M Magazine Future Makers Edition

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• CoverM FUTURE MAKERS EDITION flowerovlove
• FUTURE MAKERS EDITIONDead Pony Master Peace
• HERE'S TO THE FUTUREAs I reflect on my time as president of the PRS Members' Council, I feel inspired by what lies ahead for our diverse community of music creators and innovators. The future of music will not just be shaped by creative trends and evolving technology but by the strength, resilience and vision of those who make it. Over the past four years of my presidency, I've had the honour of witnessing first-hand how PRS members are leading the way by driving change in ways that will define our industry for generations to come. 3 My focus from the outset has been on listening to the PRS membership. In the first year of my term, I engaged with over 2,000 members to better understand their priorities and challenges, ranging from the fairness of streaming and the rise of Al to income protection and new opportunities for growth. The insights I gained have been invaluable in creating and guiding initiatives that help ensure PRS continues to offer actionable support for members as they navigate an increasingly complex industry landscape.
• DEAD PONY PASSION, PERSEVERANCE AND ANTI-PUNKAnna Shields and Blair Crichton discuss the four-piece's breakout year, the impact of PRS support and how their future feels 'boundless'. Words: Sophie Williams
• Photo: Euan RobertsonP
• Photo: Euan RobertsonIn April, the band released their staggering debut album Ignore This via LAB Records, a wide-ranging effort that incorporates everything from angular, grinding rock (COBRA, AWOL) to Enter Shikari-esque electro crossover (MK Nothing). The road to that record began long before Dead Pony formed in 2020, dating back to when Anna and Blair performed under various aliases around their local scene in Glasgow. Initially experimenting with indie music, the pair then leaned into far heavier territory before recruiting Liam and Euan for what would become Dead Pony. 'Putting out Ignore This remains my biggest achievement in life,' Anna tells M. 'We'd been working on it for so long, exploring so many sounds and trying out different things while trying to find ourselves and who we are as a band. It was validating to be able to show everyone that we could make an album that people could resonate with.'
• Page 7'We have people at our gigs who really believe in the music we are making.' Dead Pony performing at the British Music Embassy at SXSW 2023 (Photo: Tynesight.co.uk)
• Words: Felicity MartinThe 2024 Ivors Rising Star Award winner talks full-circle moments, career ambitions and being besieged by autograph hunters. Master Peace wants to be the alternative kid who cracked the mainstream. 'If [my music] can sit in the world of a Dev Hynes, Santigold or M.I.A., then that would be impressive for me,' he tells M, typifying the ambition of the artist born Peace Okezie.
• Idicks-HOW TO MAKE A MASTER PEACE M Magazine 09
• Photo: Royd Ringdahl'I'm not one of those artists who is scared about performing.' His childhood also had a bearing on this push and pull of ideas. Growing up in south-east London before relocating to the sleepy suburb of Morden, there was little musical common ground between his school friends, who listened to The 1975 and Arctic Monkeys, and his 'hood' friends. He was the only one, he realised, who listened to both Paramore and rap: 'I've got so many influences that I can make a good rap song, but also make a good indie song, a dance song... I've always been tapped into different cultures.'
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• MUSIC ducingBBC INTRODUCING The new music discovery platform
• Page 13IDLES performing on the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury 2022 (Photo: BBC Introducing / Ruth Medjber) Words: Emily Pilbeam
• Page 14Above: English Teacher performing on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury 2022 (Photo: BBC Introducing/Amy Heycock) As well as the English regions, BBC Introducing's shows in Wales and Scotland - not forgetting BBC Radio Ulster's ATL Introducing programme, formerly Across the Line - are constantly supporting incredible acts from their respective territories. Adam Walton, of BBC Introducing Wales, says one of his career highlights was watching Catfish and the Bottlemen 'go from being 15-year-old kids having to hide backstage in their local venue because they weren't old enough to be inside to headlining the UK's biggest stages'.
• Page 15'It is so important that regional music can go up against the bigger cities.' - Angelle Joseph, BBC Introducing Norfolk and Suffolk This is still incredibly important at a local level as well, as Angelle explains: 'Venues, promoters and other creatives know they can trust BBC Introducing and get acts we've co-signed to be part of other things locally. They trust our ears, and we can help support emerging artists in their creative journey.'
