Music Teacher - Industry versus education: why it's time for dialogue and new pathways

Wizdom Layne, the new deputy director of Sound Connections, considers what tensions exist between the music industry and music education sector, and asks what steps we might take to give all young people access to as wide a range of opportunities as possible.

Wizdom Layne (left) and the Sound Connections team visiting Sony Music Entertainment’s London office on a music industry away day, 2023 - Sound Connections

As a former artist and youth worker, and now as a music industry specialist, I have always been aware of an uncomfortable divide between formal education organisations and the music industry they’re preparing young people for. Regardless of whether you leave education after school, college or university, the transition into the creative industries seems a perilous one, especially if you don’t have a personal connection with someone on the inside to help you traverse that path.

It is similar in informal education settings. Third-sector organisations and charities – with limited resources – provide young talent with access to everything from video-editing software and time in a recording studio to radio experience and performance opportunities, all of which help young people to build the experience and networks that they need to progress. Yet these organisations generally lack the direct connection to the industries that facilitates progression.