The University of Birmingham is funding the launch of a student-run record label, directed and managed by Laura Hand and Anna Blesing, both final year Business Management students.
The University of Birmingham is funding the launch of a student-run record label, directed and managed by Laura Hand and Anna Blesing, both final year Business Management students.
The label, New Street Records, will provide a team of over 70 volunteers with entrepreneurial skills, as well as pursuing the long-term objective of encouraging more successful business start-ups in the region. In addition to providing students with valuable practical experience, the label will encourage innovation in Birmingham’s creative and music industries in order to help stimulate the local and wider creative economies.
The venture will sign and promote an array of artists, specialising in developing student talent. This will be achieved through the recording, distribution and promotion of local artists’ music and the execution of innovative events in order to tackle a global trend in declining physical and digital music sales. The creative and entrepreneurial venture will engage those who are currently passionate about music whilst also providing a grounding for others who are less familiar with the industry. The label will serve as a career springboard for young musicians in Birmingham, as well as providing crucial professional experience in different sectors for the students running and developing the label.
The venture should inspire creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset in young people and women. We are confident that the venture will be a success and have plenty of exciting initiatives planned that we cannot wait to announce.
Laura Hand, Director
The label is funded by the University of Birmingham’s Circles of Influence campaign, an initiative supported by the University’s alumni. The creative venture is also fostering networks amongst the city’s institutions through a collaborative effort with Birmingham City University who will be assisting with the production and promotion of the artists’ music. Finally, the University of Birmingham’s department for Entrepreneurship and Innovation will be supporting the team of over 70 student volunteers in order to maximise the venture’s growth potential.
We are excited to launch the label and have a team of enthusiastic and passionate volunteers who will no doubt make the venture a long term success. Nobody is currently doing what we are now, so we are certainly filling a gap in the market.
Anna Blesing, Co-Director
