A New Spotify Documentary Spotlights UK Youth Centers
Youth spaces are crucial for the well-being of children and young people, as they instill a deep sense of belonging and ignite creativity. But in the U.K., these spaces have been in rapid decline due to decades of funding cuts, leaving young people with fewer places to be creative and engage with their communities in positive ways.
To underscore the importance of youth spaces in the U.K., Spotify has teamed up with the London-based youth mentoring organization Mentivity to release our new short film The Centre. Filmed and directed by Adeyemi Michael, The Centre showcases the transformative impact youth spaces can have on burgeoning local artists and U.K. music culture at large, which has birthed influential genres like grime and U.K. drill.
Featuring hip-hop duo Young T & Bugsey, rapper Ms Banks, drummer Femi Koleoso from the Mercury Prize-winning jazz quintet Ezra Collective, and MC and producer Novelist, The Centre chronicles the ways each artist’s youth club experiences helped inspire their creative journeys and the music they produce to this day.
Keeping youth spaces alive
While 750 youth spaces across the U.K. have closed since 2010, they still play a vital role in fostering the creative development of young people across the country. In fact, these spaces have helped shape the careers of some of today’s leading artists and musicians. Take Young T & Bugsey, who met at age 15 and spent the following years honing their craft at youth spaces in their hometown of Nottingham. To date, they’ve racked up more than 850 million streams on Spotify.
According to a recent survey commissioned by Spotify, 70% of young people in the U.K. feel that youth clubs help nurture creative talent, and 74% want to learn more about creative industries. More than three quarters (77%) believe youth spaces create a safe environment for young people.
In addition to highlighting the ways youth spaces have meaningfully impacted U.K artists, The Centre celebrates the opening of Mentivity House, a newly developed youth space in the southeast London neighborhood of Peckham.
“Mentivity House is an example of how we reclaim our block,” said Mentivity founder Sayce Holmes-Lewis. “Over a decade in the making, this is a full-circle moment for me. Growing up and working here for 25 years, I’ve seen regeneration change the area. We’re committed to strengthening our roots and creating a lasting legacy for our community, helping young people become the best versions of themselves.”
Our partnership with Mentivity follows our global partnership with UNICEF to help ensure that young people around the world can access trusted and engaging mental health audio content. We teamed up with UNICEF to create the Our Minds Matter hub on Spotify, where listeners can find music and talk playlists that support mental health and well-being.
