If you want to know more about this, read Billboard‘s excellent list The New Generation of Afro-Colombian Artists: 10 Gems to Know.)
In Brazil, Funk Brasilero, a genre deriving from the favelas and peripheries of major cities, has been around for a decade or more now, but deserves to expand beyond the country. Some of the favorite songs and artists we discovered on this trip include DJ Caio Prince, MC Jacaré, MC Delux and MC Pedrinho. While often known for its samba, Pedra do Sal was one of many center stages where we were able to fully absorb the culture and energy of Funk Brasiliero. Where is this energy in the pop versions of funk that get pushed in the States? The genre is held back by the disorganization of those driving it as much as anything else. But we, along with many of the other Bandier students on the trip, felt that these hyper-local scenes that are youth-driven offer authentic soundscapes for the next global crossover.
Bandier program music business students with Colombian icon Carlos Vives.
Claudia Elena Vasquez
Mexico in the Crosshairs?
Latin music’s path north — from South America, through Mexico and into the U.S. — makes it all the more concerning that Mexican artists have had to cancel tours because of visa issues. Even big artists like Grupo Firme and Julión Álvarez have had concerts canceled because the Trump administration has revoked their visas. At least one major label executive we spoke with acknowledged that they were keeping an eye on this increased U.S. scrutiny, particularly as it relates to corridos. The U.S. government has cited these specific songs as glorifying cartels, while at the same time, some local Mexican governments have been banning them. If these issues continue, they threaten to disrupt the distribution pipeline that has been so successfully running south to north in recent years.
Brazil vs. LATAM
Brazil operates as both part of and apart from the LATAM music business. While often grouped under the “Latin” umbrella, Brazil’s linguistic, cultural and historical differences create a distinct industry ecosystem. Spanish-language charts are often dominated by Mexican or Colombian acts, but Brazil has built its own parallel, Portuguese infrastructure, with its own genres like funk, Sertanejo and Forro. This makes it all the more remarkable that Brazil has re-emerged as a top 10 IFPI market, underscoring how important music is to the population. We felt it in the clubs and on the streets, and everywhere from sports bars to restaurants. But it also presents unique challenges for crossing over Brazilian acts. We learned that most Latin American music works its way up South America and into Mexico before crossing over to the States; a lack of Spanish makes this path much less likely.
Props to Puerto Rico
We didn’t visit Puerto Rico on this trip, but the influence of the island was everywhere – and powerful, thanks to the expansion of reggaetón. Even before we touched down in Bogotá and Medellín in Colombia, we knew that reggaetón was not only a ruling genre in the country, but that the Colombian version is a worldwide phenomenon, behind artists like J Balvin and Karol G. As a Puerto Rican (Adriana) writing this, I can attest that I know a thing or two about reggaetón, but upon immersing myself in Colombian culture, I took note of a few differences the genre has there.
Though not always, Colombian reggaetón tends to sound more pop-oriented with more bouncy melodies. Another factor is the production tends to be more minimalist, focusing on the genre’s signature dembow rhythm, while Puerto Rican reggaetón usually carries more instrumental elements. The end result, however, is the same: Reggaetón is a unifying force throughout Latin America.
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Ed Sheeran has celebrated a major victory for his music education campaign as the U.K. government confirmed on Wednesday (Nov. 5) that music lessons will be taught more widely in schools.
Earlier today a major review of the National Curriculum – which dictates what subjects and topics are taught in non-fee-paying state schools – was published by the Labour government. The changes are the first in over a decade, and will see a number of modern topics (such as artificial intelligence) enter the classroom.
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The report says that arts subjects will also be “revitalised” and will see the scrapping of the English baccalaureate (EBacc), which critics – including Sheeran – said limited subject choice for students at a GCSE level (ages 14-16). Under the program, introduced in 2010 by then-education secretary Micahel Gove, pupils were required to study a minimum of seven GCSEs, including maths and a language, but the options did not include any arts subjects.
In March, Sheeran called on U.K. prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to scrap the Ebacc, deliver £250 million in spending towards music in a classroom environment and enlist more teachers for music subjects. His letter was backed by over 600 signatories, including Sir Elton John, Harry Styles, Coldplay and more. He also launched the Ed Sheeran Foundation in January to help support careers in music.
