Grace Goodwin

Grace Goodwin is someone who has a lot going on! And she is a great example of a business model that is increasingly prevalent in the music sector: of having a career made up of multiple strands.

Just listing what Grace is currently involved in makes me tired. First off she is a PhD Researcher at the Institute of Popular Music (IPM) at the University of Liverpool where her PhD is onregional gender equality in the music industry. On top of the PhD work Grace is also working on the IPM’s brilliant work around mapping the music sector in the city region which is an important piece of work which will inform music policy moving forward. Away from academia Grace also works at Future Yard over in Birkenhead where as well as providing mentoring support for young musicians she is involved in industry workshops including advice on self-employment which she is obviously well equipped to give. Then of course she is also a self-employed musician, drumming at corporate gigs and weddings with her friends all over the UK and Europe.

Grace tells me how it all began. ‘I was brought up in Fazakerley and there was no family background in music but I got a chance to play drums in school when I was seven. I was the only girl who did it. I loved it and carried on playing. I never thought of it as a job but then when I was applying for University I started to look at it properly. I decided to apply to LIPA and nowhere else because that was what I wanted to do and they were the best three years of my life. One of the things that LIPA did for me was provide me with networks around the music sector that I had never had before and I also realised I was interested in and good at the music business side of things. That was when I first realised that musicians really do need to know about the industry side of things as well as the music.”

But Grace didn’t just focus on the business of music. “ I started properly playing professionally while I was at LIPA, playing in bands and then doing corporate gigs as a drummer/percussionist. I still love doing corporate gigs. They pay well and I get to play with my friends. I know some people don’t like doing this sort of work but I’ve been trained to deliver for an audience and I love it.”

After LIPA Grace went on to do a Masters in Music Industry studies at the University of Liverpool and I first came across her when she ran Both Sides Records, a label which came out of the wonderful Brighter Sound organisation in Manchester. The label released an album by Liverpool’s amazing Stealing Sheep.

Grace obviously has more than enough to be going on with at the moment but I asked about any future plans. “ It’s hard because I never thought Id be doing what I’m doing now. What I’ve realised is that you need different things. I’ve always been interested in gender equality so the work I’m doing at the University is perfect and I want to carry on to do more in that area. As part of my PHD I want to look at how many women are pursuing roles in the music industry in the LCR.”

I asked Grace where she thinks thinks currently sit with regard to gender equality in the local music sector. “Locally there has been some good work that has taken place. But there remains an awful lot to be done and there it is still the case that there are a lack of women in positions of power in the industry. We need more evidence around all of this to make the case and that’s the focus of my work over the next four years.

Grace has clearly carved a successful career for herself in the music sector and I asked what advice she would pass on. “If I was to offer a single piece of advice to a 16 year old girl looking to make a career in music then I’d say it would be to find networks. The networks can either be in person or online but either way they can be absolutely invaluable. That’s definitely the most effective way to get into the industry.”

Here is a recent interesting piece from The Guardian on how many musicians, even those who are well known, need second jobs.