As we turn down the levels on 2025, it is a natural moment to take stock of the year. It has been a momentous one for us here at Sound and Music, as bookended by the publication of our new strategy in January and first Annual Impact Report this month.
Will Dutta and Damian Hale, bloom360 Credit © Andy Brown, No Bounds Festival
“The strategy sets our intention and the Impact Report shows our effectiveness in our ambitious new direction that puts creators at the centre of all that we do.”
The strategy sets our intention and the Impact Report shows our effectiveness in our ambitious new direction that puts creators at the centre of all that we do. But what underpins this new direction? Our Curating Composer research is the theory that drives our mission, programmes and burgeoning thought leadership. By putting young, emerging and innovative creators at the centre of the work, we are continuously learning what it really takes to create and sustain new cultures of music and sound, self-produce and lead your own career, and minimise your creative waste while maximising professional and personal sustainability.
“The Curating Composer is… a manifesto for change that has increasingly captured the imagination of colleagues across music, arts and culture.”
Fiona Allison and Will Dutta at the Curating Composer Roundtable at Cafe Oto
The Curating Composer is an ongoing research project, leadership pathway for young creators and – as we have seen this year – a manifesto for change that has increasingly captured the imagination of colleagues across music, arts and culture. It is our strategic golden thread and borne out of my direct experience as a freelance creator curating performances and shows for the best part of 20 years. With the challenges facing DIY music makers the principles are more relevant than ever and there will be plenty more on this project to come in 2026. This year alone, however, it fuelled the design and delivery of new partnerships bridging music and art at the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich and bridging continents through music with the British Council.
“Crises in the music industry have underscored my career since Apple launched iTunes in the early 2000s.”
In the two and a half years since taking on the role of Chief Executive, I have seen creators continually face complex, often systemic and at times existential challenges. This is not new. Crises in the music industry have underscored my career since Apple launched iTunes in the early 2000s. As a creative freelancer navigating these seismic shifts, I would often find comfort in the title of composer Sir Michael Tippett’s oratorio (1939–41), A Child of Our Time; to put any given challenge in some sort of higher context – yes, there may be challenges but the industry was never easy, clear or fair.
That position no longer seems to cut it though. In the last two months alone, we have had a curriculum and assessment review that, while recommending music in schools should be an entitlement and not a luxury, remains light on the value and importance of original music creation. We felt the life-changing impact of youth music at the Music Mark Conference at Nottingham University last month, but this was in the shadow of the news that the institution was just the most recent university planning to axe music from their degree programmes. We also see a grassroots infrastructure that is struggling to keep up with the costs of living at home and of touring abroad – the launch of the first grant-making round from our friends at LIVE Trust cannot come soon enough.
Aura Machine EP by In Motion 2024 artist, Vicky Clarke (Sonamb)
When the price of music is already near zero and the aura in the machine is fast becoming more sophisticated (to borrow from In Motion alumni, Vicky Clarke, who recently explored machine learning and neural synthesis so brilliantly in her installation, Latent Spaces), you would have to be the most determined and driven individual to choose music.
And yet, we end the year with over 475 applications to our flagship In Motion programme for 2026, the highest ever. Having personally reviewed dozens of these myself, as I do every year, I can confidently say how life-affirming and world-shaping the UK’s music making in 2025 continues to be. The skill, innovation and devotion shines through.
But the shifts are seismic today. Surely creators deserve better? Better education pathways, better infrastructure, better recognition of the value of their work.
Just two weeks ago one of the artists on our inaugural In Motion cohort stood on a stage presenting their new work and attested, ‘Sound and Music are one of the only organisations out there who will continually push artists to take risks.’
So, this is why we will always put artists first. We will create programmes and opportunities that push them towards their creative frontier, to journey wide and realise their potential.
We called our five-year strategy The Trail and as we pass the halfway mark it has proved to be exactly that – a genuine adventure of discovery for our deeply committed team, Board of Trustees, partners, beneficiaries and ever-growing UK-wide community of alumni. But do not take my word for it; be inspired by the poetic articulation of what it means to be part of Sound and Music by six of our recent beneficiaries in the letter from our artists.
I hope in the weeks ahead DAWs and instruments can be down-tooled, laptop and personal batteries recharged, and creative and ever-active minds rested.
As we take a moment to catch our breath, from all of us here at Sound and Music, we wish you a happy festive break and fulfilling year ahead.
– Will
Dr Will Dutta, Chief Executive
Read The Curating Composer: Creating Cultures of New Music
Championing DIY music scenes over breakfast by Finn Grant
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