Music students get career tips from industry stars
Weston College music students received career advice from some of the industry’s biggest names at the recent BBC Music Introducing Live show.
Thousands of visitors flocked to the two-day event at the Tobacco Docks in London, which featured live performances and hundreds of prominent industry speakers.
These included artists, presenters, DJs, record label executives and retailers – among them Jo Whiley, Example, Kano, Joel Zimmerman (better known as ‘deadmau5’ and Gabrielle Aplin.
College students heard talks from a wide range of industry experts. They gave advice on breaking into, and working, in the music industry – whether that’s live events, songwriting, as an artist or A&R (‘artist and repertoire’ reps find and sign new artists to a label).
Students also got the opportunity to network with key figures and try out the latest technologies and even perform on the ‘open mic stage’. Level 3 Music Performance and Production student, Connor Hammond, made the most of the opportunity, performing two of his original tracks for the audience.
Another Weston College student, Ant Watts, was even featured on to the event’s highlights show reel (from 00.05-00.07).
Ant, who was filmed testing out one of the latest electronic Yamaha drum kits, said: “I found the BBC Introducing Live event really inspiring. It helped me understand the ‘ins and outs’ of the music industry, and gave me the opportunity to meet all of the great organisations that will help me in the future.”
BBC Music Introducing is a BBC Radio platform that discovers and supports unsigned and ‘under-the-radar’ UK talent. It gives artists airtime on local and national BBC radio stations, and the opportunity to play Introducing stages at festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds and Radio 1’s Big Weekend.
