BRIT Trust Diaries: UD Celebrates 25 Years with BRIT Trust Support to Expand Youth Music Impact Nationwide
In this edition of the BRIT Trust diaries, Founder and CEO, Pamela McCormick reflects on UD’s forthcoming 25-year anniversary and how BRIT Trust funding will help support UD’s national expansion in 2025 and beyond...
If you’re not yet familiar with our work, UD is a Black-led youth music charity, based in the London Borough of Newham, with a track record spanning more than two decades, focusing on Black music and bringing communities together around Black music culture. We are also a national Talent Development Partner, convened and funded by the PRS Foundation. Additionally, having been an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) since 1999, in 2022 were invited to join an expanded National Youth Music Organisation (NYMO) cohort, co-funded by ACE and the Department for Education (DfE).
Our programme is based on a multi-tiered suite of projects that offer a ladder of progression for young people age between 14 – 25, who aspire to build a career in music or media and the creative industries. Areas we cover include the Flames Collective vocal ensemble and our staple, Industry Takeover events, co-curated by our youth steering group and with music industry partners that provide sector-specific insight, careers and enterprise signposting and networking opportunities. Over the years, UD has engaged with around 50,000 young people.
As we approach our 25th anniversary in 2025, supported by the BRIT Trust, the principal charity of the UK recorded music industry that aims to improve lives through the power of music and the creative arts, UD will be able to further develop the ground-breaking work we do with Flames Collective, our flagship programme for young people who demonstrate vocal excellence, supporting more singers to move into paid employment and further industry opportunities.
The Flames Collective has performed regularly with RAYE since June 2023 – at Glastonbury, the Royal Albert Hall, The BRIT Awards, O2 Arena, Radio 1 Big Weekend, Summertime Ball, and Reading & Leeds, as well as delivering vocals for her single, ‘Genesis’. Having also collaborated with Sasha Keable, Debbie, Grace Carter, Jake Bugg, Ray BLK and Ruti, Flames delivered their first headline show, A Gospel Christmas, at the Barbican in December and were name-checked in the House of Commons by the Rt Hon Damian Hinds MP for their endeavours.
With focus on expansion and the development of Flames Collective through the delivery of satellite projects in three of the UK’s largest cities - Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford - alongside new progression routes and Industry Takeover touring, UD will work with local talent development organisations and venues to platform regional talent and networks.
Currently engaging with around 2,000 participants a year, we aim to reach an additional 1,000 regional community members with BRIT Trust supported projects. The young people we engage are: 70% Black; 50% female; 5% disabled and 50% minimum experiencing socio-economic disadvantage (re postcode, income, free school meals eligibility, risk of exclusion). By enhancing participants’ understanding of music creation, performance, industry pathways and employment, the programme will contribute to a more diverse future music landscape, something UD and the BRIT Trust believe is key.
To mark our 25th anniversary, over 24 months from May 2025 – April 2027, UD’s nationwide programming will see us scale as an NYMO. As a NYMO, we’re able to shape the bigger picture behind the data and insights from projects. Sharing the practical impact these opportunities have on young people and successes, whether it’s a young person developing their social skills from being in a choir group to industry opportunities, like high profile gigs, we recognise the need to bring these experiences to light through creative storytelling.
As we move forward, alongside other NYMOs, we will create opportunities for future development within our organisation, including strengthening Youth Ambassadorship, allowing young people to take the lead in building audiences (as evidenced through recent gigs where Flames members were tasked to capture moments and create group content that showcased their work). Implementing a direct line to youth voices, giving them a responsibility in shaping and bringing their views to the drawing board on the programmes that we run will further increase the quality of work that is produced with more rewarding outcomes for the youth participants and everyone involved.
As an organisation, we rely on the generosity and support of our partners and look forward to welcoming more onboard to realise our vision alongside the BRIT Trust in 2025 and beyond.
Learn more about UD and Flames Collective here.