Guest playlist, Scottish hip-hop and the best female rappers of all time
We invited Sunny G Radio host Delaina Sepko to write a very special guest blog for us on women and hip-hop – part of a series of features we’re running focused on hip-hop, to mark the start of our new HND hip-hop and rap module. Alongside that, she’s even curated a hip-hop guest playlist for us! It’s an eclectic mix packed with Scottish hip-hop, and classic bangers from some of the best female rappers and MC’s of the past and present – all in the same place. Nice.
Delaina is a music researcher, with her own show on the Scottish radio station Sunny G called ‘Breaks and Beats’. She writes for us about how her passion for hip-hop often conflicts with the sexism engrained in some of it’s content, and how this motivated her to start a gender-balanced hip-hop radio show. Her playlist for us reflects that, a bangin’ mix of Scottish hip-hop’s best talents, and a fantastic array of some of the best female rappers, hip-hopppers and MC’s of all time – the likes of Queen Latifah, Da Brat, Missy Elliot, Lil’ Kim, Roxanne Shante, Salt N Pepa, Little Simz, Eve and Lady Leshurr all feature.
Read her guest blog here, and listen to the playlist in the player below.
About the AuthorDelaina Sepko is a music researcher, radio presenter and life-long hip hop head living in Glasgow, Scotland. She trained as a sound engineer at Sarm West under Trevor Horn, Tim Weidner and Robert Orton and was a finalist for the 2005 Music Week Woman of The Year award for being Sarm’s first female assistant engineer. After working with the Pet Shop Boys, Seal, Tinchy Stryder, Transglobal Underground and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., she earned an MSc and PhD in Information Studies and audio preservation from University of Glasgow. Now she is a contributor to the long form blog Hip Hop Scotland, presents Beats & Breaks on Sunny G Radio every Wednesday from 8-10 PM and uses the show to promote gender equality and showcase Scottish hip-hop.
Website: www.dmfresearch.com
Twitter: @delainasepko
Listen to Beats & Breaks archived shows on Mixcloud.
Look back on the best of 'Off The Record' Virtual Conference 2020!
We are the proud supporters of the Off The Record podcast, as well as the recent conference – which was held online last year. Check out the 2020 conference including a talk with our own Melisa Kelly and alumni Zoe Graham.
Off the Record was founded in 2013 and is a series of events for young musicians and those who want to work in the industry. It is open to anyone aged 16-25, and is designed to equip young people with music business knowledge, information and skills to help them forge a career in music. In 2020 their music conference was held virtually, and featured events focused on music photography, how to get played on BBC Music Introducing, getting funding, how to build your brand and how to go freelance.
Look back on some of the best talks and discussions – including this one (below) featuring our very own Melisa Kelly all about How To Make Money from your Music Online! Melisa joins fellow panelists to discuss their practical tips for building a streaming presence, what worked for them and how you can build your streaming audiences across all streaming platforms. And check out AMS alumni Zoe Graham on a fascinating panel discussion about how to get the most out of streaming your live performance here.
About Off The Record
Off The Record was founded by Community Interest Company Wide Events in 2013 and is a series of events for young musicians and those who want to work in the industry. It is open to anyone aged 16-25, and is designed to equip young people with music business knowledge, information and skills to help them forge a career in music.
Since 2013, Off The Record has organised and delivered 16 events for young people across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Kirkcaldy, Kilmarnock, Glenrothes, Dundee, Aberdeen, Galashiels and Dumfries, providing insights and advice on how to pursue a career in music. This has enabled participants to build relationships with organisations including the BBC, DF Concerts, The Skinny magazine, numerous managers, promoters, labels and more.
In 2015 Off The Record was the first music business event in the UK to commit to a gender balanced speaker programme. The event always takes place in wheelchair accessible venues and is committed to providing opportunities for young people in the top 15% areas on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Current Projects
In November 2018, we hosted two Off The Record events in Dundee and Edinburgh to celebrate the Year of Young People. The events targeted the 16-25 age group and included daytime seminars, discussions, interactive workshops and networking activities featuring a host of music industry professionals from across Scotland and beyond. Topics covered included monetising music, releasing music, organising and getting gigs, music publishing, streaming, working in music and more. In addition, an evening showcase took place in each city featuring performances from some of the country’s most exciting and diverse young musicians.
