I have been working as one of the 10 BRIT’s apprentices with DiVA and [PIAS] since the start of January and I can honestly say that it has been eye-opening, I did not expect that I would be straight out of University into the field that I have been studying since I was 16. My experience so far has been a whirlwind of gigs, new people and working somewhere outstanding. I have been learning tons of new skills and a tremendous amount of new people in and out of the music industry. I have been learning about the different components it takes to run a successful independent music company and have gained a lot of appreciation from all the work, creativeness and pure brain power that goes into every single thought and detail within the company. I’ve always been somebody that thrives from learning new things and this scheme has definitely hit the spot, I feel like I really am learning something new every day – and that is what it is like working in this type of industry, there are huge amounts of change and you can’t ever stop learning and expanding your mind which is perfect.

I have the absolute pleasure in stating that I am working for the music company [PIAS], the people that work there are so passionate and lovely and there hasn’t been a day so far where there is no laughter; it is like no other place that I have worked before. I have been gaining immense experience from working in a music company and it has been a huge foot in the door; one thing that I’ve learnt is that once you start working in that kind of industry then you are more likely to keep on having doors open up for you to progress and achieve more throughout the music industry, so I feel tremendously lucky to have been accepted into such an impressive scheme. There are numerous highlights that come to mind when I think of working for the team that it would be rude not to mention some of them. The people are a definite highlight to where I work as well as the music, gigs, beer and cake (oh so much cake!). I love that I can go to so many gigs and watch talented musicians absolutely smash a show and then be there for the after party to mingle with the artists and other industry officials – it is a great setting to network in.

I cannot even begin to explain how nervous I was when I first started in January. I noticed that people (including myself) feel like the music industry has a stigma of being extremely hard to get an opportunity within, so I was so nervous about giving the right impression and just being myself – in my first week I must have just spent the majority of the time looking terrified with nerves haha. Now it feels so natural; like I have found a second home. So far, my experience has indeed made me want to stay in the music industry, however, having said that, I wouldn’t ever limit myself to staying somewhere if I feel that I have given all that I can and that there is nothing more that I can do to make something thrive. As long as I can keep on contributing to something that I am passionate about, the more I want to stay within a specific field. I have not put a great amount of thought into what I would like to do after the apprenticeship as I have always left what I want to do next as something that I should only think briefly about; this has always worked perfectly for me. Reflecting on where opportunities and experiences take me is far more rewarding than trying to plan my life before I have lived it. In the long run, I hope that whatever I am doing in the future, I am doing it because it makes me happy, which ultimately is something that I try to make sure that I am always doing. I have been through stages where I am doing something that I am not happy with just to make others happy and this can be pretty damaging to your own mentality.

Finally, my main piece of advice to people who would like to join the scheme is to just do it! *insert Shia LaBeouf meme here* It’s so easy to put things off and think ‘nah, I wouldn’t even get the chance’. I mean, that was my first thought when I was thinking about applying to the scheme, it took me a month to talk myself into actually applying and that definitely paid off – it’s an opportunity that you must give yourself a chance at but you need to be prepared to put in a lot of hard work and effort. Working with DiVA on the BRIT’s apprenticeship course has been absolutely vital to my experience, without them I would not be where I am now. They provide top class webinars and workshops that inspire me, in the long run, to keep on pushing myself further and to keep on implementing change.