Every LGBTQ+ artist needs a stage, and for various reasons – not down to sex or colour of a persons skin, some artists become introverted for fear of repercussions of what may occur should they out their sexuality publicly, to band members, record executives (where it is still repressed in 2019), record labels or the public. It limits their potential, and who they can be.

Part of the Google Ad Grant application is to provide a platform where we can create clever advertising strategies to provide young, up and coming queer musicians with visibility through YouTube advertising, pre-roll & bumpers – they may not have the stage they can perform on and define who they are – they may not have the contacts, the budgets, or the voice to step out and define their identity; but we firmly believe we can help them to their next stages of their careers through highly targeted campaigns to build their audiences.

Pride in Music is a registered UK charity that is working to create many things for the first time within the music business; it is already aiming to provide or is already providing;

• a safe-space for artists and employees of record labels, publishers, sync agents, artist managers etc to go when required without fear or internal repercussions;

• partnerships with festivals like Mighty Hoopla (UK) where we are providing the opportunity for a young up and coming LGBTQ+ POC singer/songwriter to open the main stage of a major UK festival. This artist would never normally had the opportunity to reach such a vast crowd without the help of Pride in Music and we are thrilled to have been able to have facilitated that.

• partnerships with local homelessness or disadvantaged charities to provide work placements to underprivileged youths to those who want to seek a career within the music business through work placement programs; whether that be within festivals or at major labels.

• we currently have formal recognition of our goals and full support of industry trade bodies in the UK including the BPI (where we sit on the Diversity Advisory Group), The MMF, The Musicians’ Union & UK Music.

• Localised Networking and Peer Mentoring schemes to bring the multi-facets of the wider business together. Whilst Manager and Label Executives work closely in their line of work, neither really have a true understanding of their day-to-day operations and our monthly networking events actively help to break down these barriers.

Swimming Girls (above), are just one of those musicians we’d like to help. They are unable to break through to the mainstream not just due to lack of budget and lack of awareness from their own camp, but a lack of getting them in front of the right people at the right time, to tell their story.

Pride in Music is seeking grants from Google and YouTube for these particular reasons:

• to highlight our own yearly ‘tentpole’ charity goals for recruitment and awareness throughout the year, and to highlight its operations and missions to the wider music community and public;
• to highlight four or five key artists a year (like Swimming Girls above) who are struggling to make a career online by bringing them towards those who will be able to grow them into successful and remunerated artists via the means of very selective and highly targeted advertising;
• to raise awareness of our charity, mission statement and brand overall to help increase and drive diversity within the scope of within the music industry community; on both an executive and artist level.
• to begin to raise awareness of our desire to begin building bridges between corporations and youth homeless charities.

This section of the website is hidden from view and is intended for Google employees only, but please do take a look around our main domain at prideinmusic.org where you’ll learn about the several exciting tentpoles we’re working on this year – including the British Music Industry’s first-ever inter-industry LGBTQ+ Pride March this coming June.