amateur musician

Young music entrepreneurs given chance to win £3,000 worth of instruments and equipment

’Make Your Mark in the Music Business’ and Arts Council England’s ‘Take it away’ scheme today launched a competition to help young people develop a career in the music industry.

Three prizes of £1000 worth of instruments and equipment are up for grabs. To win this exciting competition, entrants are being asked to answer the following questions:

Wrole does music play in your life?

How would £1000 worth of instruments and equipment help you to make your mark in the music business?

For full details visit www.makeyourmarkinmusic.org. The competition runs for a month, from 18 February - 17 March and is open to UK residents up to the age of 30.

The judging panel includes: T2, Musician and Producer; Sir Harry Cowell, Private and Confidential Music Group; Harry Leckstein, Freeport Records; Melody Buila, Singer and Songwriter, Oggie Iwo, Singer and Songwriter and representatives from Make Your Mark and Take it away.
Leeds producer T2 whose song "Heartbroken" reached number two in the UK Singles Chart said:

"I was thirteen when I started making music and I couldn’t wait to actually produce my own beats. A lot of young musicians out there want to get into producing but aren’t sure how or don’t have the equipment, so it’s great to see that this is offering both the know-how and the instruments."

Take it away was launched by the Arts Council in July 2007 to help encourage more people to get involved with learning and playing music by providing an interest free loan for the purchase of musical instruments. To date, the scheme has helped more than 4500 people buy over £3m worth of musical instruments and equipment.

Mary-Alice Stack, Development Manager, Arts Council England said:

“Take it away is open to everyone, but we’re particularly keen to support young and aspiring music makers to develop their interests and talents, and realise their ambitions in the music industry. We’re delighted to launch this competition in partnership with Make Your Mark and hope it will inspire more young people to get involved.”

Make Your Mark in the Music Business launched on 4 February at the House of Commons.

The website www.makeyourmarkinmusic.org provides young people with the information, advice and general encouragement they might need to get ahead in the music business. Featuring interviews and tips from a wide variety of experts specialising in all sides of the music industry, the site provides a one-stop shop for information on everything from record and publishing companies, through live promoters and agents to pr/promotion and management companies.

Danica Wilson of Make Your Mark commented:

“Many young people are not aware of how naturally enterprising they are. We hope the website and competition will open their eyes to the incredibly varied opportunities that exist across this exciting sector.”

www.makeyourmarkinmusic.org

February 2008