The Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI) has provided over £1.5m of funding to 52 creative community projects engaging young people with music-making activities and opportunities across all of Scotland.
Image courtesy of Soundsystems Project
Designed to address inequality, the activity funded will enable children and young people to access high quality music making opportunities ranging from long-standing initiatives to brand-new projects.
YMI Manager at Creative Scotland, Morag Macdonald said: “The impact the YMI has on children and young people’s lives cannot be understated. Not only is it providing high quality music opportunities focused on those who wouldn’t normally have the chance to participate, but the community spaces created develop social connection, technical skills, confidence and the ability to express themselves in new ways.”
The latest figures from 2021/22 demonstrate this impact – reaching 362,483 children and young people, training 5,631 people and creating 1,182 education posts.
Discover all the funded projects in this round.
A selection of the funded projects include:
Soundsystems Project, operating in Dumfries and Galloway, Argyll and Bute and Glasgow, received funding to continue their established, successful workshops helping young people with no musical experience to develop skills in DJing, MCing, music production, songwriting, branding and marketing. Through hybrid working of in-person and online sessions and focusing on teamwork, the project builds on young people’s strengths, producing a collaborative live performance which enhances their creativity, collaboration, self-confidence, enthusiasm and skills for life.
Director of Soundystems Project, Anders Rigg said: “The support that the YMI has offered has allowed us to continue our work across Scotland from Dumfries and Galloway to Oban. Working with the young people in these areas, we’ve been able to offer an insight into the alternative possibilities of a musical career within live music and soundsystem cultures of the UK. Many of the young people have had little or no access to music making before and it is a total joy to see them take so well to it within our sessions!”
Supported by YMI for the first time, Keep The Beat from Cosgrove Care is a weekly music group for 30 children and young people who have learning disabilities, autism and additional needs in Glasgow. Mango Music will lead the sessions which will focus on supporting children and young people to develop their music-making skills.
Image courtesy of Cosgrove Care
Chief Executive of Cosgrove Care, Heather Gray said: “We're delighted to have received this funding to build the music-making skills of young people with learning disabilities and autism. We’re excited to be working with Mango Music to develop Keep the Beat and look forward to the performance they will create for us, showcasing the talent and potential of the children and promoting equality and inclusion whilst tackling the stigma that exists for this group of young people.”
Radio Buena Vida operate an inclusive and accessible community-focused radio station and safe-space café in Govanhill. Building on the success and demand of their previous Access to Music-Making funded workshops, Radio Buena Vida are establishing a brand-new series of workshops delivered by prominent music-makers in Scotland. Reaching more people than ever, the new workshops will cover a wide range of music-based skills including DJing, music-making, music radio production and live radio broadcasting, developed specifically for young people often excluded from arts practices, culminating in the creation of an actual radio show.
Image courtesy of Radio Buena Vida
Co-Director and Co-Founder of Radio Buena Vida, Suz O’Neill said: “The funding from YMI has been a real game changer for us at Radio Buena Vida. Some of the participants have already gone on to host their own radio show live on Radio Buena Vida since completing the workshops and one of the participants has just been booked for their first paid professional gig which is fantastic! With the 2024 YMI funding we’ve been able to upgrade some of our equipment, add an additional workspace station for increased accessibility and hands-on practise time and invest in more advanced music-making software.”
Applications for the 2024 workshops will open in January 2024 on their website and social media.
Minister for Culture, Christina McKelvie said: “We’re pleased to see the investment in the Youth Music Initiative (YMI) continuing to make a positive difference to young people’s lives across Scotland.
“Every year, the YMI provides hundreds of thousands of young people with music-making opportunities, and I’ve seen first-hand how impactful the projects are.
“This continued investment highlights our ongoing commitment to ensure children and young people have the opportunity to participate in cultural activities.”
Background
The Youth Music Initiative (YMI) fund guidance and application forms can be found on the Creative Scotland website.
The Access to Music-Making Fund is all about creating access to music-making opportunities outwith school time for organisations and individuals, applicants can apply for funding between £1k - £30k for projects lasting up to 12 months.
The Strengthening Youth Music Fund provides grants of between £1k - £20k for projects lasting up to 12 months which aim to improve Scotland’s youth music infrastructure and services.
