Music Makes Lives Better Because… is YYM’s series of articles on why we choose music education as a tool to improve the life chances of children and young people in Yorkshire.

As well as the new trends happening in the music industry (sped up tracks seem to be the thing these days…), the overriding theme for the creation of and sharing of new music seems to be an increasing number of artists producing music independently and releasing it via social media platforms like TikTok, where videos are fast, free and have a fighting chance of going viral. Have a look at JVKE’s videos for just one example of many artists gaining momentum in this way.

Many creators are choosing to remain independent of any label, even as they become popular, because they can generate enough income from their own platform accounts and have more control over their own content. And with technology and social media sites becoming ever more prevalent in our daily lives, ever more consumed by a younger audience and ever more intuitive to use, it is understandable why more and more emerging artists are choosing to make and share music on their own terms.

We believe that young people expressing themselves through music is vitally important

At Yorkshire Youth and Music, we believe that young people expressing themselves through music is vitally important. Especially through music and musical genres that mean something to them, whilst allowing them to share their music in ways that are accessible to the people they’d like to reach.

So, as well as getting to grips with our own TikTok account, we’ve teamed up with Kirklees Year of Music (#KYOM23) to provide a series of FREE to access sessions, in Huddersfield town centre, where a range of music industry professionals will support young people to produce and share their own music, videos, events and other content. We’re calling all content creators aged 16-24 in the Kirklees region to come and get involved, so sign up now if you’re interested! Or send this on to any budding musicians in the region…

As well as our sessions as part of #KYOM23, we have a wider remit to support children and young people across the county. Please do get in touch if you’re not in Kirklees, but would like some support – we might be able to find some for you.

Also relevant are some previous Music Makes Lives Better articles – if you’d like a little further reading…

Music Makes Lives Better Because… it changes with the times!

Music Makes Lives Better Because… it can offer a new beginning