Youth Music Catalyser Funding Supercharges the Musically Unorthodox Conference

We are thrilled to announce that the vision behind the Musically Unorthodox Conference has received a monumental boost. In Music In Media (IMIM) , the organisation behind the conference, has been awarded a transformative three-year grant from Youth Music through their Catalyser Fund programme.

This funding will propel the annual conference from a pivotal moment of connection into the driving force of a sustainable Musically Unorthodox Ecosystem for marginalised young people. The conference’s concept has always been to bring together educators, policymakers, industry leaders, and young creatives to diagnose the challenges facing marginalised youth. Thanks to Youth Music, the project is now in a stronger position to implement the solutions with settings 3 years to build a fully functioning and sustainable system.

What This Means for the Conference

The Catalyser grant will allow us to expand the conference’s impact in two critical ways:

1. A Bigger, Bolder Annual Event: The Musically Unorthodox Conference will continue to be our flagship annual gathering, the moment the ecosystem converges. This funding ensures we can grow the event, attract even more influential voices, and provide a more powerful platform for the young people and mentors at the heart of our movement.
2. Turning Conversation into Action: The real game-changer is the funding enables us to launch an intensive 6-week full-time ‘Profile Builder’ course for aspiring Creatives Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) . This programme will take the ideas, connections, and energy from the conference and channel them into practical, tangible outcomes, focusing on portfolio building and providing genuine access to music career opportunities.

The conference is no longer just an event; it is the catalyst for a year-round programme of action.

A Proven Partnership, A Shared Mission

This award is the latest chapter in a long and vital partnership with Youth Music. They have been with us every step of the way:

• Since 2018, they have helped us bring the initial Musically Unorthodox concept to life as a mobile project in schools.
• Trailblazer funding then enabled us to acquire our own premises and build the MUCM Creative Space, giving the conference a permanent home base.
• Previous Catalyser funding allowed us to pilot last year’s conference and develop a range of core programmes for marginalised youth.

Now, with this new three-year investment, they are helping us build on that legacy to create something truly sustainable. We are immensely grateful for their belief in our mission to prove that a community-driven music ecosystem can be a powerful force for opportunity and transformation.

We can’t wait to welcome you to the next Musically Unorthodox Conference, where we won’t just be talking about change, we’ll be building it, together.