“We are at a critical point: a future of no music in state schools, no music teachers to teach, broken instruments and no grassroots venues,” he wrote in his letter. “As a young music student and aspiring artist, I benefited from opportunities in and out of school to learn and grow. Unfortunately, after decades of defunding and de-prioritising, music is no longer a right for all children – it’s a luxury for only a few.”
Sheeran’s efforts have now been recognized both by Starmer and Bridget Phillippson, secretary for education. The former sent a direct response to Sheeran saying that his “voice had been heard”. During her speech in parliament on Wednesday, Philippson credited Sheeran for speaking “so powerfully” on the subject. The final curriculum will be published in spring 2027, and schools will begin teaching it from September 2028.
Sheeran has responded to the news and the success of his letter, writing “With the help of the letter and everyone who signed it, I’m happy to say that some of the key points we raised have been recognized by the government today, marking the first change to the music curriculum in over 10 years. This involves diversifying the music genres taught in schools and removing outdated systems that stop kids from studying music and the arts as part of their school day. These changes give young people hope and the opportunity to study music.” See his full statement below.
The topic of music education was raised by a number of British artists at the BRIT Awards 2025, when winners Myles Smith and Ezra Collective called on action to help foster creativity among young people in education.
Ed Sheeran’s full statement
I set up the Ed Sheeran Foundation because every child deserves to have access to a meaningful music education, and the chance to experience the joy and confidence that musical expression can bring.
Shortly after setting up my foundation, I wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister about the critical state of music education in the UK and the fact it was slipping through the cracks. The letter was backed by so many incredible people across the music industry and education who all said the same thing: music education matters. The Prime Minister replied, recognising the challenges and expressing his commitment to change.
With the help of the letter and everyone who signed it, I’m happy to say that some of the key points we raised have been recognised by the government today, marking the first change to the music curriculum in over 10 years. This involves diversifying the music genres taught in schools and removing outdated systems that stop kids from studying music and the arts as part of their school day. These changes give young people hope and the opportunity to study music.
Without the encouragement I received in school, especially from my music teacher, I wouldn’t be a musician today, and I know so many of my peers feel the same. My music education went beyond learning and playing. It helped me find confidence in myself, and music itself was – and still is – so important for my mental health.
There’s a lot more to do to support music education, especially our music teachers, but this is a step in the right direction.
Thank you so much to everyone who signed and supported the letter.
Today is a good day.
Ed x
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Shortly after Paramount began pulling back its funding for Save the Music, which has donated instruments and tech equipment worth nearly $78 million to 2,800 U.S. schools, John Sykes held a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame board meeting in spring 2024. “This is the perfect fit for what we’re doing,” he told the group. “We have this huge, powerful platform, with some of the greatest artists in the world that we could put out there, going to schools, preaching the importance of music education.”
Beginning with a $1 million grant, and the promise of Hall of Fame inductees like Sheryl Crow and pop stars like Harry Styles and Olivia Rodrigo talking to students at schools around the U.S., the Hall of Fame announced a partnership with Save the Music on Tuesday (Oct. 28) to help fund Save the Music’s dozens of programs. “We hope the politicians and the local governments will hear about this story and find out why music education must stay, or must be reconnected with a public education,” says Sykes, the Hall of Fame’s foundation chairman, a top executive at broadcast giant iHeartMedia and an MTV co-founder who created Save the Music in 1997.
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Save the Music was once synonymous with VH1, where Sykes was president, and major stars like Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey headlined charity performances broadcast live on the powerful cable-music channel. But in recent years, Paramount has deemphasized its MTV and VH1 holdings, ramping down on its Save the Music support in the process. As a result, Save the Music has spent the last few years turning to other sources, including TikTok, Meta, Amazon and top promoters Live Nation and AEG Presents. In 2021, MacKenzie Scott, co-founder of Amazon and Jeff Bezos‘ ex-wife, provided a $2 million grant.
“As Paramount’s support gradually came down,” says Henry Donahue, the Save the Music Foundation’s longtime executive director, “we were very fortunate that a number of large foundations came in to fill the gap and actually grow the program.”
