BIMM Institute and Spotify announce Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship winners

14 December 2022 - Press release

BIMM Institute and Spotify are excited to announce the winners of 2023's Diversity and Inclusion Scholarships. Watch the announcement video here.

Last year BIMM Institute and Spotify announced an Educational Partnership, offering - for the first time - a group-wide package across all eight BIMM colleges. As well as masterclass events, mentoring opportunities with Spotify executives and educational resources created by Spotify, this partnership includes fully funded degree scholarships.

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 recently travelled from BIMM colleges in Brighton, Bristol, London, Manchester, Dublin, Birmingham, Berlin and Hamburg to Spotify offices in the UK and Germany, where they were given a tour and were introduced to their new mentors for the first time.

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, says:
"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."

Bryan Johnson, Spotify's 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." 

Scholarship winner from BIMM Bristol, Salma Tye-Kent, adds: 
"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"

This has been a busy year for BIMM Institute's 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.