BRIT Trust Diaries: Henry Semmence
In this final edition of the year for The BRIT Trust Diaries in association with Music Week, Henry Semmence, Chair of The BRIT Trust Grants Committee and MD of Absolute Label Services, highlights the growing regional impact to the BRIT Trust’s work.
In a year that has seen its challenges, but many positive outcomes too, one thing that particularly pleases me, as it does our Chair, Tony Wadsworth CBE, and all our Trustees, is the growing impact The BRIT Trust is having across the UK.
Many in our industry of course associate The BRIT Trust with the long-term support it has given to the BRIT School and Nordoff and Robbins, and understandably so, as the charity was essentially brought into being by our music industry over three decades ago to help enable the vital work of these inspirational beneficiaries.
In those early days, and even until fairly recently in fact, our focus tended to be on promoting education and wellbeing through the power of music, and was largely London-based, with other charities supported including East London Arts and Music (ELAM). But, gradually, and indeed increasingly, The Trust is supporting more causes in different parts of the UK or which operate country-wide, while there is also a growing dimension of support for causes that promote social justice and community cohesion. This evolved approach reflects a wider industry trend that saw the Mercury Prize hosted by the city of Newcastle in October, and The BRIT Awards with Mastercard – the main source of The BRIT Trust’s charitable income – coming from Manchester on 28th February, the first time in it’s near 50 year history that it is to be staged outside of London.
These past 12 months, for example, among the causes funded, we’ve got behind the Paisley-based Loud n Proud, which has evolved from a local community project to become Scotland’s Rock and Pop School. Likewise we aided The Music Works in Gloucestershire, which provides access to recording facilities to marginalised communities, and then also Tonetic Records, the Kent-based youth-run record label, which provides an inclusive space for young artists to develop music skills, gain performance experience, and access vital industry knowledge. We also supported Key4Life and Music Support, which do such important work, among others.
For 2026 our regional reach is extending further, covering Scotland, Wales and England, although some of our recipient charities operate across the UK. Together with brilliant causes in London and the South East that we will be supporting with grants – Abram Wilson (who also have a presence in the North West), BAPAM, ELAM, Heart n Soul, Tomorrow’s Warriors, and, of course, The BRIT School and Nordoff and Robbins (all of which you can learn about of the BRIT Trust website), there are five wonderful organisations that operate entirely outside of the Capital.
These include Anthem – the leading youth music charity in Wales, which supports young people in Cardiff and across the Principality to make, enjoy and shape music. By co-creating with young people and grassroots partners, they place youth voices at the heart of everything they do, building skills, confidence and community through music. The BRIT Trust grant will enable Anthem to develop its Sustainable Futures participation programme, empowering their 1,900 young people aged 11-25 through music development, performance experiences, and skills development training.
There is also Hand Of, which gives disadvantaged children and young people in Newcastle and the North-East unique creative opportunities, where they can work collaboratively to co-create outputs together with professionals, including live performances, films, sound walks, art exhibitions and music videos. Hand Of works with socio-culturally marginalised children and young people, many of whom have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), Social Emotional Mental Health problems (SEMH), are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and/or are Looked After Children (LAC). Many participants have been permanently excluded from or are not attending school, and are at risk of engaging or reengaging in criminal behaviour. The Trust’s support will help them in particular to further develop Nine Voices, an alternative choir for disadvantaged young people.
The Trust is additionally supporting the Rutherglen/Glasgow-based Healthy n Happy – an award winning charity and community owned organisation shaped by local people and priorities. Its key purpose is to tackle disadvantage and to improve lives and communities so they can thrive. The Trust will in particular fund a 10-week Rap & Music Production Course aimed at 16–25-year-olds in areas of poverty and deprivation, which will in turn help nurture self-expression, build technical skills, and boost confidence through collaborative music-making.
Then there is Pedestrian, which has been transforming the lives of vulnerable children and young people in Leicester/shire through creativity since 1998. As an arts and education organisation, they provide education, outreach and training to around 2,000 children and young people (up to the age of 25) annually who are often socially excluded. The BRIT Trust funding will enable Pedestrian to continue towards their mission of using the arts & creativity as a vehicle to engage, empower and enrich children and young people's lives. With youth services disappearing, weekly sessions will provide a lifeline for many who need a safe, welcoming space to build a brighter future.
And finally there is Performing Room. The BRIT Trust will help it to expand its inclusive music and arts for Northamptonshire Communities. In particular to support its flagship work and nurture grassroots talent that reflects the full diversity of the UK’s communities, including through 170 free recording sessions for emerging artists across the full spectrum of community music—from electronic and hip hop to metal, pop, and drill.
We look forward to supporting all these wonderful causes next year, adding to the 300 grants totalling more than £30 million that The BRIT Trust has made since its inception in 1989 to improve lives through the power of music and the creative arts.
The BRIT Trust is OUR music industry’s charity, and works to improve lives through the power of music and the creative arts, so please do support it.
New applications for BRIT Trust funding for 2027 are now being received until 30th April 2026, and can be made here.