Save the Music, whose operating budget was $11 million last year, supports high-school students with initiatives like the J Dilla Music Technology Grant, named for the late hip-hop producer, which provides music-tech equipment and software for students and teachers. “The program is extremely valuable to students,” Samuel Davis, a Therrell High School teacher whose Atlanta classroom benefited from the grant, told the AP in January. “It increases their attendance. They’re more willing to come to school. They feel more connected to the school.”
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Sykes created Save the Music after participating in a principal-for-a-day event at a New York high school, where he encountered music students playing instruments “held together with tape and missing strings,” he recalls. He offered $5,000 on behalf of VH1 to prevent the school from cutting the music program, then decided to expand the channel’s philanthropy after learning that “students who learn music education go on to do better on math and verbal scores on tests.”
Today, Save the Music invests in 100 to 150 U.S. music programs, drawing celebrity support from Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll and others who’ve donated time and money. The Cleveland-based Hall of Fame, according to Sykes, has music-education programs, but the partnership with Save the Music will take them to “a whole new level.” Says Donahue: “It’s an incredible boost.”
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Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab have been appointed executives-in-residence at the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The pair are the co-presidents of 300 Entertainment and Atlantic Records Hip-Hop, R&B and Global Music.
Bass and Bouab’s appointment is in keeping with the center’s goal to connect Howard University’s students with top executives in the global music industry. The program provides one-on-one mentorship, master classes and practical insights about executive leadership, creativity and the future of the business.
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In the press release announcing the duo’s new roles, Jasmine Young, MBA, director of the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business at Howard University, commented, “Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab are two of the most visionary leaders in the industry, and we are honored to welcome them as executives-in-residence. Our students will benefit directly from their knowledge, creativity and commitment to breaking barriers. This appointment reflects our mission to provide Howard students with direct access to the highest levels of leadership in the global music industry.”
“Howard University, together with the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business, has a strong legacy of cultivating bold, creative leaders,” said Bass and Bouab in a joint statement. “That mission aligns with what we do at our label, and we’re excited to share our experiences and help raise up the next generation of music business innovators.”
Bass took on an expanded role within the Atlantic Music Group earlier this year when she was appointed co-president of Atlantic Records Hip-Hop, R&B and Global Music. She initially joined 300 Entertainment as its first marketing hire in 2014. Promoted to senior vp of marketing in 2019, Bass was elevated to co-president of 300 Entertainment in 2022. A Billboard Women in Music and R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players honoree, Bass has helmed campaigns for Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug, Gunna, Mary J. Blige and PinkPantheress, among other artists.
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Since joining 300 Entertainment as well in 2014, Bouab later served as the label’s senior vp and head of A&R before being named co-president with Bass in 2022. Then again alongside Bass, Bouab added the co-president post at Atlantic Records Hip-Hop, R&B and Global Music this year. Along the way, he has signed, developed and collaborated with artists including Megan Thee Stallion, Fetty Wap and Tee Grizzley as well as Young Thug, Gunna and Jordan Adetunji. Bouab, who’s also established his own Unauthorized Entertainment label, is a multiple-year Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players honoree.
“Rayna and Selim embody what it means to lead with both innovation and integrity,” stated Julian Petty, executive vp and head of business/legal affairs for Warner Records and the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center’s Visionary. “Their careers represent the possibilities for our students, and their willingness to pour into the next generation is what makes this partnership so special. The center continues to set the standard for excellence in music business education, and I am thrilled to see Rayna and Selim take on this role.”
Warner Music Group (WMG) and best-selling Warner Records artist Josh Groban were honored on Wednesday (April 2) at the Harmony Program’s annual gala held at The Altman Building in the Flatiron neighborhood of New York City.
The event raised nearly $800,000 to advance the Harmony Program’s mission to bring music education into underserved communities across New York City. Hosted by CBS Mornings Plus’ Adriana Diaz, the event included live performances by Groban and students from the Harmony Program.
Kevin Gore, WMG’s president of global catalog (and a Harmony Program board member) accepted the honor on behalf of WMG, saying, “The Harmony Program’s work isn’t just about expanding access to music education, it’s about harnessing the power of music to encourage collaboration and cultivate community. It’s more important than ever for all of us to ensure that artistic expression continues to flourish freely and that organizations like the Harmony Program continue to thrive, so that they can foster the next generation of leaders, dreamers, and music makers. It’s an honor to be recognized by such an essential and impactful organization in our community.”