• flowerovPhoto: Finn Waring 'I'm grateful that women are being seen, especially as a young Black woman myself"
• Page 17love M Magazine 17
• Photo: Adama Jalloh'Every song on the EP chronologically tells the story of how love usually goes, and if it doesn't work out in some cases,' she explains. From the early hints of a crush in Girl Like Me to being hopelessly in love on Breaking News and then utterly heartbroken by the finale Congrats! U Did It!, the EP zeroes in on Joyce's skills as a storyteller and chronicler of budding romance and young love. 'It's just where I was personally when I was writing it,' she continues. 'I always had the title Ache In My Tooth because I had written three different songs with the title. But I didn't feel like those songs were good enough, so I decided to take it and make it my EP title. It's about love and all the themes of love because, for me, love can be so sweet that it hurts, and it's a little bit like a toothache.'
• Page 19'My honest answer is, I'm not sure if I've navigated it yet,' she admits. 'But PRS was a big part of my career when I first started, and it still is [now]. I didn't even know what PRS was initially - my brother told me to sign up when I first made a Spotify account - but it's been amazing. I think it's a great platform for artists [as it means you remain] somewhat in control of your finances, and it's also important in terms of giving you the knowledge of what's happening in the industry too.' Joyce was also able to make use of funding through PRS early on in her career, which helped her build both her aesthetic and overall connection to her fanbase.
• PRS FOUNDATIONFUNDING NEW MUSIC FOR 25 YEARS Widely respected for its inclusive, collaborative and proactive approach to funding new music activities, PRS Foundation has helped elevate the careers of some of the UK's most groundbreaking artists.
• PRS for MUSICPRS for MUSIC Folution
• Page 22For those in the early stages of their career, opportunities such as MOBO UnSung, Glastonbury's Emerging Talent Competition and the Steve Reid INNOVAtion Award should all be explored. The Next Steps programmes - such as the PPL Momentum Music Fund, the Composers' Fund and the Hitmaker Fund - are then reserved for those further on in their careers. Each funding initiative offers vital and timely support at different points of the UK's talent development pipeline, and so it is not unusual for some grantees to return to apply for support from another PRS Foundation initiative over the years on their career journey.
• Page 23IDLES PRSF FUNDING RECEIVED:
• JAYAHADADREAM'WINNING GLASTONBURY'S EMERGING TALENT COMPETITION MADE ME FEEL UNSTOPPABLE' Words: Rhys Buchanan
• Page 25'People often try to split hip hop apart from real art." Photo: Press
• Page 26DEAM Above: JayaHadADream performing on the Woodsies stage at Glastonbury 2024 (Photo: Luke Brennan)
• 'If you reach for something, you actually can get it.'The exposure that has come with winning the Emerging Talent Competition has meant Jaya is more engaged with the industry side of being an artist than ever before. 'It's really cool that so many people have found me through the process because it's also had the ripple effect of magazines, lawyers, managers and labels reaching out since. For example, it's been great engaging with PRS and understanding just how vital that side of things is as well.' Having brought out vinyl copies of her Redemption Songs EP using part of her PRS funding, Jaya says that now is 'a really exciting time' for her career, during which she wants to 'really develop my performance'.
• Page 28Sukha 'If we can promote a positive narrative in our music, that's the biggest thing'
• Page 29KITH 'I think everything that we see around us, we try to put into our music.'
• NY TO NYC MIAMI L.A. MALIBTHE KITH Photo: Press
• Page 31As he scaled his early career heights, Sukha joined PRS for Music for worldwide royalty collections. 'PRS has been extremely supportive,' Sukha says about his experience of the society. 'They're so easy to speak to and communicate with. [PRS and MCPS] continue to do a lot for us, even down to collecting our royalties for mechanical publishing - a lot of Punjabi artists don't know about mechanical publishing rights. These artists didn't even know how much money they were making from radio, streaming, YouTube or social media platforms - there's money to be collected.
• SigalaATLANTA COR SINGLE WISH YOU WELL
• Photo: PressArtist manager, consultant and music industry mentor Atlanta Cobb shares her experience and tips for how music creators can achieve career longevity.
• Photo: PRS for Music / Olly WigginsPhoto: PRS for Music / Olly Wiggins 'Rest isn't laziness - it's fuel for creativity.'
• Page 35'Social media should serve the music, not overshadow it.' peer networks, member groups or fan engagement - adds a layer of resilience. Networking doesn't mean looking out for 'what's in it for me?', either: it's about connecting with people, supporting each other and finding ways to grow together. As musicians and industry professionals, we're in this together. The more we lift each other up, the stronger and more resilient we all become. When things get tough, it's your community - those relationships you've built over the years - that will help you keep going.
