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Celebrating five years of Positive Influence
A celebration night for Sony Music UK’s latest Positive Influence programme saw the 2023 cohort showcase their skills to enthralled executives from across Sony Group.
Hosted at Sony Music’s new London headquarters in Kings Cross, a rapper performed one of her own tracks on motherhood, another mentee explored the formula behind Afrobeats’ popularity on the global music stage, we saw how videography skills were used to market basketball jerseys and another mentee shot, edited and produced her own video.
These are just some of the outcomes from the fifth year of the Positive Influence scheme that Sony Music runs with London-based charity Creative Mentor Network (CMN). The innovative talent and inclusion programme launched in February 2019 in an effort to tackle inequality in the music industry and improve access and inclusion for under-represented communities.
Since then, the initiative has helped 125 young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds gain exposure to creative and tech industries. This year the programme was expanded to even more young people by partnering with sister Sony companies, fielding mentors from Music, Publishing, Pictures, Interactive and Electronics (Sony Europe).
Positive Influence sees Sony Group employees work closely with CMN to support 18-24 year-olds who may otherwise not have the opportunity to enter the music industry. Together they complete a 16-week mentorship programme, with mentees receiving expert coaching and specialist training in a host of creative disciplines.
One of the main takeaways from the showcase is that the programme is very much a two-way exchange between mentee and mentor, covering topics from social justice, the challenges of the creative labour market and how to grow professional networks.
Positive Influence was recognised at this year’s Business Charity Awards – set up to celebrate the achievements of partnerships between outstanding corporate and not-for-profit organisations – achieving finalist status in the Charity Partnerships: Media & Entertainment category.