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On stage, Groban said, “The work of the Harmony Program is vitally important because it’s changing the mindset of these young people. Arts education, in an ever-divided and cynical world, is what tells us about the beauty of our similarities, but more importantly, about the beauty of our differences. This honor is so special and it means the world to me.”
Groban, 44, is a dedicated arts education philanthropist and advocate. In 2011, he established the Find Your Light Foundation, which helps enrich the lives of young people through arts, education and cultural awareness. He is also a celebrated performer, with five Grammy nominations, two Tony nods and two Primetime Emmy nods.
“Warner Music Group has been an invaluable partner to the Harmony Program and its students for over a decade,” said Anne Fitzgibbon, Harmony Program founder/executive director. “Beyond financial support, they have provided our students with career mentorship, industry internships, and unforgettable, collaborative performances with world-class artists like Joyce DiDonato, Chris Thile, and Josh Groban. They exemplify the power of corporate philanthropy to inspire young people, and by extension, their broader communities.”
The Harmony Program is a non-profit organization that provides children from underserved communities with free instruments, intensive music instruction, orchestral training and access to a variety of cultural experiences. The Harmony Program’s unique model also addresses a shortage of well-trained music teachers by preparing accomplished musicians to teach at public schools and community centers throughout New York City.
LONDON – Following the arrival of the U.K. government’s Spring Statement — an overview of the upcoming budgetary and spending plans — on Wednesday (Mar. 26), the U.K. creative industries are expressing concern over what the new budget could mean for artists, grassroots music venues and music education this year.
Since coming into power after winning an overwhelming majority with 412 elected MPs in last July’s General Election, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party and Lisa Nandy — the U.K.’s culture, media and sport secretary — have run their campaign on promises of economic growth and a greater respect for the British arts. Last summer, they pledged a new National Music Education Network in their manifesto that would deliver increased resources for parents, teachers, and children. The creative industries were also named as a growth-driving pillar in the U.K.’s modern industrial strategy, with an aim to grow the sector by £50 billion by 2030.In November, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the first Labour budget in 15 years, which raised some taxes — notably national insurance contributions for employers — that will allow the government to invest in the National Health Service (NHS), education and infrastructure. She also committed £6.7 billion ($8.6 billion) for education investment in 2025.
In the Spring Statement, however, which was delivered by Reeves from London this afternoon, a fresh set of cuts to government spending and public investment were outlined. She also told MPs that “the world has changed” since her first budget just under five months ago, and that those changes were to blame for the string of downgrades she put forward.
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When discussing departmental budgets, which dictate how much different parts of government can spend until 2030, Reeves said she aims to make the state “leaner and more agile.” Early reports suggested that day-to-day department spending was set to increase by an average of 1.3% per year above inflation; Reeves said it will rise by 1.2%. Furthermore, she confirmed that cuts will fall on departments outside of health, defense and education, whose departmental spending is not “protected,” she said.
“The Spring Statement makes it clear that most government departments, including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, face real-terms cuts,” Roberto Neri, CEO of The Ivors Academy, tells Billboard U.K. “This will put further pressure on already stretched budgets at the BBC and Arts Council England, two of the most significant commissioners of new music.”
Years of underfunding from previous governments, tough financial conditions for artists and grassroots venues and complex issues surrounding generative artificial intelligence (AI) are all significant challenges for the sector. A hearing at The Houses of Parliament in October 2023, for example, found that 1,000 music teachers have been lost in the past decade, while a 2025 report by Music Mark found that Labour had inherited a shortfall in its music education budget over the next five years.A briefing published by U.K. Music in Sept. 2024, meanwhile, suggested that the international appetite for British music remains strong — with overall exports growing by 15% to £4.6 billion ($5.9 billion) last year — but that the health of the country’s music ecosystem must be looked at more closely, Neri posits.“Since the pandemic, the U.K.’s music industry has grown almost twice as fast as the wider economy — and we’re fighting to ensure songwriters and composers see more of the benefits,” Neri says. “As the government prioritises economic growth, it should back our world-leading songwriters and composers, the source of all value in music, and invest in the infrastructure they depend on.”
