Hot Generator

THE perfect model for taking the UK’s grassroots industry into the future has been created in the North- East, says UK Music chief executive Feargal Sharkey about the work of Newcastle-based agency Generator. The former Undertones band member is currently working towards a ten-year plan aimed at ensuring that the UK makes the most of a music market generating £5bn a year. Currently this country is the second largest exporter of music in the world.

An investment of £822,347 from the European Regional Development Fund, has been matched pound for pound by six UK organisations, and is intended to help 240 enterprises in the North-East and create at least 100 new jobs.

“Thankfully it boils down to the concept that we have a lot of young people who are very talented and creative and that’s where the whole thing starts. After that there are a lot of equally talented and creative people running record companies and agencies which support the artists.

And that’s the bit we’ve got to stay focused on, “ he says.

“For us what is interesting about Generator and the North-East is just the work they’ve been doing for the past four to six years in providing the grassroots support for young people who want to get involved in the music industry and want to get involved in it as a profession.

“We think that Generator is the perfect benchmark and perhaps other parts of the industry should be looking at what Generator is doing because the people back in London think it’s fantastic,” Sharkey says.

On a visit to the region to announce this financial boost for Generator, Sharkey calls it a wellstructured organisation with a knack for putting training programmes together and “a real asset to the North-East”.

“Let’s face it they are good hardworking people up here who can be incredible creative and clear-minded about things and I think Generator sets up people in the North-East very well to go out there and succeed,” he adds about the agency led by Jim Mawdsley which has gained a formidable national reputation for training performers and supporting promoters.

At the moment, a lot of chart and download success seems to be focused on the hot-house college graduates or those who appear on reality shows. But Sharkey argues that people can still reach the top through different routes.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say that one proven route works. I think what we admire about Generator is giving people the skills that they need. After that there’s no reason why anyone from the North-East shouldn’t go out and be successful. The quite extraordinary thing about the industry is that if you have enough talent and put enough time effort and ability into it you have just as much opportunity and chance as everyone else,” he says.

Reflecting on the £1.64m support being given to the region, Sharkey says feels that simply throwing enough money at a good organisation isn’t enough. “Clearly at some point you do need some ability and some talent and money can never replicate for that. It’s like the idea of winning the lottery I guess, life is a little easier being rich but it’s not a 100 per cent of everything all the time,” he says.

Sharkey confesses he doesn’t follow the emerging North-East bands as closely as he’d like and explains: “I don’t get engaged in music as much as I’d like to these days, but unfortunately I spend a lot of time behind a desk typing emails and talking on the phone and worrying about the overall situation in the UK.

One of the reasons for coming North was to find out what was going on here at ground level,” he says.

Sharkey is aware it’s never been easy to making a living as a musician and says some things have never changed since the first wandering minstrels walked door-to-door in order to perform in return for food and lodging.

“There’s always been that aspect to the life. The industry is trying to address music piracy and downloads but, for me, the internet does a quite extraordinary thing because it creates a thing called artists’ choice.

That’s the bit we’re asking to be respected.

“If a performer prefers to give away their material for free on the internet then we have to support that artist.

But if an artist would like to be paid for their time, effort and ability then we should also respect that choice as well,” he adds.

“There’s no easy route into entertainment. I came from a small town in Northern Ireland and I managed to go okay and there’s no reason why anyone from the North- East can’t do okay either,” Sharkey says.

“There’s no reason why the UK can’t go out and dominate the global music industry.”