AudioActive receives £29,627 grant through Amazon’s Regional Creatives Fund, with expert input from BRIT Award-winner Myles Smith, to expand creative industry career programmes for underserved communities
The Myles Smith Award is a special edition of the Regional Creatives Fund, developed with guidance from BRIT Award-winning, chart-topping artist Myles Smith, offering grants of up to £30,000 for charities which focus on upskilling people for careers in creative industries
Staff and mentors at a music charity in Brighton are celebrating after being selected to receive a £29,627 grant to expand programmes that help create career opportunities in the creative industries for local young people.
AudioActive received the Myles Smith Award grant through Amazon’s Regional Creatives Fund and plans to use the funding to support people from communities in Sussex.
BRIT Award-winning artist Myles Smith provided expert evaluation of music-focused applications during the judging process, bringing his industry perspective to the selection criteria established by the Regional Creatives Fund.
“Music completely changed my life – it gave me purpose, confidence and a way to express myself. I know how hard it can be to get that first opportunity or find the right support. There’s such a high barrier to entry in this industry and most people don’t have access to resources or networks,” said Myles Smith. “That’s why this grant means so much to me. It’s about helping people from all backgrounds see that a career in the creative industries is possible and making sure the next generation of talent has the chance to shine.”
The Regional Creatives Fund, which aligns with the Government’s Creative Places Growth Fund1, aims to increase access to careers in the creative industries for people from underserved communities. Creative Access, the UK’s leading inclusivity organisation in the creative industries, defines underserved communities as a population proven to be under-represented2 in the sector.
AudioActive is a non-profit music organisation working across Sussex, offering free programmes, mentoring, and creative development for young people aged 12-25, especially those without access to creative opportunities. The organisation helps young people drive real social change through music.
The Regional Creatives Fund will support AudioActive’s Brighton-based programme focused on creating fairer, more accessible pathways into the creative industries for underrepresented young people.
Combining estate-based outreach, high-quality facilities, and holistic support that meets young people where they are, the Regional Creatives Fund grant will enable AudioActive to re-establish a strong creative home in Brighton, invest in facilities, deepen relationships with local estates, and build strategic partnerships under one roof. This will create genuine, sustainable progression routes into the creative industries for young people across the city.
“Our mission has always been to work with young people who don’t usually get access to opportunities like this, and to use music as a catalyst for real, lasting change. Brighton looks affluent from afar, but the reality is that too many young people here face limited prospects and invisible barriers,” added Adam Joolia, CEO of AudioActive. “This support will help us build a new, inclusive creative home for the city, get out into the estates and engage with young people on their terms, and open up fairer, clearer pathways into the creative industries. Alongside East Brighton Trust, we’re excited to bring brilliant partners under one roof and ensure that Brighton’s young people have the space, skills and support they need to thrive.”
Additional Amazon support
In addition to financial support, the Regional Creatives Fund will also use Amazon’s network of creative industry professionals to offer charities pro bono upskilling programmes for their organisations as well as their beneficiaries – including mentoring, work experience, placement opportunities, and digital training. Support will be provided by creative minds from Amazon Music, Prime Video, Amazon Games, and more.
Amazon has invested over £4.2 billion in the UK’s creative industries since 2010, with over 2,000 people permanently working across our Film and TV, music and audio, books and publishing, fashion, and gaming businesses, and supporting 16,000 additional jobs.
Amazon’s creative industries footprint extends across the entire UK: from acquiring the historic Bray Film Studios in Berkshire last year, which will house the production of the next season of Citadel; to the long-term contract with Shepperton Studios for exclusive use of new state-of-the-art production facilities at the Surrey studios where The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is currently filming; Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock in Wales; Harlan Coben’s Lazarus in Manchester; productions at First Stage Studios and Leigh Studios in Edinburgh; and multiple productions on location in and around London such as the live action movie Masters of the Universe.
The Amazon Literary Partnership has been awarding grants to inspiring non-profit literary organisations, writing centres and community engagement programmes groups since it was first launched in the UK six years ago. While each has a different focus, all have a shared goal of uplifting and offering opportunities to aspiring writers at any stage of their creative journey, and empowering those from underrepresented communities to experience and contribute to the magic of storytelling through the written word.
Amazon Music is committed to expanding access to UK music talent through a series of targeted initiatives. Partnerships with organizations including the BRIT Trust, Amplify, and the Association for Independent Music support new creative professionals entering the industry. The Step-Up Fund, a collaboration with the Featured Artists Coalition, will launch its fourth year in 2025. This fund provides financial support to emerging independent artists by offering development grants. Since its inception, Step-Up has distributed £250,000 to more than 30 UK musicians, including both bands and solo artists across multiple genres. These grants enable artists to fund new recordings, touring costs, marketing campaigns, PR activities, video production, and content creation.
As part of its global strategy to shape a more inclusive audio-storytelling industry, Audible is partnering with multiple institutions in the UK to support creative development programmes, from funding scholarships and classes at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA), to sponsoring the Barbican Young Poets Program and Women’s Prize for Fiction Discoveries Programme.