The lack of new policy around music and culture in the Spring Statement is also of concern to Ben Selway, managing director at Access Creative College (ACC), the U.K.’s largest independent training provider across creative fields. Former pupils at Access Creative’s seven national campuses include Ed Sheeran (now a patron of the ACC), Rita Ora and Jorja Douglas of BRIT-nominated girl group FLO.The future of music education in the U.K., Selway says, depends on “how effectively we are able to reverse the negative trends we’ve seen over the past decades, from the closure of grassroots music venues to a reduction in funding in real terms, and mitigate the risks that threaten the music industry, such as AI and copyright.”Selway also highlights the recent statement made by the Ed Sheeran Foundation, whose namesake made headlines earlier this week with the release of an open letter — signed by other A-listers including Sir Elton John and Harry Styles — calling upon the government to ensure music education remains high on the agenda. “This creative industry brings so much to our culture, our communities, our economy, our personal wellbeing, but music education has fallen through the gaps. That’s why I’m asking the government, collectively, to correct the mistakes of its past and to protect and grow this for generations to come,” Sheeran wrote.
Sophie Brownlee, external affairs manager at the Music Venue Trust (an organisation that supports the grassroots music scene) told Billboard U.K. that “the chancellor, treasury and DCMS have all the facts and data they need to know how to reverse the decline in access to live music and culture in our communities.” She added: “For the chancellor to choose, once again, not to act on this opportunity will not generate growth or meet the Government’s wider ambitions for the creative industries. Instead, it will see more grassroots music venues close, many in already deprived communities, further jobs lost, and the continuation of undervaluing local culture in the U.K.”Though Reeves announced plans to invest more in AI technologies across the civil service and defense sectors, her statement didn’t broach the government’s 10-week consultation, which took place in late 2024, on whether copyrighted content, including music, can lawfully be used by developers to train generative AI models.In recent months, the AI question has become a highly debated talking point among the industry, proving controversial among creatives and copyright holders. The government’s resulting report said an “opt out” approach would give rights holders a greater ability to license the use of their content, but those plans are yet to be confirmed.Tom Kiehl of U.K. Music argues this is not a time to become complacent. “The chancellor has talked again about her strategy for economic growth and some of the potential benefits of AI,” he says. “However, there was nothing in her statement about the huge damage that would be caused to the music industry by government plans to give AI firms unfettered access to music under sweeping changes to copyright law. The proposals would be a disaster for the U.K.’s £7.6 billion music industry.
“We need an urgent rethink from the Government and the Chancellor over those plans,” Kiehl continued, “which would allow firms to train their AI models on British music without having to pay or seek permission from the people who created the work or own the rights.”
Ed Sheeran has enlisted an all-star cast to back his written plea for the U.K. government to provide stronger support for music education in schools, with signatories including Sir Elton John, Harry Styles, Coldplay and more.
In an open letter to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer ahead of this week’s budget announcement, Sheeran says that while he acknowledges a recent package from the Labour government on arts education, “we urgently need funding going directly into the hands of schools and communities on the ground. We’re losing time.”
In an accompanying statement, Sheeran added, “This creative industry brings so much to our culture, our communities, our economy, our personal wellbeing, but music education has fallen through the gaps. That’s why I’m tasking government, collectively, to correct the mistakes of its past and to protect and grow this for generations to come.”
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The letter specifically calls for a £250 million ($322.6 million) U.K. music education package “to repair decades of dismantling music” and calls upon a number of government departments (Culture, Education, Foreign Office, Health & Social Care and Business & Trade) to contribute to the fund. It also highlights five key areas for growth: music funding in schools, training for music teachers, funding for grassroots venues/spaces, music apprenticeships and a diverse music curriculum.
Other big-name co-signers to the letter include Annie Lennox, Ben Lovett & Ted Dwane (Mumford & Sons), Central Cee, Dave, Eric Clapton, James Bay, Myles Smith, Robert Plant and Stormzy.
Rachel Reeves, chancellor of the exchequer, is due to present her spring budget statement to parliament on Wednesday (March 26).
The Ed Sheeran Foundation
Courtesy of The Ed Sheeran Foundation
The letter comes amid a renewed focus on music education in the U.K. In January, Sheeran launched the Ed Sheeran Foundation to highlight the lack of music education funding and help provide opportunities. He wrote at the time, “Even when I was in school it was seen as a ‘doss subject’ and not taken seriously. There’s a misconception that it’s ’not a real job’ — when the music industry accounts for 216,000 jobs in so many different fields, and bringing as much as £7.6 billion ($9.3 billion) in a year to the UK economy.”
