Increasing diversity in the music industry

HyperTribe’s 4-week programme is a response to the lack of diversity in the music industry. It’s setting out to tackle this through mentoring, and you can apply now, the deadline is 7th June.

Following the success of the September 2020 Pioneer Mentoring Programmes, HyperTribe is again welcoming female musicians of all levels and aspirations to sign up for its 2021 free programme, that starts on the 11th of June.

Confirmed mentors are Camden Cox, Tamzene, Rika, Lleo, Kaylee Golding, Caswell, Chloe Diana and Leio with more artists to be announced soon.

Change is vitally needed as new research shows just what obstacles there are for women in the industry.

“Currently fewer than 20% of all signed artists to UK music labels are female, and 14% of all music writers signed to music publishers are female, despite constituting nearly 50% of all music graduates over the past 5 years,” says Gender Diversity in Music campaigner, Vick Bain.

HyperTribe Mentees can expect to be matched with a mentor, who will help work with them on certain aspects of their career, and towards overcoming obstacles hindering their progress. The programme aims to support artists by introducing them to a peer-to-peer support network; providing them with specialist knowledge about the music industry; and introducing them to manageable steps towards musical and financial independence. They’ll also have the opportunity to attend specialist Q&As with mentors and industry experts.

HyperTribe is a music industry education network that helps artists build a sustainable, monetised music career.

Founded by Kimmy Dickson who experienced a growing frustration with the fractured and biased way in which the music industry works, the Pioneer Mentoring Programme was created to give female artists the tools they need to navigate the music industry and find their own sustainable path through it.

“We hope that we are the first of many to actively continue to address the gender equality that is so rife within artist development within the music industry, using mentoring”, she says. “There is a whole host of untapped female talent out there, waiting for the opportunity to be mobilised.”

“I hope that as artists progress on their journey, they will then be inspired to start work with and support the artists behind them to form a music community which is run by artists for artists.”

Previous mentees have described how much they benefited from the scheme.

“There’s just something about having another woman in the music industry who gets how you feel - who can say: ‘I know how you feel but you need to be more confident’ - you know, giving you that push” - says Kerry Feeney, May 2020 Cohort

“HyperTribe managed like nobody to find a genuine group of talented artists embracing all levels and aspirations. This is definitely a safe space for emerging female artists to grow and become independent and successful” - Mentee, May 2020 Cohort

The deadline for Mentoring Programme registration is 7th June 2021
Artists interested in joining as a mentor or mentee can sign up here.