It was great to be invited to speak at BOA Academy, Birmingham.
Invited by the Head of Music, Keiron Howe, the session was to help year 13 students with module 38 of the BTEC course (Edexcel, Music Freelance World). I spoke about a career in the music business including royalties (PRS, PPL & BASCA), portfolio careers, opportunities and attitude and had a great Q&A session with around forty students.
One of the really exciting things about talking to students in these scenarios is that regardless of technological changes to the music business (streaming and iphone recording), certain skills always remain such as marketing, self promotion, being a team player and managing your workload. The vast array of opportunities open to students at this time is bewildering, but in the end, having a creative vision for your professional life is the best self-motivator to developing a career.
The facilities at Birmingham Ormiston Academy are nothing short of amazing. Purpose built in 2011 they include a theatre, dance studios, acting studios and 2 fully equipped recording studios available to all students. There’s a ‘college’ atmosphere on site, and a real sense of maturity in the students who were eager to ask questions in the Q&A.
In addition, when we started to talk about songwriting, it was great to see so many hands in the air – a lot of talented and keen writers out there! I’m hoping to get back soon to run a songwriting module – but I’d certainly recommend the music department at BOA as a great opportunity for Midlands based sixth formers.
You can book Keith to speak to your students or run songwriting workshops by emailing bookings@keithayling.com
