Youth Music · 2025
This report investigates how young creatives aged 18–25 experience harm within the UK music industries, drawing on focus group testimonies from 19 participants. It finds that harm — including low and no pay, unsafe work environments, discrimination, sexual harassment, and exploitation — is widespread and normalised, with marginalised young people (those who are disabled, LGBTQ+, women, or from working-class backgrounds) facing the greatest risk. Young creatives are largely left to manage their own safety, relying on gut instinct, peer networks, and informal strategies that are unsustainable. The report makes recommendations for government, industry employers, funders, and pathway providers to create safer, fairer, and more inclusive working conditions.