• Photo: Press9 9
• AYRA STARR'I WANT TO BREAK WHATEVER BOX THEY TRY TO PUT ME IN' Words: Joey Akan
• Page 38'Before PRS, Nigerian artists were mainly making money from shows. There was no system for publishing, no royalty structures in place. We needed that infrastructure." One track, Last Heartbreak Song, stands out for its vulnerability and its raw ache. It's not just a song, but a moment captured - a testament to Ayra Starr's growth as an artist unafraid of her own emotions. 'I remember performing it for the first time. It didn't feel real to me,' she recalls. 'My vocal trainer told me I wasn't singing from my heart. I thought I was, but he said, "You're not singing your own lyrics."
• Page 39Ayra Starr's journey isn't just about personal success - it's about setting a new standard for artists from Africa, especially young women. She's breaking down the stereotypes, redefining what it means to be a Nigerian artist on the global stage. 'Ten years from now, I want young women in the Nigerian music industry to look at me and see what's possible,' she says resolutely. 'I want to break whatever box they try to put me in.'
• BEN NOBUTOINSIDE THE MIND OF A MODERN COMPOSER
• Words: Hugh MorrisThe British-Japanese composer, pianist and producer on maximalism, Manchester Collective and his shifting musical aims. It's hard to imagine where Ben Nobuto's music would be without the internet. Since his breakthrough in 2021 with the Manchester Collective commission SERENITY 2.0, Ben has continued to develop a noticeably individual voice in contemporary classical music through his consistently curious engagement with both the internet and online culture.
• Photo: © Manchester Collective / Phil SharpOn a fundamental level, the principle of maximalist saturation makes Ben's music both a product of and a response to the attention economy, and you can certainly link the music's onslaught of information to that economy's desire for constant interest. But the pieces probe in other ways, too: SERENITY 2.0, for example, was imagined as a guided meditation that goes wrong. 'Listeners are invited to enter into a relaxed, meditative state, despite knowing well that any kind of serenity here is impossible,' he wrote in a post accompanying the work. The piece found an ambiguous middle ground, balancing the value Ben puts on meditation - he finds it hard, but persists - with the highly commodified form of the practice that props up today's wellness industry.
• In association with3 BBC RADIO
• Photo: Ryder ZamudioBAMBIE THUG 'REBEL COUNTY' RENEGADE PUSHING FOR QUEER VISIBILITY
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• Photo: Sabine De Graaf (@sabinedgphotography)While Eurovision may have been many viewers' first introduction to Bambie's genre-blurring 'ouija pop', this self-described 'goth gremlin witch' had already built up a cult following in the metal and alternative scene. The subsequent success of Doomsday Blue (which now has over 26 million streams) has added a fresh influx of fans to their coven, with many of those coming to see Bambie perform on their first European tour (fittingly called Crown the Witch). How might this following influence their creative outlook going forward? 'Although I'll never dilute myself, it's made me more aware of putting fewer expletives in my music so it can travel further,' they laugh. 'It's opened my audience to such a wide demographic that I'm slightly more aware of what I'm putting out.
• Page 47'Songwriting is an amazing tool to pull apart the puzzle pieces of what's happened. to you.' 'I like building a world outside of reality,' Bambie tells M. 'My whole persona and body changes depending on what I wear. If I have a blonde wig and am more femme presenting, that has an impact on how I perform and feel. If I dress as a spider creature-like in the Hex So Heavy video - I feel crazy, badass, hot and weird. I love causing a reaction in people through imagery.'
• Page 48CLOSING THE GAP HOW MUSIC EDUCATION IS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY Words: Dan Cave
• Yaw Owusu'The [education] system can sometimes compartmentalise creativity,' he says. "We need to do more to publicise [careers in music] in schools. We need to teach kids about innovation, entrepreneurship and management - skills that are useful in any line of work.' Educators, Matt adds, need to boost confidence and encourage entrepreneurialism among young people. 'I get students out of the classroom as much as possible and get them to identify gaps [in the industry],' he explains. 'They can fill those gaps - and you don't have to go to London [to work], either.'
• Photo: Mitch PeryerNO FILTER: SAM TOMPKINS ON GRIEF, GROWTH AND HONESTY
• Page 51T Words: Sophie Williams
• Photo: Mitch PeryerPhoto: Mitch Peryer 'In this industry, it's good to recognise who is actually keen to support you.'
