Privileged kids are squeezing their working-class peers out of the music business, says report
The report blames the injustice on the fact that fee-paying schools provide music tuition, which is denied to many comprehensive pupils
WORKING-class kids are being squeezed out of the music business by more privileged youngsters, a report warns.
It blames the injustice on the fact that fee-paying schools provide music tuition, which is denied to many comprehensive pupils.
And well-off parents can afford to support their kids while they look for a break.
While rock stars such as Mick Jagger and Joe Strummer once sought to conceal their middle-class origins, today “posher” bands see no need to deny their backgrounds.
Music industry bosses blame the imbalance on a big decline in kids taking GCSE music at state schools, coupled with the closure of venues and rehearsal spaces.
A survey by music industry body UK Music found 17 per cent of music creators went to fee-paying schools, compared with seven per cent in the general population.
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UK Music boss Michael Dugher said: “Our research shows there is an overall decline in music in education.
"This matters because 50 per cent of children at independent schools receive sustained music tuition, while the figure for state schools is a mere 15 per cent.”
5 Privileged Acts
- Radiohead: Abingdon School
- Chris Martin (Coldplay): Sherborne School, then UCL
- Joe Strummer (Clash): City of London Freemen’s School
- Florence Welch: Alleyn’s
- James Hillier Blount (AKA James Blunt): Elstree/Harrow
BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Cerys Matthews, the former Catatonia singer, has banned public school-taught artists from her show, because she considers them “over-privileged” — but it has led to calls for her to quit.
Meanwhile Ed Sheeran has spoken out against cuts to music education in state schools.
He said: “I feel very strongly about this.
"I benefited hugely from state school music, as I’m sure many other UK musicians have.
5 Working-Class Acts
- Stormzy: Did an engineering apprenticeship
- Adele: BRIT School, Croydon
- Noel and Liam Gallagher: Comprehensive in Manchester
- Arctic Monkeys: Barnsley College
- John Lennon: Failed O levels
“If you keep cutting the funding for arts you’re going to be damaging one of Britain’s best and most lucrative exports.”
At least 60 per cent of chart stars went to private schools, according to a 2010 survey by The Word magazine. But 20 years earlier, the figure was just one per cent.
In 2010, Word editor Mark Ellen said: “In the past ten years, the well-heeled young have decided it would be a jolly hoot to annex popular culture en masse.”