Helping You Make It: Seven UK Organisations Creating Change Through Music

Make Music Day celebrates everyone who creates. Meet seven UK organisations helping people find the tools and communities they need to make music and be heard.

Music is a universal connector. It’s always there, comforting us through our headphones or uniting a thousand of us on a dark club floor. It rushes in to fill the spaces between us and reminds us of why we are here. But before any of that, it needs to be made. That might mean opening a blank session, recording an idea before it disappears, or returning to the project that has been sitting untouched for too long.

Make Music Day first began in 1982 as Fête de la Musique in France, founded by the French Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, with the radical idea that live music should be accessible to everyone. But while it started on the streets, this celebration belongs just as much to the producers shaping sound behind the scenes and driving culture forward.

Held each year on the 21st June, it’s a reminder to move from passive to active, wherever you are along your journey. But electronic music creation and production don’t happen in isolation - they require access to equipment, education, funding, networks, and supportive spaces. 

Across the UK and beyond, charities, collectives, and organisations are working to change that. For Make Music Day this year, we wanted to shine a light on seven organisations we follow and love.

 

Saffron Music

Founded in Bristol in 2015 by Laura Lewis-Paul, Saffron Music is a music technology initiative working to address a stark industry reality - less than 5% of the music tech sector is comprised of women, non-binary, or trans creators, and less than 1% of those are people of colour.

Through courses, mentoring, workshops, and the Saffron Members Club, they create safe spaces for women, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people to learn, build confidence, and progress. Their programmes cover music production, DJing, sound engineering, broadcasting, and artist development - helping more people move from curiosity to practical experience.

To find out more about their upcoming courses and initiatives, visit the Saffron Music website.

 

GRRLS CLUB

Founded by producer and songwriter Nardean Gharsa, GRRLS CLUB is a learning space, community, and record label dedicated to uplifting women and non-binary individuals who produce music or want to learn how.

Their events include masterclasses, social meetups, production courses, and collaborative songwriting sessions designed to close the gender gap behind the boards on their own terms. Operating as a dedicated label, they actively release and champion music exclusively written and produced by their community. For a first-time producer, community is just as important as the software.

To get involved with their community or listen to their label releases, visit the GRRLS CLUB website.

 

Create Define Release (CDR)

CDR is a Black-led, community-first music and education organisation rooted in the UK's grassroots electronic music scene. Founded by Tony Nwachukwu in 2002, they’ve been creating space for producers to share unfinished work on a proper sound system, in front of a room of peers, without hierarchy or gatekeeping.

Through sessions, mentoring, and artist development, CDR supports music makers at every stage of their journey, while their Music Producer Club actively introduces electronic music-making into schools and youth settings. Testing your unreleased tracks on a proper club system before anyone else hears them is an unmatched feeling.

To learn more about the CDR Pathway or find a session near you, visit their website.

 

Youth Music

Youth Music works across the UK to equalise access to music for young people. Not every future producer starts with a studio - sometimes it starts with a workshop or just a single person taking an idea seriously.

Youth Music’s ‘NextGen Community’ proves that the right support can turn a young producer’s dreams into reality. Most recently, they joined forces with Beatport to launch a £60,000 fund dedicated to empowering grassroots electronic music projects and ensuring underrepresented DJs and producers have the resources they need to thrive. With 87% of their funding invested outside of London over the last year, Youth Music is ensuring that the future of electronic music is being built nationwide.

To explore their latest funding priorities and the IDEA Hub, visit the Youth Music website.

 

Raw Material

Raw Material works to make a creative life a tangible reality by nurturing talent, catalysing creative development, and supporting mental health through industry-standard music pathways, specifically via their Raw Sounds arts and wellbeing programme.

Based in Brixton, Raw Material offers a purpose-built, 3-storey community music and arts centre featuring recording studios, a digital audio production suite, and DJ equipment. Their doors are always open to new members of the community, no matter their background, skills, or experience. With a major Arts Council-funded digital infrastructure upgrade underway, their Brixton studios are set to open doors for even more local creators.

To look at their current programmes or book into their facilities, visit the Raw Material website.

 

Come Play With Me (CPWM)

From a 7” singles club to a force for Northern music, Leeds-based Come Play With Me (CPWM) is a non-profit dedicated to supporting emerging artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs from marginalised backgrounds, with a strong focus on LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Their work includes artist development, events, workshops, and tailored career support, all aimed at creating a more inclusive industry. Through their Come Platform Me initiative, they specifically focus on nurturing the next generation of music producers and sound engineers. At the core of their events is I Know A Place, an annual conference designed to lower music business barriers by sparking the vital conversations required to inspire real progress. Strong music scenes require deep local roots, not just London-centric hype.

To sign up for CPWM workshops or grab tickets for their next event, head to their Linktree.

 

eott

Brighton-based eott is a music and mindfulness community dedicated to normalising and energising mental health conversations for young people, specifically within the UK underground dance music scene.

Since 2019, the project has used music, radio, events, clothing, and their signature ‘u k, g?’ check-in to make mental health feel more familiar and easier to talk about. Partnering with underground heavyweights like Keep Hush and We Out Here Festival, their events bring performances and open discussion together, placing subjects that can feel difficult within spaces and formats people already understand. 

To find out about their upcoming Lightworks event on July 18th in Brighton, visit the eott website.

One Shared Purpose: Helping You Make It

These organisations aren’t just supporting the music community at large - they are actively building its future. From technical production training to safer cultural spaces and vital wellbeing support, they are all connected by the belief that music making shouldn't be limited to those who already have access and connections.

We are all part of the same creative chain, and there is no better way to celebrate their work than by diving into your own process. Make Music Day is the perfect excuse to open a blank session, record a rough idea, or send an unfinished project to someone you trust. If you know an inspiring artist who is ready to take the next step, point them towards a programme that can help them get there.

Make something today, and inspire others to make something tomorrow.