WaterBear Brighton unveils opportunities for aspiring artists and musicians

WaterBear’s previous scholarship recipients are already making waves in the industry, seizing every opportunity to further their careers. Kid Blu3, who was selected for the Pattern+Push scholarship in 2023 and will be performing at Worthy Farm’s hallowed ground at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, notably brushed shoulders with industry heavyweights Eminem and Kendrick Lamar when her single Natural Queen reached No.3 on the iTunes Hip Hop Chart. Soul/R&B artist and vocal topliner Amanah, known as “Marns”, was granted the Music Venue Trust scholarship last year and has performed at renowned festivals such as Love Saves the Day and Latitude Festival alongside her studies in Professional Music. Meanwhile, emerging Rock/Soul artist Kanukai, awardee of the 2024 AudioActive scholarship has been headlining iconic venues across Brighton and London, with plans to release his first single and fully immerse himself into the festival circuit in 2025.

Encouraging aspiring artists, musicians and industry professionals to explore their artistic craft, WaterBear has teamed up with renowned Welsh rock band Skindred, to offer an on-site scholarship in Brighton for 2025, fronting the expenses of tuition fees for one lucky student. Courses eligible for the coveted award in collaboration with the iconic band, which has been redefining musical boundaries since 1998, include WaterBear’s Brighton-based 3-year on-site BA (Hons) Professional Music degrees in either Performance, Production, Electronic Music, Business or Songwriting.

In another significant partnership, WaterBear has collaborated with Sentric Music Publishing, a leading music publisher dedicated to empowering independent artists, to offer an online scholarship award for 2025. Awardees can choose from a 2-year BA (Hons) online degree in Creative Music Production, or Songwriting & Music Performance.

Further benefitting students, WaterBear has forged a pioneering partnership with Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR), a grassroots campaign founded in 2002 to combat rising racism in the UK. The scholarship will cover all tuition fees for one student throughout their master's degree at WaterBear, with courses eligible including the 1-year on-site MA Music Business, 1-year on-site MA Music Performance, Production & Business, 1-year on-site or online MA Songwriting, and the 1-year on-site or online MA Music Education degree.

WaterBear is also offering a 3-year BA (Hons) scholarship to one lucky artist from the community organization Slambarz, a Sheffield-based music events initiative open to young lyricists, rappers, and music producers. Additionally, another scholarship will be awarded to an artist member of AudioActive, a Brighton-based non-profit music organization dedicated to creating social change by empowering young people through music.

Greg Archer, Careers & Industry Manager at WaterBear, commented: “In the music industry, collaboration is vital for progression and development. Securing several partnerships with such renowned artists and organisations enables us to continue supporting deserving DIY musicians or industry professionals, helping them build sustainable and successful careers in music.

For information regarding scholarships, please visit: https://waterbear.org.uk/scholarships/

WaterBear - The College of Music, offers BA (Hons) degree and master’s courses made for today’s musicians, artists and industry professionals. The colleges are based in the heart of Brighton and Sheffield, two UK cities with incredible musical roots and heritage. WaterBear also has a range of online distance-learning courses.

WaterBear is a College of Falmouth University, a pioneer in creative industries education, entrepreneurship and innovation. All courses delivered at WaterBear are approved and awarded by Falmouth, meaning students graduate with a Falmouth University degree or master’s qualification.

With a combination of a DIY ethos, smaller class sizes, 1-1 mentoring with experienced industry professionals and a catalogue of career and performance opportunities to offer our students, we are dedicated to supporting musicians and artists, with a strong focus on building sustainable long-term careers.

www.WaterBear.org.uk