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(Credits: Mark Surrudge)
Fri 10 January 2025 10:21, UK
Despite the UK music industry posting record numbers in 2024, there are still inequalities across the board, with significant disparities in access to high-quality music education. To address some of the issues, singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has launched the Ed Sheeran Foundation, a UK-wide initiative aimed at providing inclusive education.
The foundation has already supported 18 grassroots music education organisations and state school music departments across the UK. This will impact 12,000 children and young people by improving access to instruments, creating performance opportunities, and opening pathways into the music industry.
In addition to this direct support, the foundation wants greater recognition of music’s transformative power in young people’s lives and the essential role of music teachers. Recruitment in the profession has declined by over 50 per cent in the past decade.
To mark the foundation’s launch, Sheeran visited young people, teachers and youth workers in Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh and Belfast. He explains: “Music education has shaped who I am. I’ve always enjoyed playing music, and it’s led to some of the best moments of my life”.
One organisation that was visited was Sound Progression in Cardiff. Paul Lyons, their founder, DJ and producer, said: “Our young people come from diverse backgrounds across Cardiff and enjoy creating music in various genres from Afrobeats to Indie. Our weekend workshops serve as safe, inclusive spaces that unite communities—but without additional investment, we risk losing this and the incredible talent they nurture.”
The foundation has partnered with Coventry Alternative Provision (AP) Academy and Coventry Music on studio space in Coventry. Glenn Mellor, headteacher, highlighted: “Music is so important for our young people. Having this studio reaches them in a way that will inspire them to believe they can go further with their ambitions and future careers.”
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