Sonia Stevenson, outgoing Head of Music Patron, reflects on how the key ingredients of Music Patron – Connection, Discovery and Music – have come to life during 2024.
There have been many occasions in my time at Music Patron when I’ve felt the essence of what we’re trying to create come alive. In those moments, I’ve often exclaimed to colleagues “This is it. This is Music Patron.” And I’ve wished we could bottle it up; capturing the beautiful scent of that moment.
Which leads me down an interesting train of thought… If Music Patron were a scent, how might we analyse its unique perfume? I think there are a few key ingredients: Connection, Discovery and, of course, Music.
As I look back on 2024, my final year at the helm, it feels important to reflect on how these ingredients have played out and coalesced to form the essence of Music Patron.
Connection
The official launch of Music Patron – a great party!
Although Music Patron had already been ‘going’ for some time, we hadn’t really made a big song or dance about our work. In many ways this was because our agile, continuously iterating, way of working meant there was no ‘one big moment’ when Music Patron came to life. So, this year it felt important to mark what we’ve achieved, bring together our community and shout about our vision.
What better place to celebrate than the joyful, colourful surroundings of the Groucho Club in London. The room was filled with composers, patrons, key people from across the music and tech industries, press, funders and entrepreneurs. We had live music, speeches, champagne and everyone there was given a special free donation credit of £50 to donate to a Music Patron composer of their choice. It was well and truly one of those “This is Music Patron” moments. Get a flavour of the party here.
Re-kindling a special bond between patron and composer
A story I shared at the launch feels important to re-share here. It’s about a patron called Doug.
A couple of years ago we ran a social media advertising campaign where we spotlighted Music Patron composers and offered people a free £10 donation credit to support them. Doug spotted an advert featuring composer Stuart MacRae.
Stuart is a distant cousin of Doug’s. They hadn’t been in touch for years, but Doug fondly remembered a mixtape Stuart had made for him when they were young. Doug thought it would be nice to give something back to Stuart, so he signed up for the free donation credit. We designed the offer so that anyone donating the credit would receive a sequence of emails getting to know their composer.
Over the next few weeks Doug listened to Stuart’s music and read about his life as a composer. He loved the experience and decided to become a full patron of Stuart’s. This year Stuart invited all his patrons to a concert of his music. Doug went along, and after decades of not seeing each other, he and Stuart shared a hug.
Once again, the essence of Music Patron was in action: taking someone on a journey of connection with a composer from online advert to hug.
Discovery
Quiz – who doesn’t love a quiz?!
While the story above illustrates the wonderful re-connection that can come via composers’ existing networks, Music Patron has also been working hard to build ways for people to connect with composers they might never have heard of. An important tool is the quiz we built to match people with a composer.
We designed the quiz to be a fun, interactive, thought-provoking experience. At the end, people are given 3 composer matches: 1st choice, 2nd choice and a wild card.
Interesting in who your composer match might be?
The privilege of seeing behind the scenes
Part of the joy of being a patron is the chance to witness composers in action, to hear works in progress and be part of the creative process. For every composer, this is different.
Some might share what it’s like to be a composer (like Yshani Perinpanayagam’s ‘Bits of Me’), others share their inspirations (like Amelia Clarkson’s deep dive into the background to her ballet White Doves), and others delve into interesting details (like Stuart MacRae revealing how he names a piece).
As I wrote in a blog on the nature of Completion vs In Progress: when you become a patron, you’re not only giving much-needed support to a composer; you’re enabling their artistic freedom and their creative journey to unfold. And you get a front seat on that journey.
Music
19 new, wonderfully-eclectic composers
2024 was the year we expanded our cohort of composers on Music Patron from 9 to 28. Part of our mission is to ask the questions: ‘who is a composer?’ and ‘who gets to be a composer?’
For us, a composer is anyone who creates new work using sound or music; whether they perform it themselves or write for others, and whether they work with software, with notes on paper, through improvisation, or in other ways.
Our aim is to showcase the richness and diversity of the UK’s new music industry by championing some of today’s most exciting composers from a range of backgrounds, music styles and career stages.
Get a flavour of the Music Patron composers and listen to their music here.
My parting gift: a mixtape for you
I want to leave you with a gift of new music, but before I do, I’d like you to stop and reflect for a moment…
Imagine a world with no music. Unthinkable! Now imagine a world with no new music. On the face of this might sound fine, but soon enough you find yourself listening to the same music going round and round and round.
New music gives us richness and spice, it makes us sit up and really listen, it reflects who we are today and provides an essential creative response and cultural dimension to the times in which we live.
I care about this deeply. For new music to thrive, we need to reimagine the way it’s funded. This has been a huge driver in my work taking Music Patron from idea to reality.
As I prepare to step-down, I’m signing up as a patron myself, and I hope you might consider doing the same. You can support a composer from £10+ per month, or support Music Patron directly from £3+ per month.