• Page 53'I'm a really open, vulnerable and sensitive person, and I've always been proud of that.' Growing in confidence as a songwriter helped Sam devise a winning formula. During those long, shapeless lockdown days of 2020, Sam began uploading content to Tik Tok. His soulful, ragged vocal, complemented by his affable demeanour, struck a chord and his music began to flood all corners of the internet, helping him build an international fanbase he commands to this day. A rendition of Bruno Mars' Talking To The Moon was even sampled by Gambian-British rapper Jnr Choi, with the resulting track becoming one of the biggest songs on Tik Tok in 2021.
• 'MY RELATIONSHIPWITH MY CREATIVITY IS ALWAYS CHANGING'
• Yunè Pinku'Electronic music has come accidentally to me.' Photo: Manon
• Page 56As a child Yunè was always surrounded by music, with indie, experimental sounds and traditional Irish music all competing for her affections. It was growing up in London, however, that led to dance music's pulse entering her creative sphere. 'I went to school in south London and heard drum'n'bass and UK garage in the streets, being played in people's cars,' she recalls. 'It was very familiar to me, but I was unaware of how familiar it was until I started making it.'
• Photo: Patrick Gunning'I still work on the same dinner table that I made everything on during lockdown." Photo: Manon
• Page 58BARRY CAN'T SWIM
• Photo: PressWords: Jim Ottewill Having ridden the wave of his debut album's success, Edinburgh producer Joshua Mainnie - better known as Barry Can't Swim - is being tipped for even greater things. M speaks to key members. of his team about what's worked and what to expect next.
• BARRY CAN'T SWIM'SYEAR IN NUMBERS Over 250 million streams accumulated across his back catalogue so far.
• Photo: BBC Introducing'We have a great relationship between artist and management we're one big collaborative team.' A milestone moment in Josh's journey was when he signed to Ninja Tune's Technicolour imprint for his 2022 EP More Content. The deal was orchestrated by A&R and catalogue manager Mary Davenport, who discovered Barry Can't Swim online.
• Jamal Green'The composers I listened to were always my heroes' Words: Hollie Geraghty
• M Magazine 63Photo: BAFTA / Sophia Spring
• Page 64Being selected for the BAFTA Breakthrough programme felt like a massive milestone.' Photo: Audio Network / Marcus Maschwitz
• Page 65'During registration one morning, someone started playing the Floppy Bird music to the whole class, and everyone clapped for me,' he recalls with a laugh. 'It wasn't a clappable thing, but it was very nice of them.' From there, Jamal continued to pursue any and all music gigs that came his way: 'I treated it like a job, but I was doing stuff for free or occasionally being paid by people kind enough to pay me. But it was hard to gain the trust of anybody to let a 15-year-old kid do music for their project.' Jamal continued to fine-tune his compositional skills by studying performance and production at college, where he would regularly camp out at the back of other students' classes to work away on his own projects ('The teachers there were way more gracious', he notes). He went on to enrol at the University of Hertfordshire to study composition. Fortunately, he recalls, he didn't have to sit an entry exam to demonstrate an education in classical music: 'If they were gatekeeping it too much, I may not have made it into some universities.'
• Page 66Katie Hargrove
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• Page 68"When I'm 90, I'm not going to care about the numbers. I'll care about the songs I wrote.' As she entered her teens, Katie started performing live during breaks between her father's sets. 'I was this 13-year-old girl with an electric guitar, performing in a bar,' she remembers with a laugh. Those early experiences helped forge her stage presence and resilience - qualities she would rely on as she progressed in the industry.
• Page 69WE LIVE HERE: THE MIDWEST hulu
• HOW ARE THE UK'SLEADING MUSIC ORGANISATIONS SUPPORTING MUSIC CREATORS? Words: El Hunt
• Page 71HELP MUSICIANS
• MUSIC MINDSMATTER Music Minds Matter runs a dedicated support hotline for anyone in the industry who may be in need of free mental health support - open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• MUSICIANS' UNIONAs the UK's leading trade union for professional musicians - representing 35,000 members- the Musicians' Union represents and advises music creators who are actively working across the industry. In addition to the wide-ranging support it offers to its members (ranging from tax advice to how to tour abroad), the MU also campaigns for greater faimess across the industry and has dedicated set of resources for young musicians who are hoping to build a sustainable music career.
• 90 Members' Fund of BEYONDTHE MUSIC We support our members with hardship funding and wellbeing support, so you can do what you do best, focus on making music.
• Page 75The creator's guide to data and getting paid what you're owed. GET PAID GUIDE
• Music is my passion Music is my hobbyMusic is my outlet Music is my job