In the letter, Sheeran additionally calls for an extra £32 million ($41.3 million) a year towards the Music national Music Hub program, set up by the U.K.’s Department of Education (DfE) to provide high-level music education to state schools. In 2025, the program will provide schools with funding of up to £79 million ($101 million).
At the BRITs earlier this month, several high-profile acts used the ceremony to call for better music foundations for emerging artists and school pupils. Speaking from the stage after collecting the BRITs Rising Star Award, Myles Smith said, “If British music is one of the most powerful cultural exports we have, why have we treated it like an afterthought for so many years? How many more venues need to close? How many more music programs need to be cut before you realize that we can’t just celebrate success, you have to protect the foundations that make it?”
Experts have also highlighted the need to provide ample education around not only music performance but the diverse job opportunities available in the industry overall. In a previous interview with Billboard UK, Ben Selway of Access Creative College said, “The lack of access to music education for under-16s results in a generation of young people who’ve not been afforded the opportunity to spark their interest in music and realise their talent.”
Read the full letter and see the list of signatories here.
The Abbey Road Institute is set to launch its newest campus in Los Angeles this summer, it was announced Tuesday (March 11). The state-of-the-art facility will be led by Grammy-winning engineer, mixer, producer and musician Rafa Sardina.
Designed to provide students with a unique professional experience, the West Coast campus will feature the institute’s renowned curriculum along with a faculty of Los Angeles-based producers, engineers and musicians, including Alan Meyerson, Barry Rudolph, John Boylan and Vanessa Garde.
“Abbey Road Institute Los Angeles is the culmination of a long-held dream,” said Sardina — who has worked with Stevie Wonder, Rosalia, Alejandro Sanz, Dr. Dre, Camila Cabello, Lady Gaga and more — in a statement. “I want to share the invaluable professional experiences of my closest musical colleagues and myself with outstanding new generations of mixers, producers, and other music and music business professionals. I can’t wait to welcome our first students and witness the beginning of their exciting career journeys.”
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Luca Barassi, CEO of Abbey Road Institute London, added: “We are thrilled to be working with Rafa and his team as we continue expanding our educational footprint in the U.S. Rafa has a strong affinity with how we teach, and an ambition to pass on his expertise to the next generation. Establishing our second U.S. campus in Los Angeles — a creative, dynamic, and globally influential city — will provide students with an immersive experience at the heart of a thriving international music scene.”
The program offers intensive and immersive education in a small, focused-learning environment, emphasizing hands-on, apprenticeship-style training to equip graduates with the skills necessary to thrive in the music industry. Graduates will earn a diploma in music production and sound engineering. Additional diplomas in audio post-production for film and TV & music business will be offered in the future.
“We are incredibly proud of the success of Abbey Road Institute graduates,” Universal Music Group COO and Abbey Road board member David Sharpe added. “Some of them have earned multiple Grammy and Billboard awards, along with numerous Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations. Bringing Abbey Road Institute’s world-class education to Los Angeles will provide aspiring producers and engineers with the training they need to make a strong entrance into the music industry.”
The campus’ exact inauguration date and location will be announced soon.
New York University (NYU) and Sony Corporation have announced the launch of a new institute at the school through which students will have access to Sony audio technology, be given real-world opportunities and more.
Formally dubbed the Sony Audio Institute for Music Business and Technology, the institute will be based within NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, whose leadership and faculty co-created it alongside Sony’s personal entertainment business. Through the partnership, students enrolled in Steinhardt’s music business and music technology degree programs will have access to Sony audio technology, including 360 Reality Audio and the 360 Virtual Mixing Environment — both of which will be outfitted in the newly-named Sony Audio Institute Studio at NYU’s Brooklyn campus.
NYU’s Music and Audio Research Lab (MARL) will also receive input from Sony researchers and engineers in conducting its research on music and audio technologies. Current areas of focus at MARL include music and auditory perception and cognition; machine listening and music information retrieval; spatial and immersive audio; and music in the health and rehabilitation sciences.
