By Imogen Lawlor, Trustee (Sound and Music)

 

Fair Access Assembly 2025

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The air was buzzing with excitement on Thursday 13 March in the Library of Birmingham, where creatives, sector leaders and inclusion advocates came together for our 2025 Fair Access Assembly, co-chaired with Ty Cerdd, to collectively reflect and shape the future of the Fair Access Principles.  

 

At Sound and Music, Fair Access underpins our new strategy, and we are committed to driving equity across music in the UK. Our goal in founding the Fair Access Principles in 2020 was to start a conversation around inclusion and access – specifically for artist development programmes, commissions, and competitions for music creators.

The Fair Access Principles act as a code of best practice to ensure processes and offerings to artists are inclusive, taking into consideration barriers and practices that may be excluding people from benefiting from these opportunities. Since launching the Fair Access Principles five years ago, we have had 35 signatories supporting the principles, with five more on the way in 2025. 

Having served as a trustee at Sound and Music for nearly five years, I was honoured to deliver the opening address for the organisation’s first in-person assembly. The Fair Access Principles resonate with me on a personal level. As a mixed-race woman from a working-class background, I faced barriers to accessing music education and I know that change can only happen with continuous, conscious effort. Music creators continue to face barriers to opportunities due to demographics, socioeconomic background, and access needs. These inequities mean that talent often goes unrecognised and unsupported, perpetuating historical systems of oppression and exclusion.  

“However Fair Access Principles have been a catalyst for change, for us and our signatories. From conversations with partner organisations and regularly reviewing our own data, we know that their implementation across all our programmes has resulted in a substantial increase in the diversity of applicants at every stage: from application, to shortlisting, and selection.”

 

— Imogen Lawlor

 

Barriers at Application 

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One of the most prevalent topics of the assembly was application processes, which continue to present challenges for creatives.  

“Even where some good practices have become more normalised, participants highlighted the importance of reviewing practices that create an ‘illusion’ of fair access, such as cumbersome video applications or orchestral blind auditions; that do not take into account the whole person or present someone in their best light.”

 

— Imogen Lawlor

Some application processes may also favour those who are more privileged, with an understanding of the specific language required to be successful in obtaining opportunities. In addition, burdensome requirements, such as submitting 10 pieces of music, exclude those with less experience from opportunities. It’s no surprise that artists who experience a dearth of challenging application processes and frequent rejections may feel discouraged to reapply for opportunities, especially when the waiting times to receive an outcome are lengthy. 

This calls into question how arts sector organisations could get to know applicants better through their application process. Tiered and lower levels of support for shortlisted (but unsuccessful) applicants would make the application process more developmental and useful. Transparency was a key word of the day, regarding how organisations could be more forthcoming about key dates for programmes or consistently providing a space for applicants to convey their access requirements – taking some of the onus off applicants to always have to ask for what they need first. Transparency may also look like offering phone calls regarding the application process, feedback for those with access requirements and an expression of interest stage pre-application – allowing for a more human and holistic approach. 

 

Organisational Challenges 

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With a wealth of organisations represented at the assembly, it was clear that arts sector leaders in attendance prioritised inclusion, but there was an acknowledgement of the limited resources that prevent some organisations from adopting all the Fair Access Principles. The sheer volume of applications can sometimes present a barrier to providing constructive feedback to hundreds of creatives.  

However, this is something that creatives understand and transparency around these limitations may be appreciated by applicants, if they can also gain something else from the process. Moreover, rethinking how we understand concepts such as networking and support doesn’t mean breaking the bank, where a low cost space for artists to network or virtual meet-ups facilitated by organisations would foster valuable connections for creatives. 

“The structure of organisations is, of course, a strong factor in implementing fair access more widely, where senior teams are not diverse or do not take accessibility seriously enough to imbue a culture of inclusion.”

 

— Imogen Lawlor

There is also a question for arts organisations about whether ‘success’ means supporting a breadth of artists, or a smaller number of creatives whilst meeting access needs fully and simultaneously fostering excellence.  

Furthermore, while the Equality Act 2010 is seemingly common parlance in 2025, some barriers are not attached to protected characteristics, such as being from a working class background and lacking the cultural capital to access opportunities. As discussions developed throughout the day, it became clear that there will never be one single accessible solution that works for everyone.  

“This work takes time, effort and financial investment – meaning not spending your access budget for the year is not something to be pleased about!”

 

— Imogen Lawlor

 

Language

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Many participants highlighted that interrogating terminology and language is a worthwhile endeavour for creating fair access, with some discussions pondering whether the structure of the Fair Access Principles themselves should be revisited and simplified. Organisations want to ensure fair access practices do not affect the standard of the music they fund, but “quality” is not an unbiased term. Some participants posited that over-emphasis on quality is akin to the obsession with “virtuosity” or the lone genius of a “composer” in classical music.  

“This industrialisation of the modern composer has led to contemporary artists being expected to be a machine and business on their own, which inevitably excludes carers and disabled people.”

 

— Imogen Lawlor

Furthermore, a well-worn debate for music creators is defining emerging and early-career. Even running with a definition of 0-5 years as emerging and 5-10 as early career, for example, this calls into question: does this need to be 0-10 continuous years?  

 

Looking Ahead

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The assembly was a stimulating day that left many of us feeling tired (in a good way!), but invigorated with a sense of belief for the future of fair access in the arts.  

“It was acknowledged that, despite progress, the sector was still in the early stages implementing fair access, and that this work won’t always provide clear answers. However, the assembly highlighted that collaboration is key to the future of inclusion in the arts.”

 

— Imogen Lawlor

Perhaps this could include Fair Access Principles signatories sharing best practice, using dashboards to share data and even forming collective arguments to advocate for change at sector level.  

Organisations embracing the needs of their beneficiaries and simply asking what people need promotes a culture of transparency, enabling us to find compromise and solutions.  

My day job is in widening access to Higher Education and in my experience, equality of opportunity doesn’t just mean making some small tweaks to some programmes, ticking a box, and hoping for the best. It’s about improving processes at every level, monitoring those changes and sharing best practice.  

“Sound and Music’s hope is that a more diverse range of music creators and composers are represented in programmes across the country, reflecting the diversity of the UK, addressing historical inequalities and inspiring future generations.”

 

— Imogen Lawlor

This change is only possible through working collaboratively with the wider sector to address ongoing issues around inclusion.  

If you are a music organisation providing opportunities to composers and music creators, find out more about our Fair Access Principles and how to be part of the conversation and the change.  

 

Fair Access Drop-in Sessions

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If you are interested in finding out more, please sign up to one of our upcoming Information Sessions and find out more and see whether the Fair Access Principles is something you would be interesting in signing up to:

Register for our upcoming Fair Access Principles drop-in sessions

• Register for: Thursday 15 May, 2-3pm 
• Register for: Thursday 29 May, 12-1pm 
• Register for: Tuesday 10 June, 2-3pm
• Register for: Wednesday 2 July 2-3pm
• Register for: Thursday 17 July, 12-1pm

These drop-in events are hosted by Laonikos Psimikakis Chalkokondylis, Head of Programmes, and are open to anyone who is interested in hearing more about the Fair Access Principles and how to sign your organisation up to the Principles.

Laonikos will share some background and information about the Fair Access Principles, explain the process of signing up, and will be available to discuss any specific questions relating to your organisation around the Fair Access Principles.

Find out more about how to get involved by emailing our Head of Programmes, Laonikos Psimikakis Chalkokondylis, at: Laonikos.PC@SoundandMusic.org

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