Universal Music Group has joined forces with Help Musicians to help deliver Co-Pilot: The Musicians' Mentoring Network, making it the founding record label for the project.
Co-Pilot links musicians with experienced industry mentors, who help them to develop their skills, networks and profiles. Every pairing is carefully matched, and factors in the musician's specific objectives and their mentor's area of expertise.
Mentoring support delivered by Help Musicians was trialled in 2020 with The Ivors Academy, which is also a partner in Co-Pilot.
Over 200 mentors and musicians are now active in the network.
James Ainscough, chief executive at Help Musicians, said: “Mentoring has been proven to be an incredibly powerful tool in many industries but is rarely available to freelance musicians. Their career paths are as unique as their creative output, so one-to-one mentoring can be invaluable. The expertise offered by Universal Music Group staff will greatly empower musicians in the Co-Pilot network to navigate towards their goals with added confidence. We’re so pleased to be partnered with both Universal Music Group and The Ivors Academy for this impactful collaboration of ambition, skills and guidance.”
Janie Orr, CEO, Universal Music UK Sound Foundation, said: “Mentorship can be a powerful part of any musician’s career, from those just starting out to the more established. That’s why we’re delighted to team up with Help Musicians on this Co-Pilot initiative. There’s a real buzz at Universal Music about the programme which has already seen colleagues partnered with musicians from across the UK – with more matches still to come.”
Graham Davies, CEO of The Ivors Academy, said: “We’re really pleased that Universal Music Group has joined Co-Pilot as the founding record company partner. The knowledge, skills and experience of their staff will make a real difference to songwriters, composers and musicians navigating their path through the music industry. I hope more partners get involved to create new ways for their staff to support music makers, who will massively benefit from their expertise.”
Help Musicians recently launched a helpline to support those suffering bullying in the music industry, following the intervention by Rebecca Ferguson, who spoke out on the need for more to be done to support musicians experiencing difficulties.
The charity has been working for over 100 years to support the health and wellbeing of musicians across the UK.
