Join Soundboard: the Musicians’ Mentoring Network as a mentee
Supporting musicians through personalised mentoring and guidance.
Who is Soundboard for?
For musicians building their careers, mentoring can offer valuable perspective, support and insight.
Soundboard connects musicians with experienced industry professionals for personalised one-to-one mentoring. It’s a space to talk things through, gain confidence, receive guidance and learn from someone who understands the realities of building a career in music.
Whether you’re working towards a goal or developing a music project, mentoring can help you move forward with greater confidence and clarity
What does this programme include?
- One-to-one mentoring: Eight hours of online mentoring over six months
- Peer-to-peer networking: Regular opportunities to connect with fellow musicians
- Expert learning: Online career development sessions led by expert practitioners
- Digital resources: Practical tools and guidance to support your growth
- Dedicated support: Ongoing help from the mentoring team
Who can apply?
There’s no single path to success in music. Everyone’s journey is different, so the guidance you need to move your career forward will be unique to you.
You might be looking for guidance on:
- Developing your brand
- Diversifying your income
- Advice on next steps for recording and releasing
- Building a stronger network
- Advice on building a team
- Improving musical skills
- Building an audience and digital marketing
If you’re working towards a goal, developing a music project, or looking to move your career forward, Soundboard connects you with an industry professional who can offer guidance, insight and perspective to help you move forward with confidence.
To apply for Soundboard, you must:
- Be aged 18 or over
- Live in the UK and have the right to live and work in the UK
- Have earned some money from music in the last two years
- You have no more than £10,000 in savings
- Soundboard is available to all applicants who meet either our Working Musicians or Early Career Musicians eligibility criteria:
Working Musicians eligibility
Early career musicians eligibility
In addition, please note that we have adjusted eligibility for disabled musicians.
To apply to be mentored as part of Soundboard: the Musicians’ Mentoring Network (formerly Co-pilot), you must also:
- Have an active music project or have identified an area of your career to discuss during mentoring sessions
- Be able to commit to Soundboard activities and have time to put learning into practice between mentoring sessions
- Not have completed Soundboard as a mentee in the last 12 months
You can only apply for and take part in one Help Musicians creative or career development programme at a time.
This means you cannot apply for Soundboard if:
- You’re waiting to hear the outcome of another creative or career development application
- You’re currently receiving support through another Help Musicians creative or career development programme
You’ll be able to apply again once your current programme or award has ended.
This does not impact access to Help Musicians’ Mental Health, Wellbeing Services or Business Skills online sessions. You are welcome to apply for physical and financial support at anytime.
What to expect
From developing your brand to building your audience or diversifying your income, the focus of your mentoring is shaped by your goals. As a mentee, you’ll lead the direction of your sessions and take an active role in working towards your development goals.
All mentees are expected to:
- Read the Soundboard guidebook and watch the induction videos
- Meet your match during a 30-minute chemistry session
- Complete 8 hours of mentoring over 6 months (via one-to-one video conferencing)
- Respond to a midpoint and final evaluation survey
- Attend peer-to-peer networking opportunities (optional)
- Attend expert practitioner webinars and business skills workshops (optional)
Soundboard is a voluntary network, and no fees or expenses will be paid to mentors or mentees. The ambition is for the network to remain free for mentees, removing any potential financial barriers and making it accessible to all.
Soundboard is a mentee-led mentoring programme. As a mentee, you’ll be responsible for requesting mentor matches, arranging mentoring sessions and shaping the focus of your conversations.
To get the most from mentoring, you’ll need to come to sessions with topics you’d like to discuss, take notes to help you reflect on your learning, and invest time in working towards your goals between sessions.
If you don’t currently have an active project or a clear area of development you’d like to focus on over the next 9 – 12 months, it may be better to wait until a future application round before applying.
Mentoring can be a valuable way to support your career development.
Through Soundboard, you can:
- Receive practical advice, encouragement and support
- Identify and work towards your goals
- Build confidence and feel empowered to make decisions
- Gain insights and develop your communication skills
- Develop a mentoring relationship with enthusiasm and a willingness to focus, learn and grow
Soundboard mentors are volunteers and play a wide range of roles, including being a champion, guide, role model, professional friend, sounding board, thinking partner and bringing constructive challenges to mentoring relationships to help mentees transform their views, knowledge and learning.
Successful mentoring is a two-way learning relationship, where both the mentor and mentee get something out of working together.
Mentors are not expected to share their contacts, open industry doors, create opportunities or deliver services to mentees.
AKA Réy – Soundboard (formerly, Co-Pilot) Mentee
When and where it takes place
Soundboard timeline
There are 4 Soundboard mentoring groups each year. Once your application has been accepted, you will be provided with full details of the next intake and informed of the next available mentoring dates.
Before mentoring begins, you’ll need to attend a welcome webinar, read the Soundboard guidebook, watch the induction videos and submit requests for your preferred mentors.
The recruitment, training and matching process takes around 3 months. Once you’ve been matched, you’ll attend a chemistry session with your mentor before starting 6 months of mentoring.
Stage 1
Recruitment, Training and Matching
Timeline: 3 months
Stage 2
Mentoring Sessions and Midpoint Evaluation
Timeline: 6 months
Stage 3
Final Evaluation
Timeline: After mentoring ends
We want every mentoring participant to be matched with someone whose skills and experience are the right fit for their development.
If we can’t find a suitable match during the initial matching process, you may be moved to the next mentoring group.
For this intake, we are looking to create 35 mentoring pairs. While we’ll do our best to find the most appropriate match for every participant, we may not be able to do so in every case.
Where mentoring takes place
To make mentoring as accessible and geographically inclusive as possible, Soundboard is delivered entirely online, allowing mentors and mentees to take part from anywhere in the UK.
To participate, you’ll need access to the internet and a laptop or desktop computer. You’ll also need to be comfortable using video conferencing tools and the online mentoring platform used for matching, communication and arranging mentoring sessions.
- A online mentoring platform: MentorNet
- The MentorNet messaging mobile app
- Regular peer-to-peer sessions on Zoom
- Mentoring sessions, arranged by the mentor and mentee, usually using video conferencing software
It’s given me a foundation strategy. I now have more knowledge in my arsenal going forward. I can look back and think, ‘what did I do last time and how do I build on that again?’ and that’s so valuable.
Accessibility and support
If you have a disability which means that you cannot fill in the application form, please contact mentoring@helpmusicians.org.uk with the subject ‘access enquiry’. There is also an opportunity to submit a video application using the Help Musicians’ application portal but this should only be used if you are unable to complete the form.
There is an opportunity to invite co-applicants/collaborators to your application, such as an assistant, carer or manager. A co-applicant can view or edit your application but you must submit it.
Apply to join Soundboard
We encourage everybody to read our application guidance fully before submitting an application.
What happens after you apply?
You’ll receive a confirmation email after submitting your application. If you don’t receive one, please contact support@helpmusicians.org.uk and we’ll look into it for you.
We aim to provide an update on the outcome of your application within eight weeks. If your circumstances or plans change after you’ve submitted your application, please contact the Soundboard mentoring team at support@helpmusicians.org.uk
Before applying, please make sure you’ve read the guidance in full, meet the eligibility criteria and can commit to the programme. Applications will only be considered where there is a clear need for mentoring.
It is wonderful to have a guide who is active in the music industry and so knowledgeable. He guided me through a difficult moment with a clear strategy. He thinks clearly about making steps to get where you want to be.