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Ed Sheeran has launched the Ed Sheeran Foundation, a UK-wide initiative aimed at providing inclusive, high-quality music education.
Music education in the UK faces significant challenges, with varying needs across regions, schools and age groups. While the UK music industry contributed a record £7.6 billion to the economy in 2024, disparities still remain in terms of access to music education.
Upon its launch, the foundation has already supported 18 grassroots music education organisations and state school music departments across the UK. This support will directly impact 12,000 children and young people by improving access to instruments, creating performance opportunities, and opening pathways into the music industry.
Sheeran marked the launch of the foundation by visiting young people, teachers and youth workers in Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh and Belfast.
Ed Sheeran said: “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.”
In Northern Ireland, the Ed Sheeran Foundation is supporting Drake Music Northern Ireland, Hotbox Entertainment and Music Week Awards winners Oh Yeah Music Centre.
Accompanied by Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody on his visit to Northern Ireland on Friday (January 10), Sheeran spent time meeting young participants on the organisations’ music programmes and those running organisations. He joined in with a band rehearsal and took part in a Q&A with aspiring gig promoters and producers.
Gary Lightbody, who has been a long-term champion for NI music through his own Foundation and as one of the founders of the Oh Yeah Music Centre, highlighted the challenges facing the arts in NI.
“Music and the arts are badly underfunded in Northern Ireland,” he said. “The Republic of Ireland government spends the equivalent of £25 per capita on the arts; Wales spends £10 per capita; Northern Ireland only spends £5 per capita. As a result, access to music education here is miles below where it should be.
“Furthermore, Northern Ireland is often excluded from British arts initiatives. That’s why it’s so significant that Ed has expanded to include Northern Ireland in his Foundation work. I’m genuinely excited about what this means for music in the UK as a whole, and, on a personal level, I’m particularly encouraged by what it could mean for Northern Ireland.”
Charlotte Dryden, CEO at the Oh Yeah Music Centre, added: “The funding of the arts in Northern Ireland is at an all-time low and the cost of living is not getting any easier, so to have this support from Ed Sheeran is incredible. Music education is a vital part of a child’s development and we want to ensure that we can play a part in supporting young people that may face barriers to get involved in music.
“Thanks to the Ed Sheeran Foundation we will be able to provide 100 young people with access to music that will include instruments, mentoring, tuition and performances. We aim to incorporate existing projects, as well as working with our partners and will be engaging with schools as part of this.”
PHOTO: (L-R) Gary Lightbody, Charlotte Dryden, Ed Sheeran (credit: Bradley Quinn)
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