Access to Music Making and Strengthening Youth Music recipients 2023/24
|
Organisation |
Funding |
Funding Amount | Local Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.R.Ts Afternoon | Access to Music Making | £30,000 | City of Edinburgh, East Lothian |
| Alchemy Film and Arts | Access to Music Making | £30,000 | Scottish Borders |
| ARTSPLAY HIGHLAND | Access to Music Making | £30,000 | Highland |
| Beatroute Arts | Access to Music Making | £29,348 | Glasgow City |
| Bigton Collective | Access to Music Making | £14,934 | Shetland Islands |
| Canongate Youth | Access to Music Making | £29,949 | City of Edinburgh |
| Catriona Hawksworth | Access to Music Making | £14,626 | Perth and Kinross |
| CENTRESTAGE COMMUNITIES LTD | Access to Music Making | £14,980 | East Ayrshire |
| City of Edinburgh Council | Access to Music Making | £29,913 | City of Edinburgh |
| Cosgrove Care | Access to Music Making | £14,982 | East Renfrewshire |
| David Boyter | Access to Music Making | £12,478 | Shetland Islands |
| DRAKE MUSIC SCOTLAND | Access to Music Making | £68,165 | Aberdeen City, Dundee City, City of Edinburgh, Inverclyde |
| Duncan MacKinnon music and arts trust ltd |
Access to Music Making | £24,226 | Scottish Borders |
| ELUTHERIA COMPANY Ltd | Access to Music Making | £4,985 | North Lanarkshire |
| Fèis Rois | Access to Music Making | £69,673 | Highland |
| Glenkens Community and Arts Trust | Access to Music Making | £29,996 | Dumfries and Galloway |
| HAPPYNESS DRUM CIRCLES LTD | Access to Music Making | £14,935 | Highland, Moray |
| Hear My Music | Access to Music Making | £30,000 | Glasgow City and City of Edinburgh |
| Horsecross Arts | Access to Music Making | £29,914 | Perth and Kinross |
| Irvine and Dreghorn Brass | Access to Music Making | £3,988 | North Ayrshire |
| Jenny Sturgeon | Access to Music Making | £12,668 | Aberdeenshire |
| KIBBLE EDUCATION AND CARE CENTRE | Access to Music Making | £14,662 | Renfrewshire, West Dumbartonshire |
| Limelight Music | Access to Music Making | £29,400 | Clackmannanshire, Glasgow and Renfrewshire |
| LYRA | Access to Music Making | £15,000 | City of Edinburgh |
| Mobilize Music Project | Access to Music Making | £23,484 | South Lanarkshire |
| Music Broth | Access to Music Making | £30,000 | Argyll and Bute, Glasgow City and Highland |
| Music Education Partnership Group | Access to Music Making | £28,619 | All of Scotland |
| musicALL | Access to Music Making | £25,000 | Glasgow City |
| RADIO BUENA VIDA CIC | Access to Music Making | £28,200 | Glasgow City |
| Rebecca Hill | Access to Music Making | £18,500 | Argyll and Bute |
| RIG ARTS LTD | Access to Music Making | £30,000 | Inverclyde |
| Rioch and Robertson | Access to Music Making | £8,146 | West Lothian |
| Rock n Role Models | Access to Music Making | £14,890 | East Ayrshire |
| s9Fifty | Access to Music Making | £29,751 | Fife |
| SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST | Access to Music Making | £65,530 | All of Scotland |
| Scottish Music Centre | Access to Music Making | £30,000 | All of Scotland |
| Shetland Islands Council - Youth and Employability Service |
Access to Music Making | £21,647 | Shetland Islands |
| Sonic Bothy | Access to Music Making | £29,976 | Glasgow City |
| Sound Waves SCIO | Access to Music Making | £29,800 | Argyll and Bute |
| SOUNDSYSTEMS PROJECT C.I.C. | Access to Music Making | £29,500 | Dumfries and Galloway, Argyll and Bute, North Ayrshire, Glasgow City |
| Stanley Development Trust | Access to Music Making | £28,521 | Perth and Kinross |
| THE NATIONAL PIPING CENTRE | Access to Music Making | £29,998 | All of Scotland |
| THE NATIONAL PIPING CENTRE | Access to Music Making | £70,000 | Glasgow City, Highland, Perth and Kinross, Dundee City, Na h-Eilaenan Siar, Aberdeenshire |
| The National Youth Choir of Scotland | Access to Music Making | £59,927 | East Ayrshire, Moray, Highland |
| THE NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRAS OF SCOTLAND Ltd |
Access to Music Making | £30,000 | All of Scotland |
| The Scottish Brass Band Association | Access to Music Making | £70,000 | All of Scotland |
| The Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust |
Strengthening Youth Music |
£20,000 | Aberdeenshire |
| Tinderbox Collective | Access to Music Making | £70,000 | City of Edinburgh |
| Tynecastle Youth Community Pipe Band | Access to Music Making | £13,000 | City of Edinburgh |
| WHERE'S THE ONE? LTD. | Access to Music Making | £27,995 | Scottish Borders |
| Wide Events CIC | Access to Music Making | £30,000 | All of Scotland |
| Yvonne Wyroslawska | Strengthening Youth Music |
£17,600 | All of Scotland |
| TOTAL | £1,508,906 |
YMI has two distinct strands:
- School-based music-making: activities planned and delivered by Local Authorities. Local Authorities apply to the YMI Formula Fund for this activity
- The informal sector: activities planned and delivered outwith school time. There are two informal sector funding routes: Access to Music-Making and Strengthening Youth Music. Organisations and individuals can apply to these funding routes.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot
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