Academics at Birmingham City University are set to host a free workshop this week for 14-21 year-olds who are keen to take their first professional steps into the music industries.

Music industry lecturers Dr Iain Taylor and Matt Grimes will deliver the ‘Making Money from Music’ session at the University’s Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on Saturday 6 July, where attendees will be tasked with investigating and exploring the opportunities to create and protect revenue streams within the music industries.

News of a music industry rift has dominated media headlines this week, after it emerged that pop star Taylor Swift is unable to own the rights to her own music because of a record deal she signed at the age of 15.

“The ‘Making Money from Music’ workshop is aimed at young artists and we’ll be introducing them to the main sectors of the music industries, including how digital developments are creating new opportunities to make money,” said Matt Grimes, Degree Leader for Music Industries at Birmingham City University’s School of Media.

The workshop forms part of Music For Youth’s national ‘Frequencies’ event, offering young artists and groups the chance to perform, collaborate and meet with other music professionals and industry experts.

For more information and to book tickets, visit www.mfy.org.uk/events

The Be At One Band has raised £2000 for Help Musicians UK. The group has been touring the UK performing at a number of Be At One bars, raising money for the charity.

Following an online call for singers on the Be At One website to find the very best talent, the Be At One Band was formed and then rehearsed with trained choreographers and a sound coach ahead of its UK tour.

From Don’t Stop Believing to Sister Act, the choir has performed in the following locations: Be At One Hammersmith, Be At One Birmingham and Be At One Liverpool.

Suzanne Baker, Commercial Director of Stonegate Pub Company, said: “It is fantastic that the Be At One Band has fundraised so much for Help Musicians UK and they have had fun along the way. It is such a wonderful cause and it has been great to showcase the amazing talent of some of our customers.”

Belinda Dee, Director of Fundraising of Help Musicians, said: “We at Help Musicians would like to thank Be At One and everyone involved in the choir for donating their time to fundraise and for making this very generous donation, which will allow us to continue doing our vital work for musicians in need.

“For almost a hundred years, Help Musicians has been providing a broad spectrum of help, support and opportunities to empower musicians of all ages, genres and at any stage of their career, from times of great need to times of opportunity. We appreciate that the nature of a musician’s life can be precarious, with many complex challenges that can leave them uniquely vulnerable. 2018 saw a larger than ever demand for our services across both creative development and health and welfare and thanks to the generous support of donations, we can continue to make a meaningful difference to the lives of musicians.”

Following the release of his debut Billboard #1 Top 200 Album ‘Bad Habits’, Punjabi-Canadian rapper, and producer NAV announces a headlining show at O2 Forum Kentish Town, London with support from fellow XO Records duo, 88Glam on 20 August 2019 ahead of his debut performance at Reading and Leeds Festival. 88Glam has clocked in over​ 200 million streams globally​ and recently produced the breakout track​ ‘Price On My Head’​ featuring T​he Weeknd​ on B​ad Habits.

The first time Nav ever stepped foot on a stage was as a surprise guest at the O2 Forum with label mate The Weeknd back in 2017, the same year Rolling Stone placed his Coachella debut among the year’s best performances with praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Hypebeast, Complex and The Fader.

Nav has hit almost 200M streams in the UK to date, and 3+ Billion streams globally. Having co-produced the GRAMMY Award-nominated ‘Back To Back’ for Drake and platinum-selling ‘beibs in the trap’ for Travi$ Scott’s blockbuster Birds In the Trap Sing McKnight, NAV rides hypnotic trap beats with his wavy sing-rap flow, crafting a sonic blend that draws upon styles similar to contemporaries such as Post Malone and Drake, quietly arrived as one of rap’s most innovative and infectious voices.

NAV’s self-titled mixtape appeared in early 2017, and it was chock-full of his by-now-trademark silky vocals and slick beats. The lead single preceded the release ‘Some Way’, which also featured the Weeknd. That same year, he also put out the Perfect Timing mixtape, on which he collaborated with Atlanta-based producer Metro Boomin. NAV’s single ‘Wanted You’, which features Lil Uzi Vert, charted on Billboard’s Top 100 and he followed up in early 2018 with the solo single ‘Freshman List’. Both tracks were featured on his debut studio album, Reckless, which was released on XO and Republic in May of that year. Landing in the U.S. top ten, the set featured guests Quavo, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, and Gunna. Less than a year later, NAV made a quick turnaround with sophomore follow-up Bad Habits, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. BET debuted his latest release, Tap ft. Meek Mill in Times Square which has already garnered 90 million global streams.

U.K. Tour Date:  

20 August 2019 - London, U.K.  O2 Forum Kentish Town

NAV will also perform at Reading and Leeds Festival Friday 23 August – Sunday 25 August 2019.

Jim Jefferies, one of the most popular and respected comedians of his generation, has announced his biggest UK tour to date. Taking in 5 key arenas across the country ‘The Night Talker Tour’ starts on Tuesday 3rd December at the O2 Arena and culminates on Friday 13th December at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena.

Jim has been entertaining audiences across the globe with his provocative and thought-provoking comedy for the best part of twenty years. 2018’s The Unusual Punishment Tour was a complete sell out around the world and received rave reviews from fans and critics alike. “Gleefully gobby and brutally honest” Evening Standard.

He recently signed a deal with Comedy Central for a first look on content development in television and digital media. Additionally, Jim’s eponymous Comedy Central series, The Jim Jefferies Show debuted its third season this March. As a strong voice in late night, the weekly show features Jim traveling across the globe to tackle the top news stories and controversial issues of the day.

He also heads up The Jim Jefferies Show Podcast, this includes interviews and discussions with a variety of guests discussing current events and politics, as well as providing a more in-depth focus on the topics and opinions featured on the TV series - with less filters.