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The institute will additionally offer workshops, internships and special events to students, while NYU venues “will present student-driven programming that bridges the gap between academic learning and real-world industry experiences,” offering students “a platform for hands-on innovation and collaboration,” according to a press release.
Through the institute, NYU will also establish a scholarship program to assist undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students at NYU Steinhardt “who demonstrate financial need and academic merit with a preference for students who have an interest in pursuing research or careers in the audio industry,” the release adds.
The institute, which has been established for an initial 10-year term, is set to open this spring, with NYU Steinhardt clinical professor and music industry veteran Larry S. Miller serving as inaugural director. Miller will also continue serving as the director of the music business program at NYU Steinhardt until fall 2025.
“It is an honor to establish this collaboration with New York University, one of the world’s premier music schools, renowned for its long-standing legacy of producing some of the audio industry’s top talent,” said Kimio Maki, president/CEO at Sony Corporation, in a statement. “Through this collaboration, we look forward to inspiring creativity for the next generation of music creators and witness how their artistry will influence the music industry for years to come.”
NYU president Linda G. Mills added, “We are excited and grateful that Sony has chosen NYU Steinhardt to collaborate on this important initiative, which will create new opportunities for our amazingly talented students through scholarships, internships, research fellowships, and other unrivaled experiences. This forward-looking initiative will not only create new opportunities for creative expression, it will give our students a competitive advantage in a rapidly changing industry. I’d like to thank the team at Sony and everyone at NYU who worked tirelessly to make this dream a reality.”
At 2025’s two biggest music awards shows thus far, winning musicians have used their platforms to try to foster change.
At the Grammys in February, Chappell Roan sparked debate when she challenged record labels to provide better healthcare provisions and a living wage for stars, saying, “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” Then, at the U.K.’s BRIT Awards on Saturday night (Mar. 1), homegrown artists like Myles Smith and Ezra Collective used their winners’ speeches to spotlight the importance of music education and youth clubs in the U.K. As Smith collected the BRITs Rising Star Award, the folk-pop star discussed his upbringing in Luton, England, in a single-parent household and lamented the lack of opportunities in state schools to learn about and play music.
Speaking directly to the U.K. government, Smith — whose single “Stargazing” peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January — asked, “If British music is one of the most powerful cultural exports we have, why have we treated it like an afterthought for so many years? How many more venues need to close? How many more music programs need to be cut before you realize that we can’t just celebrate success, you have to protect the foundations that make it?”
Also speaking up at the BRITS was jazz band Ezra Collective, whose members shouted out youth clubs that give teenagers extra-curricular opportunities to learn music skills following its triumph in the group of the year category. “This moment right here is because of the great youth clubs, and the great teachers and the great schools that support young people playing music,” drummer Femi Koleoso said. He shouted out youth organisations in London, such as Kinetica Bloco and Tomorrow’s Warriors, and said that the solution for youth disengagement in the U.K. “lies with giving a young person a trumpet.”
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It’s a topic that hits home amid industry panic about the next wave of superstars from the U.K. and Ireland. In February, the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) reported that no British artists featured in the top 10 bestselling singles or albums charts globally for the first time in two decades. Just two years ago, seven of the 20 artists in the two charts were British.
U.K. Music reports that in 2023, the music scene was worth £7.6 billion ($9.78bn) to the U.K. economy, an increase from 2022. Incoming figures for 2024 will no doubt see a similar bounce following the U.K. leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour alongside other big-name tours. But a number of companies in the sector tell Billboard U.K. that the pipeline from schools to stages is at risk.
While music lessons feature on the national curriculum for U.K. state schools (non fee-paying comprehensives), over the last decade there’s been a considerable drop in the number pupils studying the subject at GCSE (14-16 year olds) and A level standards (16-18 year olds). National exam results in 2023 reported that fewer than 5,000 students in England took A level music, a 46% drop since 2010.
Music Hubs — a national programme to provide high-level music education to schools — set up by the Department of Education (DfE) will provide funding to schools to the tune of £79 million ($101 million) in 2025, and that funding may be extended to 2028. But Demos, a think tank, says that the new Labour government has inherited a “black hole” in its music education budget of £32.3 million ($41.6 million) per year, with rising staffing costs and a lack of specialist music teachers being part of the issue.
