Former Birmingham City University music student takes home top award

Tanyel Gumushan, a former Birmingham City University (BCU) student who achieved a first from Birmingham School of Media in 2017, was crowned the UK Music Outstanding MAP Graduate Award at the Creative and Cultural Skills Awards last week.

She was put forward for the prestigious title by Matt Grimes, senior lecturer in music industries at BCU, who said: “I nominated Tanyel for the award following her work whilst on the music industries course here at the Birmingham School of Media, and more importantly her work outside the course.

"Tanyel threw herself into the industry, writing for a number of publications such as NME, tmrw, Clash and DIY.

"It’s fair to say Tanyel was a model student, embracing academia as well as industry practice, achieving a first in both her dissertation and final project.”

Tanyel’s final year project, Band-On, focussed on improving access to live music for under 18s – providing a solution to a licensing issue which many venues and local authorities across the UK struggle with.

Oliver Morris, director of education and skills at UK Music, the umbrella organisation which represents the UK’s commercial music industry, said: “The judges were really impressed with Tanyel’s proactive and dedicated approach to her study and development of her career outside of university.

"She is an exciting young professional with boundless energy who has had the talent and vision to pursue her multiple musical passions very successfully."

Following her graduation, Tanyel was successful in securing a position as a live music adviser for licensing and royalty body PPL PRS at their new base in Leicester, offering an opportunity for her to put the skills and knowledge acquired during her time at BCU into practice.

Tanyel thanked UK Music and Matt Grimes for the recognition: “I was extremely honoured to be nominated against such amazing talent from music graduates across the UK.

"To take home the award is a privilege, and it feels great to have had my work both in and out of the office recognised.

"It has made me even more excited for the future."