BIMM and Spotify announce Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship winners

We are excited to announce the winners of this year’s BIMM Institute X Spotify Diversity and Inclusion Scholarships. The winners also joined their new mentors in Spotify’s very exciting offices.

The 2023 Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship winners visited Spotify’s London and Berlin offices, where they were introduced to the senior Spotify executives who have volunteered to act as mentors, on call to offer support and career advice for the duration of their degrees. The UK and Ireland mentors are Bryan Johnson (Head of Artist and Industry Partnerships, International), James Foley (Lead, Global Editorial Strategy) and Christie Driver-Snell (Senior Editor, UK & IE). The German mentor is Luisa Kristen (Spotify Editor, GSA).

All eight scholarship winners travelled from BIMM colleges in Brighton, Bristol, London, Manchester, Dublin, Birmingham, Berlin and Hamburg to Spotify offices in the UK and Germany. After being introduced to their new mentors, the students were given a tour of Spotify’s awe-inspiring offices. They then broke off and were given a chance to pick their mentors’ brains – an opportunity available to very few.

The UK and Ireland Scholarship winners are:

• Jae Tallawah, BA (Hons) Electronic Music Production at Birmingham
• Bradley Pullen, BMus (Hons) Songwriting at Brighton
• Salma Tye-Kent, BA (Hons) Music Business & Event Management at Bristol
• Patrick Ryder, BA (Hons) Music and Sound Production at London
• Ellie Smith, BA (Hons) Music Marketing, Media and Communication at Manchester
• Sean Holland, BMus (Hons) Songwriting at Dublin

The German scholarship winners are:

• Leo Hoffmeister, BA (Hons) Music Production at BIMM Hamburg
• Nayeli Herrera Brincker, BA (Hons) Popular Music Performance – Vocals at Berlin

Mel Thornton, BIMM Institute’s Head of Careers & Employability, said:

“The Meet-Your-Mentor Days were a great way for our Scholarship students to come together and celebrate the start of their studies at BIMM University. Mentoring is such a key part of our educational partnership as it helps students to ask questions, build their confidence and develop a professional network. Whilst visiting the Spotify offices in London and Berlin, students were able to meet their mentors and other senior team members from Spotify who all answered questions whilst sharing advice and insights about building a career in the music industry. We hope to all get together again soon.”

Scholarship winner from Bristol, Salma Tye-Kent, added:

“Being a Spotify Scholarship recipient has presented me with a huge platform to develop my career and social network. Visiting the London office proved to be an incredibly eye-opening experience regarding my perception of potential long-term, team-based employment opportunities that retain creative thinking and creation at the centre of their collective values. I feel incredibly fortunate to have also been surrounded by the other recipients who all share my love and passion for the industry; and who I’m sure I’ll be working closely with in the coming years.”

Nayeli Herrera Brincker from BIMM Berlin continued;

“The opportunity that Spotify has given me is still very surreal, in the best way possible. I had a wonderful time visiting their office in Berlin and I am so grateful for their warm welcome and for the first insights of my future life as a musician that I have always dreamed of. Thank you so much to Spotify and BIMM for supporting and believing in me”

Bryan Johnson, Head of Artist & Industry Partnerships, International, said:

“It’s been inspiring to see the Spotify x BIMM partnership expand from one scholarship in Dublin in 2020, to eight scholarships now across all BIMM locations in the UK, Ireland and Germany. It was a joy to recently welcome the students into Spotify and hear their stories so far. These are the people who’ll be shaping the future of the industry going forward, so it’s just as important for us to learn from them, as it is for them to learn from us. We look forward to the continued mentoring sessions.”

This has been a busy year for our partnership with Spotify, with highlights including guest appearances at BIMM’s annual career events WRKiT held in London and Manchester, curriculum support with industry advisory meetings, valuable resources and in-class masterclasses, free studio time at Spotify’s Noteable Studio at Metropolis Studios in London for students and exclusive feedback sessions at Spotify’s London office. During the feedback sessions, two members of the Spotify team sat with the students individually, listened to their songs and offered industry insight and advice, hoping to help the students and graduates develop clarity in their careers.

Spotify have shown their total commitment to the educational partnership with BIMM by providing all students with a broad range of opportunities. It’s been a very busy year, and we look forward to seeing what comes next.

Links for further information:

• Spotify’s Noteable Studios opens its doors to BIMM students
• BIMM students get exclusive 1-1 sessions at Spotify
• Spotify at WRKiT North and South

More about the BIMM Institute X Spotify: Diversity & Inclusion Scholarships

This exclusive partnership will offer a group-wide package across all eight BIMM Institute colleges and include the following:

• Fully funded degree scholarships
• Spotify for Artists Masterclass events
• Mentoring opportunities with Spotify executives
• Educational resources created by Spotify and shared directly with students as part of their studies
• Access to Spotify’s wider industry partnerships

Each Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship winner represents one of BIMM’s eight locations: Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, London, Manchester, Dublin, Hamburg and Berlin. The eight scholarship winners will have their degrees fully funded and not be liable for tuition fees.

All scholarship students will also receive the support of the dedicated Careers team in their college, our in-house job service Talent Match in their final year, and access to BIMM’s Fair Access Fund. Furthermore, each scholarship student will be given scheduled access to Spotify executives for mentoring sessions.

BIMM Institute and Spotify’s educational partnership also offers a host of other benefits to students, including Spotify for Artists Masterclasses and assets known as Industry Boosters, which will sit directly in students’ digital libraries.