The Labour government has made positive noises about the sector. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said at the party’s conference in September that “every child deserves the chance to study the creative subjects that widen their horizons, provide skills employers value, and prepare them for the future, the jobs and the world that they will inherit.” But some feel that in the government’s mission to drive growth in the economy, creative sectors in education are being left behind in favour of other subjects like maths, English and sciences.
Writing in the show programme for The BRIT Awards, Alexis Cruickshank of The BRIT School says that fundraising efforts to ensure a high standard of education are a constant pressure. The BRIT School is a state school in Croydon, South London, with a particular focus on performing and creative arts that has spawned stars including Adele, RAYE and Amy Winehouse.
“We need to keep the fundraising efforts to top up the shortfall between what the government give us to run a state secondary school and the contribution we receive annually from our founding funding partners, The BRIT Trust,” Cruickshank wrote. “Our focus is always nurturing and supporting the young people currently studying at the school — they are our future. The UK does the arts brilliantly. It’s such a source of pride, and it needs to be invested in.” In 2023, it was announced that a satellite campus in Bradford, Yorkshire, in the north of England, would form the BRIT School North.
The disparity between those educated at state schools and those in private institutions was brought into focus following recent comments by Sam Fender. Speaking to The Sunday Times last month, the high-flying rocker claimed that the U.K.’s music industry is “80%, 90% kids who are privately educated,” and that a young musician from his hometown in the north east of England “will not be seen because it’s rigged.”
A 2024 report from the non-profit organisation The Sutton Trust indicates that best-selling musicians are six times more likely to have been privately educated than educated at a state school, and that privately educated students take up more than half of enrollment at the most prestigious music conservatoires such as London’s The Royal Academy of Music (60%) and Royal College of Music (56%). Arts Council England says that without sustained financial support, a child from a lower-income family has “virtually no chance of becoming a professional musician.”
While a number of this year’s BRITs winners were educated at state schools, leading artists such as Charli XCX — who picked up five awards on the night, including the prestigious album of the year prize — were educated at fee-paying schools. Charli studied at the £38,319 ($49,368) per year Bishop’s Stortford College in Hertfordshire, while her Brat collaborator A.G. Cook, who picked up producer of the year, was enrolled at The King Alfred School in London to the tune of £30,000 per year ($38,489).
Joe Armon-Jones, keyboardist of Ezra Collective, was a former pupil at elite institution Eton College (former pupils include heir to the throne Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry), while lead singer Abigail Morris of The Last Dinner Party — which won best new artist — was educated at Bedales School in Hampshire with an annual fee of up to £43,000 ($55,321).
The 93% Club, a network of state educated students and professionals, say that music education goes beyond practical teaching, and that showcasing and encouraging career pathways should form a larger part of the curriculum. “The sharp decline in arts education in state schools remains a pressing issue, driven by the separation of the arts from so-called ‘strategically important’ subjects,” says Fin Wright, head of communications at The 93% Club. He adds that the larger companies in the music industry “have a duty to support talent from state schools and lower socioeconomic backgrounds” and calls on them to offer additional work placements and to abolish unpaid internships, saying that they exclude those unable to work for free.
The importance of opening career paths rings true with Ben Selway, the managing director of Access Creative College, the U.K.’s largest independent training provider across creative fields. Former pupils at Access Creative’s seven campuses include Ed Sheeran (now a patron of the ACC), Rita Ora and Jorja Douglas of BRIT-nominated girl group FLO.
Selway concurs with Smith that there needs to be a greater focus on making music education a viable option for young people. “The lack of access to music education for under-16s results in a generation of young people who’ve not been afforded the opportunity to spark their interest in music and realise their talent,” he says. “There is significant pressure caused by venues closing which results in ever shrinking opportunities for young performers to put their craft into practice. A lack of celebration of the arts being a credible career option built over time can at times make it difficult.”
The positive noises by the government need to be backed up by action, Selway says, but acts like Sheeran are stepping up to fill the void. In January, the “Shape of You” singer established the Ed Sheeran Foundation, which provides grants for select schools, projects and community music groups across the UK. The mixed funding approach from both state sources and private investment will no doubt be key in the coming years.
Smith’s speech has resonated across the industry and brought back to the forefront an important conversation. As Selway says, the lessons learned can resonate for decades to come: “We want to give young people the opportunity to find their tribe and the space to develop their careers, and not just moments.”
