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 seemed to be the thing for summer 2023…), 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.

With music production tools also more accessible than they have ever been, the music industry is a place where you can, against all the odds, have a top 10 hit at an increasingly young age. You only have to look as far as the 2024 charts in the UK to find the Kabin Crew track, "The Spark", where you can see that it is actually possible to have a viral hit on your hands (well done to all those involved in making this brilliantly energetic track):

You can also find another set of incredibly talented young people in our latest Sounds Like... playlist.

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. We work with a range of professional musicians and producers to give young people the tools to make and release their own tracks, as well as showing them the various roles they could take up as part of the music industry alongside searching for success as an artist. We want to lay the foundation for success, so that young people can support themselves in music based positions and learn applicable skills, whilst they shoot for their dreams.

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

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