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'Make your own opportunities' - L C Y’S advice for emerging artists

Published on 24 May 2021

Authored by Anonymous

person bathed in blue light against a black background visible from shoulders up — Photo of LCY

Written by Phoebe Patrick, Youth Music NextGen Contributing Writer

Ahead of the Youth Music NextGen Fund launch, I caught up with DJ, producer and record label owner L C Y to share their advice for emerging creatives starting out in the music industries today.

Bristol-born electronic artist L C Y started out in music production aged just 16 at a youth club, where crucially, they had access to a Macbook with music production software. They took the opportunity to get as much time with the equipment as possible to learn how to produce. But when the youth club lost funding, L C Y lost access to their hobby.

Undeterred, L C Y worked hard to save up for their own equipment, and turn a passion in to a career.

"The tools to make music are the foundation"

Availability and accessibility of equipment is paramount for new artists and producers.

A survey from Youth Music found almost a third (31%) of young people said financial resources are the biggest barrier to pursuing and sustaining a career in music. The Youth Music NextGen Fund aims to change this.

L C Y’s biggest advice for emerging artists is to “Make your own opportunities, make sure they’re right for you, make sure you can afford them.” Following their own advice, L C Y established record platform SZNS7N, to have full creative control over their music and output and support peers in the industry.

L C Y says, “…being a label owner is a great thing and as long as you focus on the music primarily, this will drive it”. Having access to NextGen funding will allow young people to make music their primary focus as they emerge into the industry, with less financial pressure.

person visible from shoulders up, bathed in a red light — Photo of LCY

Put the hours in, be healthy and good to yourself

A healthy balance between the hours put into creative projects alongside part time jobs, studying, or other commitments is essential, but can be difficult to achieve with the financial costs of producing work.

Making more funding available to young artists will give them control over their creative ventures, and allow them to maintain a balance between projects. Plus, for artists, they will benefit from self-managing projects which is a great way to get noticed in the early stages of your career.

The Youth Music NextGen Fund aims to make this a real possibility for young creatives who face barriers to music industry careers.