Creative Opps at Ladies Music Pub – July Catch-Up

At the end of July, a few of us from Creative Opps headed down to a Ladies Music Pub event for their latest session, held in the beautiful Clore Studio garden at South London Gallery. I’ve been going to LMP since some of its earlier inceptions as a young woman working in the music industry and it’s always been one of those rare spaces that genuinely feels open and honest — a real community.

If you don’t know, LMP is a space for women, trans and non-binary people in the music industry — whether you’re in comms, production, DJing, artist development, or anything in between. It’s run by a brilliant team including Nellie Owusu , Hannah TW & Tyson McVey who’ve built something that’s supportive, unpretentious, and real.

They let me speak a bit about what we’re doing at Creative Opps, and it felt especially comforting to share it there. I spoke about our Membership Scheme and why it exists — to support young people trying to build creative careers in an industry that doesn’t always make space for them. We’re rooted in care, and in naming the systemic barriers that young people from marginalised backgrounds often face when trying to get their foot in the door.

It was also great for some of our Creative Opps members who came along to hear directly from folks further along in their careers. The conversation covered a lot:

• Alternative ways of working a release — not everything needs to follow a traditional rollout
• Knowing when to pause and refill your cup, rather than constantly producing
• The current mess of streaming and platform culture, and the interest in newer models like Nina Protocol and Metalabel
• And importantly, a conversation about why music is still overdue its own MeToo movement — and what accountability might look like moving forward.

Musicians George Riley, Cosha, and Joy Crookes were also in the mix, and their presence made the conversation even richer. The openness of the discussion — pros, cons, vulnerabilities, ideas — is what made it land so well.

For Creative Opps, it was one of those moments that confirms why we do what we do. Being in a room where emerging creatives can hear from people who’ve been through it — who aren’t sugar-coating but also aren’t gatekeeping — is invaluable. It helps build not just knowledge, but confidence and a sense of belonging. That matters just as much as any internship or masterclass.

— Michelle Kambasha, Head of Communications & Programmes