These events were supported by the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI) programme, which is administered by Creative Scotland. The events featured key figures from the music business taking part in seminars, workshops and advice sessions – all geared to demystifying the industry and providing the basic knowledge to get started.
Save Sunny G Community Radio Station
Help save the people’s station.
Since the closure of their studios in March 2020 as a consequence of Covid 19, Glasgow community station Sunny G has lost significant income streams, resulting in a deficit of approx £30,000. They need your help!
Sunny G is a registered small Scottish Charity with a fantastic team of volunteers. They use Radio / Broadcasting Media / Technology for Community Development. They have launched a GoFundMe page and are asking for donations to help support them.
The following areas have been most effected:
Unable to deliver SQA training.
Advertising and sponsorship income down by approx 70%
Unable to have our regular fundraising gigs and events.
The station’s monthly outgoings include staff costs, licence fees, rent, and utilities are just a few of the monthly obligations that are completely necessary to allow Sunny G Radio to function.
Studio Manager Steven Gilfoyle has been leading the team at Sunny G since April 2020, and has been a founding member since 2001. He believes the station to be the best community radio station in the country. He says: “I would challenge anyone to match us in the breadth of our community radio content and community development that we have provided over the years, considering the lack of resource we have had we always provide a high quality service.”
“We find ourselves trying to survive in an area that contains many of the sectors that have been hardest hit which has destroyed the income streams we used to rely on. We are optimistic that we can see ourselves through this terrible time with the generous help from supporters of the station and the community we serve and work alongside,” he says.
“We have lots of exciting ongoing programming and community development ambitions that take Sunny G into 2021 and beyond.”
They would be extremely grateful for anything you might be able to donate. You can find out more and listen online (if you can’t listen on your FM radio) at www.sunnyg.com.
Our next intake of students will start on 15 February!
We're so excited to be welcoming a host of new students to AMSonline next month, who will be joining us to start on our online courses like the Foundation Degree, BA (Hons) and M.Mus in Popular Music Performance.
It comes after we saw record levels of students join AMSonline courses in September 2020. Despite Covid, we've been lucky enough to run our courses as usual, with all the regular content, seminars and tutorials, with little interruption!
Whilst most of standard university and college teaching in the UK and elsewhere had to adapt to online delivery in 2020, and is still going on, its perhaps unsurprising that musicians and those interested in studying music, might chose more established online learning platforms at this time.
“In a funny way I never thought my choice to study online in 2018 would eventually be the only choice most students have all around the country. In hard struck times of COVID, I barely felt it negatively impacted my course at all.”
“I would just like to say thank you more than anything for the help I had over my foundation degree!”
George Chambers, student
But that's not to say we've not been impacted by Covid-19 – everyone has felt the impact, and while we might be able to run courses as usual, the year has been a challenging one for us all. But we have good reason so hope that live musicianship can continue very soon! And we're planning on being ready when it does.
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More news from us here.
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New Year, New Lockdown...
You know the drill! Courses to move back online from 4th January 2021.
After Monday (04/01/2021) night's announcement, all teaching across all our regional centres will move back fully to online delivery, with group tutorials and one-to-one sessions.
Prior to Monday's news, our centres had been operating under relevant local government guidance, with smaller class sizes, online course options for all courses, less contact time and social distancing though-out the schools. We will now be moving all classes back online, just like we started to do for the very first time in March. We will update students when guidelines are reviewed.
Students can find help & support on our Student Guidance page or via their MyAcademy account. We're doing everything we can to make sure students have a positive and worthwhile experience – we're always here if you need us.
