Introduction
We are very excited to share that we are now recruiting for two young people, who will help us drive the Sound Without Sight initiative across the music industry. These Industry Engagement Internships are supported by Youth Music’s Incubator Fund, which creates meaningful career opportunities for young people aged 18-25, particularly those who are currently unrepresented in the sector and to support creative employers to innovate and incubate new and diverse talent.
Recent research by RNIB and Opinium showed that only 3% of the UK general population could think of a professional blind or partially sighted musician who had started their career in the past 10 years. Despite improvements to other areas of inclusion across the industry, there is a clear need to support emerging blind and partially sighted musicians, and to create pathways that allow their talent to shine through.
What will the internship programme involve?
You will work remotely with our Project Manager, interacting with the industry across many touch-points, and also supporting blind and partially sighted musicians directly to create, perform, and release their music, and develop as artists.
There will be some degree of flexibility in the roles, allowing duties to be tailored based on your individual experience and desired career path. Duties could include (but are not limited to):
- Creating and managing content for the Sound Without Sight platform.
- Interviewing musicians, attending and reviewing their concerts, visiting inclusive studios and venues.
- Developing a supportive community of blind and partially sighted musicians.
- Attending industry events and building relationships to raise the profile of blind and partially sighted music-makers.
- Monitoring community posts and comments, to influence content commissioned by the project.
- Social media marketing, with a view to helping develop inclusive self-marketing practices for musicians.
- Working with talent streams such as BBC Introducing and Bristol Beacon’s development programmes, to ensure that their services are accessible to blind and partially sighted musicians.
How will the internship support me?
The internships are offered on a freelance basis, with the programme offering a monthly stipend of £624 to cover 13 hours work on the project per week (£11.09 hourly rate). Your working pattern can be flexible to allow you to explore other work, study, or commitments. This is a remote working opportunity, and a laptop can be supplied if required. Travel expenses are available for events. Though not essential, we believe that this opportunity would be particularly exciting to candidates who have lived experience of blindness or partial sight, or a connection to the community of blind and partially sighted musicians.
The programme will also support you with £500 and a network of contacts to develop a personal project related to your work at Sound Without Sight. For example, this could be to support a blind or partially sighted artist’s first release, or development of your own musical project.
Further information and how to apply
We are working with recruitment partner Creative Opps, who specialise in giving young people access to the tools, networks, and experience that they need to independently achieve their ambitions. The full job advert, including more information and the person specification, is live on the Creative Opps website now:
Please note that you must be aged 18 to 25 and based in England, Scotland or Wales. You must submit your application form by 11.59pm on Thursday 14th September 2023. You should demonstrate how you meet the criteria in the person specification at the link above. Responses can alternatively take the form of an audio or video presentation hosted on a private link. Please include a link in the application form.
Interviews will take place in late September, with a view to the internships beginning in October, though there is some flexibility in the start date to allow time for Access to Work arrangements to be put in place if required.
Jay Pocknell, Project Manager, writes:
“I wish Sound Without Sight had existed when I was building my career in music as a partially sighted person. I’m super happy and proud that the project can now offer these two paid opportunities to support two young people to begin developing their careers, and help us grow this new project at the same time! Thanks so much to Youth Music’s panel of young people for seeing the value in Sound Without Sight and deciding to support these internships. Good luck to all who apply!”