Singer wants to 'empower' aspiring new musicians

Victoria Mason joins the faculty alongside Emmy-award winning lecturers and songwriters for famous artists

A professional singer and DJ has joined a university faculty to "empower" the next generation of musicians with her 20 years of industry experience.

Victoria Mason started her new role this term as a lecturer in commercial music at Bath Spa University, teaching students about the creative profession.

She said the music industry is "a very different place" from when she rose to fame in 2008, and wants to share her advice on staying "resilient" in an evolving digital era.

"We can't predict where the industry is going but we can give them the tools they need to future-proof their career," she said.

Emerging from the band Dead Disco in 2007, Ms Mason established herself as a solo artist named 'Little Boots' with her electro-pop debut record Hands, which reached the top five on the UK Albums Chart.

She has since toured internationally, produced three more albums and been a part of the ABBA Voyage productions.

Ms Mason says being an artist is often about learning to overcome "setbacks and curveballs"

The 41-year-old said it can be " incredibly difficult" to build a sustainable career as a musician.

"Of course you can master an instrument or have an incredible voice, but you need that bigger picture to be successful in this industry," she said.

"I've got two decades of experience and I've learnt a lot, so it's really nice to be part of something bigger and give something back."

Ms Mason says technological advancements and social media now make it easier for artists to record and promote their own music

Ms Mason said in the early 2000s, aspiring musicians had to pay for an expensive studio and secure a record label which would promote your music on a CD.

"But with all the digital tools we have at our fingertips now, anybody can write a song, record it and upload it to a streaming service," she explained.

"In some ways it has levelled the playing field, but it's also made the competition a lot harder.

"It's about having the skills and resilience to adapt to these new challenges by thinking about them in fresh ways.

"It's that aspect of empowering people to do things themselves that I really resonate with," she added.

The singer-songwriter said: "I wish courses like this were around when I was starting out"

Dr Matthew Lovett, head of the university's school of music and performing arts, said: "Having Victoria join our team this year absolutely strengthens our ambition to take a lead role in the UK Higher Education sector, to not only support our students to make great music and build careers for themselves as artists and music industry professionals, but also to strengthen the UK music industry."