Let us also take this chance to wish you all a Happy New Year! Despite everything, 2020 did bring us some positivity, and we're hoping 2021 brings much better things for musicians and those working in the industry, and there is thankfully good reason to hope. We're sure the music scene will be back and thriving again soon...
And we're going to be ready when it does!
AMS online partner with Sound City
The Academy of Music and Sound and AMSonline will be partnering with Liverpool Sound City on a series of exclusive online masterclasses.
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be partnering with Liverpool based conference and music festival Sound City on a collaboration which includes a programme of exclusively curated masterclasses focused on employability, industry skills, and careers in the music sector, exclusively for AMS staff and students.
Sound City said of the partnership, “Sound City’s core aim is to help the very best in upcoming talent and with many university courses now competing for attention and so many graduates looking for work, its vital that students set themselves above the competition and make their mark in the industry! Sound City has started a partnership with the Academy of Music and Sound with the primary aim of improving their students music industry skills and employability.”
The first of a series of Masterclass will take place Tuesday 1 December at 7pm via Guesthouse, and will be an interview Band Manager Alfie Skelly on ‘How To Build A Bands Music Profile’
Alfie Skelly has worked in the industry for over 15 years working with the likes of The Coral and Arctic Monkeys. He currently manages The Mysterines (Pretty Face Recordings) and The Lathums ( Island Records) who both had sold-out UK tours, among others including Abbie Ozard, through Modern Sky Record label. The talk will span all things managerial, including how Alfie has built up the profiles of both The Lathums and The Mysterines. Alife will discuss how he gets them gigs, how he lands artists record deals, publishing deals and tours, plus he will talk about how he markets and promotes the bands.
We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to offer this to our students and staff! And with a whole host of exciting masterclasses and talks coming up, we’re sure it’s going to be a thrilling time for online learning.
About Sound City
Globally-recognised Sound City, the leading champion of emerging UK talent, is set to return bigger and better than ever in 2021 – With three full days of music discovery right across the city of Liverpool, Headline acts this year include Rejjie Snow, Red Rum Club and The Murder Capital.”
AMS partner with Sound City on a series of exclusive online talks
The Academy of Music and Sound and AMSonline will be partnering with Liverpool Sound City on a series of exclusive online masterclasses.
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be partnering with Liverpool based conference and music festival Sound City on a collaboration which includes a programme of exclusively curated masterclasses focused on employability, industry skills, and careers in the music sector, exclusively for AMS staff and students.
Sound City said of the partnership, “Sound City’s core aim is to help the very best in upcoming talent and with many university courses now competing for attention and so many graduates looking for work, its vital that students set themselves above the competition and make their mark in the industry! Sound City has started a partnership with the Academy of Music and Sound with the primary aim of improving their students music industry skills and employability.”
The first of a series of Masterclass will take place Tuesday 1 December at 7pm via Guesthouse, and will be an interview Band Manager Alfie Skelly on ‘How To Build A Bands Music Profile’
Alfie Skelly has worked in the industry for over 15 years working with the likes of The Coral and Arctic Monkeys. He currently manages The Mysterines (Pretty Face Recordings) and The Lathums ( Island Records) who both had sold-out UK tours, among others including Abbie Ozard, through Modern Sky Record label. The talk will span all things managerial, including how Alfie has built up the profiles of both The Lathums and The Mysterines. Alife will discuss how he gets them gigs, how he lands artists record deals, publishing deals and tours, plus he will talk about how he markets and promotes the bands.
We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to offer this to our students and staff! And with a whole host of exciting masterclasses and talks coming up, we’re sure it’s going to be a thrilling time for online learning.
About Sound City
Globally-recognised Sound City, the leading champion of emerging UK talent, is set to return bigger and better than ever in 2021 – With three full days of music discovery right across the city of Liverpool, Headline acts this year include Rejjie Snow, Red Rum Club and The Murder Capital.”
Like what you hear? Find out more about AMS music courses and read the latest news.
Report shows huge growth of UK Music Industry prior to COVID-19
The latest Music By Numbers economic study has shown that the UK music industry continued to grow in 2019 across every sector before the Covid-enforced shutdown hit in early 2020.