In 2018 he starred in his third Netflix comedy special Jim Jefferies: This Is Me Now’, which was recorded at the Eventim Apollo in London. The year before, he released his fifth major stand up special in seven years, Freedumb.

The special was Jim’s second to air on Netflix, and followed the huge success of the first, Jim Jefferies: BARE, in which he delivered a now iconic routine on guns and gun control in the United States. In addition, Jim created, wrote, produced, and starred in the critically acclaimed FX series Legit, which ran for two seasons and has since gained a cult following. He has also appeared in the films Killing Hasselhoff and Punching Henry. Jim currently lives in Los Angeles.

DECEMBER

Tues 3rd LONDON - O2 Arena

Thurs 5th BIRMINGHAM - Resorts World Arena

Fri 6th MANCHESTER - Arena

Thurs 12th GLASGOW - The Hydro

Fri 13th NEWCASTLE - Utilita Arena

Born into the great line of Kouyate Griot in Southern Senegal, Kadialy Kouyate’s kora playing and singing style, both as a soloist and in different ensembles, have been appreciated in many prestigious venues including the Royal Festival Hall, the 02 Arena, the National Theatre, the Royal Albert Hall and Clarence House.

Bringing his successful piece of West African afro-pop with a message, he has also played venues and festivals across the world, touring to Europe, Australia and North America. Since his arrival in the UK, Kadialy has played a significant part in enriching the London musical scene with his griot legacy.

He has taught the kora at SOAS, University of London, for the last decade and he has also been involved in countless musical projects both as a collaborator and a session musician. He has toured with the RSC’s production of Julius Caesar, other theatre projects including working at the London Globe Theatre on a show called ‘We the People’ as well as touring three children theatre projects with the renowned Oily Cart. In 2015 he took part in the remaking of the TV series Roots as a musician, cultural consultant and dialect coach.

Kora virtuoso/singer Kadialy has released several albums – also with collaborations include Rafiki Jazz and Adriano Adewale Group - and makes regular radio and television appearances.

He plays the following live dates this summer:

• July 18 Kansas smity’s
• Aug 03 WILLOWFARM ARTS FESTIVAL Oxford W/Rafiki Jazz
• Aug 04 RIVERSIDE FESTIVAL Nottingham W/Rafiki Jazz
• Aug 25 Shambala Festival with Millie

With the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India last year, we are witnessing a swelling, pink tsunami of LGBTQ+ themes in mainstream and independent Indian films, that are rolling into the international film festival circuit this year.

These fresh narratives and the new, queer film-makers have a unique showcase at the Birmingham Indian Film Festival presented by LIFF, the UK and Europe’s largest South Asian film festival, which will premiere a dedicated programme of entertaining and thought-provoking LGBTQ+ films that explore Transgender, Gay and Lesbian and other Queer identities; the many challenges facing queer people today; but also growing empowerment and fierce pride.

The festival, taking place during Pride month, celebrates its milestone, 5th anniversary in the city, and will run from 21st June to 1st July across five venues.

Highlights of Birmingham Indian Film Festival 2019’s LGBTQ+ curation include the the Midlands Premiere of Kattumaram (Catamaran) (2019, Dir. Swarnavel Eswaran, Tamil with English subtitles). Part of what appears to be a new Tamilian Queer cinema movement from South India, Kattumaram tells of patriarch Singaram and his orphaned niece Anan, fisher-folk survivors of the Tsunami. The diverse community includes a local bearded transvestite fisherman who beautiful Anan forms a bond of trust with. Anan teaches in the local school and has many men interested in her, but she instead secretly falls for a new female supply teacher. As Singaram finds out and tries to come to terms with this revelation, gossip about the young women’s relationship quickly spreads. Singaram is left facing the choice of either defending his beloved niece and her partner or giving sway to the demands of an angry community.

Assamese director Rima Das returns to the festival with the English Premiere of Bulbul Can Sing (2018, Hindi with English subtitles). The acclaimed filmmaker’s latest is a ground-breaking, coming-of-age tale that has swept up prestigious awards at Berlin, Dublin, Singapore and Mumbai film festivals. Three teenage best friends in rural Assam, northeast India, are forging their distinct personalities, but as the girls secretly meet boys and the boy realises he’s gay, they soon come face to face with outmoded cultural traditions that challenge their family and place in the community but, most importantly, their bonds as loyal friends. Rima Das made a global splash with Village Rockstars and Bulbul Can Sing continues to prove her humane, world-class talent.

Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition showing at The Mockingbird Cinema & Kitchen on Saturday 22 June includes U USHACHA, a Marathi film by Rohan Kanwade. A young farm labourer finds herself drawn to a local female primary school teacher in ways she never thought possible and soon this passion grows.

Too Desi Too Queer at the Medicine Bakery Sunday 30 June, will showcase a dynamic range of recent LGBTQ+ shorts from South Asia and the UK, followed by a panel conversation exploring community empowerment and looking after individual well-being, with high profile speakers followed by an opportunity to network in a safe space.

For updates on this dynamic short film programme including Lesbian, Transgender, Gay and other sexuality films please check out the festival website.

Cary Rajinder Sawhney, Executive and Programming Director, London and Birmingham Indian Film Festivals, says: “We are delighted to have been trailblazers of South Asian LGBTQ+ film-making and stories over the last five years of BIFF, before LGBTQ+ rights became legal in India, and we will continue to celebrate these unique emerging voices. We are also mindful that these rights are still being fought for in most of Asia, so India is now a shining beacon of hope for a generation of LGBTQ+ and UK Asians have a role to play in this in platforming and celebrating our collective experience where others cannot. Film of course is an excellent medium for this.”

Birmingham Indian Film Festival runs from June 21 to July 1.