Myself and a group of fellow pupils went down to Glasgow on 5th March for an Exchange event brought to us by a charity; Music For Youth. The 4 of us were accompanied by Colin Lemmon and Jenni Snell – 2 of the brilliant youth workers in school – who were able to get the funding we needed to attend this amazing event.

During the event we attended a few panels based around the music industry and jobs there are available in the industry. One of the panels I found most interesting and useful was called; ‘BE SEEN! Get yourself out there’. This involved 3 people who work in the music industry answering questions about how to get your music heard by professionals to promote a career in music. I found this was helpful as performing would be my dream job and aspiration.

The event saw a number of performers from Glasgow and the surrounding areas perform to music professionals who provided feedback on what they could improve on and what they are doing right. We found this an inspiration as they were all around our age which proved that we too can achieve great things.

Following up from the event, I interviewed one of the team at MFY and asked a few questions. Dan Morrell kindly took the time to answer some questions about the event. The questions were as follows;

1.      Was there an inspiration behind setting up this event?

As a charity, Music for Youth provides music performance opportunities for young people across the UK and Exchange is all about young people from Scotland coming together to share their talent, meet their peers and hear from industry professionals.

2.      How many different locations is the event being held in?

Exchange was held at Platform, Glasgow across multiple spaces. Exchange is one of a huge number of events that Music for Youth produces across the year and across the UK.

3.      Do you know roughly how many people attended on the 2 days in Glasgow?

We had around 400 young people attend the event over the two days.

4.      Myself and a group of school peers travelled down from Aberdeen for the event; were there many people that travelled far to attend?

Yes, we were really pleased to have groups travelling from 22 of Scotland’s 33 counties for the event. Over the last two years of Exchange we have seen groups from all counties across Scotland apart from one!

5.      What were the main aims of the event?

The main aim for the event was to provide opportunities for young musicians to perform and receive professional feedback. Additionally we wanted young people who attended the event to gain advice on all aspects of the music industry including performing and getting their music heard but also professional advice on what makes up the music industry and tips on how to make it as a career choice.

6.      Do you feel that it lived up to it’s aims?

We do! Depending on what each young person was looking to get out of the event we are confident that there was something for everyone. We’re going through feedback at the moment which is all very positive.

7.      Will there be another Exchange to look forward to next year?

Our events in Scotland are dependent on public funding we receive. We are hopeful that we are successful in receiving further funding to continue our work in Scotland.

 Overall, myself and the other 3 pupils found it to be a very positive trip that provided us with the knowledge we may need in order to pursue a job in music.