Music By Numbers is the flagship annual economic study by UK Music and its members. Recent numbers show that the UK music sector was facing significant growth, with employment at an all-time high, prior to the impact of COVID-19.
The new figures in the Music By Numbers 2020 report show the 12 months up to December 31 2019, and they do not reflect the devastating impact of the Covid-19 just weeks later in early 2020. “Despite the buoyant 2019 figures outlined in Music By Numbers, the industry now faces a marathon effort to get back on its feet as it strives to return to pre-Covid levels of success as swiftly as possible”, says UK Music.
The report measures the health of the music business by collating data about its contribution in goods and services to the economy. That economic contribution is known as Gross Value Added (GVA), to the UK’s national income (Gross Domestic Product/GDP). Exports are part of this contribution.
Some key facts from the Music By Numbers report 2020:
• The UK music industry contributed £5.8 billion to the UK economy in 2019 – up 11% from £5.2 billion in 2018.
• Employment in the industry hit an all-time high of 197,168 in 2019 – an increase of 3% from 190,935 in 2018.
• The total export revenue of the music industry was £2.9 billion in 2019 – up 9% from £2.7 billion in 2018.
• In addition to the industry’s direct economic contribution, music tourism alone contributed £4.7 billion in terms of spending to the UK economy in 2019 – up 6% from £4.5 billion in 2018.
Read the full report here.
BA students double in 12 months as we welcome talented new students!
It’s been a great start to the new term here at AMSonline, with record intake of students and new specialist tutors, we’re really upping our online game and really looking forward to what the upcoming year has in store.
Firstly, our intake of BA online students have incredibly doubled in 12 months! The 2020 September starts was our highest ever – we enjoyed double the number of students starting the BA this September when compared to last September. Plus we’re absolutely thrilled to welcome all our new students who come from a range of different musical backgrounds and skills.
On the course this year we’re excited to welcome some great talent with a wealth of experience, including Toni Robinson. Toni is also a session singer/backing vocalist who has toured with Rita Ora and Jess Glynne, and has worked with the likes of Elton John, Bastille and Kano. You’ll have probably seen the slick new Just Eat Ad featuring Snoop Dogg recently too – Toni composed and performed the entire Just Eat 2019 Advert and then worked on the vocals for the recent Snoop Dogg rendition (again featuring as the vocalist)!
We also have Lewis (Lewie) Allen join us us this year. Lewie plays guitar for Sam Smith and Liam Payne, and has worked with a host of other big names including Jesse J, Tom Jones, Jesse Rowland, Ariane Grande, and Peter Andre! He’s also joined us for an AMS masterclass before – so we’re thrilled he’s back to study with us. And that’s only to name a few!
In other news….
This year, we’re also very excited to welcome Bass-player extraordinaire Ariane Cap to the AMSonline teaching team. Ariane is a popular online music personality with a successful Bass blog and a big following. Ariane is also a passionate educator, self-published bestselling author, eclectic performer (electric bassist), a busy blogger and habit coach!
“I am happy to announce my collaboration with AMSOnline under the validation of the London College of Music/University of West London. Receive your Foundation Degree after two years studying at AMS Online with me as one of your teachers. On the Foundation degree students can choose to specialise in a certain instrument, and are entitled to an amount of support for that study by way of online video sessions. The curriculum is well rounded and practical.” – Ariane
She taught at the Berkeley Jazz Workshop, the Golden Gate Bass Camp, was 10 years artist-in-residence teacher at the Wyoming Rock Camp Experience in Jackson Hole, taught at the California Jazz Conservatory’s Women’s and Girl’s Jazz and Blues Camps for 10+ years, co-taught masterclasses with Paul Hanson at the University of the Redlands, Colorado State, Montana State University and others.
Like what you hear? Want to learn more?
Our next entry point is January 2020 – get in touch with our recruitment team now to find out more about our courses and find the option to suit you best. You can also explore all our courses here.