My OperaOpen Your Ears....
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 3:00:57 PM
I've met very few people at university who don't like music. There are people who'd walk on hot coals for Beyonce tickets, ones who get all heated about the X Factor – and then there are those who put on bands in their living rooms.
More than ever, young people are interested in carving out a future for themselves in the creative and digital industries, which contribute 6% of the country's GDP and employ over 2 million people.
You'd expect universities to pick up on this and deliver guidance and support, but it seems they're falling short.
Live music is a footnote in the offerings of many a student union. Joining a choir or an orchestra might be encouraged, but there doesn't seem to be much going in terms of supporting the sort of music most popular among students. Where are the facilities for musicians to hang out and play together? They have to head off campus to get their fix, and universities are doing little to hold them back. It's hardly surprising that so many musicians drop out to pursue a career in the industry.
One band who survived their three years of study earned dork status by virtue of graduating (though being a bit posh probably helped too). Critics were calling Alt-J nerdy long before they won the Mercury music prize – they were "geeks" who made "boffin rock". Having met at Leeds University, they left with four degrees and a handful of well-honed songs between them.
Gus Unger Hamilton, keyboard player and band member with the fanciest name, doesn't credit Leeds as the key to their success. "The university weren't encouraging or discouraging. And we never participated in societies because we didn't have to."
While live music nights organised by the university were "mainly jazz" ("we played once and it was rubbish"), Alt-J didn't get much help from the city either.
Unger Hamilton says: "We signed up to be a support band at the Cockpit, but they said because we weren't from Leeds, they wouldn't have us."
If your university isn't doing contributing to the development of your musical career, and the city it's based in isn't helping either, it's no wonder that dropping out becomes an attractive option. Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis famously dropped out of an English degree at Oxford, a risk that clearly paid off. Daniel Harvey went to university but was poached after a year by the band he is now the drummer for, Dog is Dead.
Having just completed his first year studying maths, Harvey describes his choice as "definitely a case of one or the other". He admits he went to university to broaden his horizons, rather than work towards a career as a mathematician. "I'm thrilled that I made the decision I did. This is where my heart is."
Universities lay great stress on employability and transferable skills – so it's a shame they don't take students' enthusiasm for music more seriously.
If you take a look at student union websites, it's quite clear that the little decent live music there is out there is swamped by fancy dress club nights. A cultural itch remains unscratched, while girls at university-organised club nights are being encouraged to dress in less and less. Promoting live music would be an obvious way to shift the spotlight from binge drinking and lad culture and focus on something more positive.
Alt-J will remain the boffin kings of the music industry until a new band gets famous for graduating.
More than ever, young people are interested in carving out a future for themselves in the creative and digital industries, which contribute 6% of the country's GDP and employ over 2 million people.
You'd expect universities to pick up on this and deliver guidance and support, but it seems they're falling short.
Live music is a footnote in the offerings of many a student union. Joining a choir or an orchestra might be encouraged, but there doesn't seem to be much going in terms of supporting the sort of music most popular among students. Where are the facilities for musicians to hang out and play together? They have to head off campus to get their fix, and universities are doing little to hold them back. It's hardly surprising that so many musicians drop out to pursue a career in the industry.
One band who survived their three years of study earned dork status by virtue of graduating (though being a bit posh probably helped too). Critics were calling Alt-J nerdy long before they won the Mercury music prize – they were "geeks" who made "boffin rock". Having met at Leeds University, they left with four degrees and a handful of well-honed songs between them.
Gus Unger Hamilton, keyboard player and band member with the fanciest name, doesn't credit Leeds as the key to their success. "The university weren't encouraging or discouraging. And we never participated in societies because we didn't have to."
While live music nights organised by the university were "mainly jazz" ("we played once and it was rubbish"), Alt-J didn't get much help from the city either.
Unger Hamilton says: "We signed up to be a support band at the Cockpit, but they said because we weren't from Leeds, they wouldn't have us."
If your university isn't doing contributing to the development of your musical career, and the city it's based in isn't helping either, it's no wonder that dropping out becomes an attractive option. Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis famously dropped out of an English degree at Oxford, a risk that clearly paid off. Daniel Harvey went to university but was poached after a year by the band he is now the drummer for, Dog is Dead.
Having just completed his first year studying maths, Harvey describes his choice as "definitely a case of one or the other". He admits he went to university to broaden his horizons, rather than work towards a career as a mathematician. "I'm thrilled that I made the decision I did. This is where my heart is."
Universities lay great stress on employability and transferable skills – so it's a shame they don't take students' enthusiasm for music more seriously.
If you take a look at student union websites, it's quite clear that the little decent live music there is out there is swamped by fancy dress club nights. A cultural itch remains unscratched, while girls at university-organised club nights are being encouraged to dress in less and less. Promoting live music would be an obvious way to shift the spotlight from binge drinking and lad culture and focus on something more positive.
Alt-J will remain the boffin kings of the music industry until a new band gets famous for graduating.
