In the latest edition of the BRIT Trust Diaries, Tommy McGrory, founder of youth music development charity Loud n Proud, explains how a grant from The BRIT Trust will help young people in Paisley to develop skills that could lead to industry careers…
Loud n Proud in Paisley has just had a huge win thanks to the British recorded music industry, which will help Scotland’s young music community.
We are a Paisley-based organisation and recently received a vital grant from The BRIT Trust, securing the final funds needed to complete a cutting-edge music facility for aspiring young musicians.
The BRIT Trust’s support marks the final stage in a project exceeding £100,000 in total costs – now set to deliver one of the best youth music resources anywhere in the UK.
The funding has allowed Loud n Proud to complete the construction of five fully sound-proofed rooms designed for learning how to play in a band, songwriting and sound engineering. These spaces will offer professional-grade environments where young people can explore their talents, build confidence and develop practical skills that could lead to future careers in the music industry.
The building itself was gifted to our music charity by a local businessman, Gary Kerr. Unfortunately, it had suffered fire damage from an arson attack and now, after two years of major cleaning, refurbishment and general repurposing, it has been transformed from a plain office space to a spectacular music hub.
Just over a year ago, Clark Environmental built five teaching rooms for us for free, and the completion of the work this month will mean that for the first time, 100% of the building will be usable. The building will have six teaching rooms, a podcast studio, a DAW Lab with four units, four soundproof rooms and a control room. The four rooms are all linked via multicore, cat 6 and speaker leads. Three professional music producers lease out studios.
This grant from The BRIT Trust is the final piece of the puzzle. We’ve been working towards this for a long time, and now we’re just about ready to open the doors to something really special. These rooms are going to be among the best in the country – and they’re right here in Paisley!
Everyone at Loud n Proud shares the mission of The BRIT Trust in supporting young people through music and the creative arts
Tommy McGrory
Loud n Proud has long been a champion for youth music development in Scotland, offering performance opportunities, tuition and studio access to young people from all walks of life. The new soundproof rooms will take the organisation’s offering to the next level – giving young musicians a much-needed place where they can rehearse, record and create without limits.
Each of the five rooms has been tailored to support a different element of music creation: from high-energy band practice and the quieter, focused process of songwriting, to the technical demands of sound production and engineering. The soundproofing ensures that these activities can take place simultaneously and without disturbance – opening up new opportunities for collaboration and learning.
The aim is to give young people a professional environment where they can grow and gain real-world experience. Some of the best ideas come from having the right space to work in – now they’ll have that. And at a time when small grassroots music venues and practice spaces are under growing threat, there has never been a greater need for this type of music learning facility.
Everyone at Loud n Proud shares the mission of The BRIT Trust in supporting young people through music and the creative arts. This grant represents an investment in future talent and in providing equal access to opportunity. It’s another step towards ensuring that geography or income doesn’t dictate who gets to pursue a life in music.
With the opening of our doors not too far off now, excitement is building in the Loud n Proud music community – and rightly so. This is a big deal for us.
Soon, these soundproof rooms in the heart of Paisley will echo not with the noise of construction, but with ambition, talent, and the sound of the next generation making their mark, and who’s to say that one or more of these won’t become a household name on the global stage. If they do, we’ll all owe a debt of thanks to The BRIT Trust.
