Red Stripe and the Music Venue Trust have partnered on a bursary scheme that will help 18-25 year olds gain work experience in the music industry.
The Earn Your Stripes Bursary, funded by Red Stripe and administered by the MVT, will enable 50 young people to be placed in internships ranging from lighting assistant and promoter to sound engineer at one of the hundreds of small venues across the UK.
Grassroots venues are an integral part of the existing recruitment process into the music industry. The Music Week Awards recognises the sector with the Grassroots Venue: Spirit Of The Scene award, which went to Guildford’s The Boileroom.
"We train and skill so many people who then go out into the wider industry,” Dominique Frazer, director, The Boileroom, told Music Week.
The MVT said the costs of staging events means many venues are unable to budget to support internships.
Red Stripe has extended its existing Earn Your Stripes programme, which offers paid work experience on its online music TV show Red Stripe Presents: This Feeling TV. The brand recently built on its music heritage by sponsoring more than 200 This Feeling club nights in around 40 different venues across the country.
The scheme with the MVT offers a bursary for small venues to pay for short-term technical internships, general work experience and support for new promoting talent.
Creating the next generation of sound, lighting, booking and promotion staff is key to building Grassroots music venues’ sustainability
Mark Davyd
Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, said: “Creating the next generation of sound, lighting, booking and promotion staff is key to building Grassroots music venues' sustainability and to establishing a much needed succession plan – we want to make sure that the next generation of people running these venues have all the skills they need to create great shows for artists and audiences. We are delighted to have Red Stripe on board to deliver the much needed Earn Your Stripes programme to music venues.”
Izabela Glodek, from Red Stripe, added: “The music industry is one of the hardest industries to break into, and work experience is key. As huge supporters of live, grassroots music for many years, we know the importance of the whole crew – not just the band on stage. Working with the Music Venue Trust means we can give 50 people invaluable experience providing them with skills they can use in their future careers.”
Applications are open now and venues can obtain full details by contacting: info@musicvenuetrust.com
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