BLK SCL! (Black Scale) Launches to Build Long-Term Pathways for Black Music Talent Across the North and the UK’s Devolved Nations

BLK SCL! (pronounced “Black Scale”) today announces its official launch: a new multi-strand intervention designed to scale up Black music talent, infrastructure and ownership across the North of England and the UK’s devolved nations - with ambition and reach built for the national and international stage.

BLK SCL! seeks to address persistent structural barriers to success for Black music talent - including unequal access to investment, networks, and long-term career pathways. BLK SCL! is built as a practical, place-rooted answer to those challenges: long-term pathways, connected networks, and a commercial engine that supports growth without compromising cultural integrity.

Founded by Yaw Owusu (Nothin But The Music), BLK SCL! is a strategic intervention addressing systemic barriers and the historic lack of sustained support for Black British music talent outside a London-centric music landscape. Based in Liverpool but operating nationally, Owusu brings over 20 years’ experience designing, developing and directing award-winning national and international projects including POWER UP, Levi’s Music Project, LIMF Academy, RE:MAP (LCR Black Music Report) and MusicFutures, alongside major-label work for Brukout Records x Polydor Records and Decca Records (Universal Music Group). Additionally, Yaw in recent years has also spearheaded the creative direction / programming of the acclaimed regional fringe activity for the BRIT Awards, the Mercury Prize and the MOBO Awards.

As Owusu puts it: “I’ve spent years building and directing national and international talent development programmes, and I’ve seen the same pattern repeat: extraordinary talent outside London, but not enough long-term infrastructure around it,” Owusu adds. “BLK SCL! is a strategic intervention - a closed-loop system which develops talent, then connects them to the right people and systems at the right time, so they can build and scale with cultural integrity.”

Three interconnected pillars

BLK SCL! is comprised of three interconnected elements - each designed to work together to move talent from discovery to sustainability.

BLK SCL! Sound is the curator-led label arm, created to champion dynamic, honest and exceptional Black music and Black voices across the North of the UK, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The label partners with artists to shape projects that matter, prioritising long-term growth, audience connection and the full value of recorded works over short-term gains.

BLK SCL! Connex is a pan-regional community of Black music professionals committed to collective working and long-term systemic change. Today, Connex has launched the digital directory, and will be developing the platform to support year-round engagement, followed early in 2027 with their first BLK SCL! Summit - creating space to build meaningful professional connections, share challenges, transfer knowledge and co-design solutions.

BLK SCL! Atelier is the career pathways and development engine, providing targeted learning and development opportunities for Black music creators and industry professionals. Year one activity includes a part-time junior product manager role within BLK SCL! Sound (funded by MusicFutures), a Black music industry professional incubator programme in partnership with Generator, a series of writing camps and a partnership with Liverpool-based Noise Music Project to deliver an entry level future Black music industry leader programme. BLK SCL! will also be working with The Black Social Traders Network (BLaST) to offer support and access to social investment for Black-led social trading organisations in the music industry.

Partnerships powering the launch

BLK SCL! is built through collaboration with partners who share a commitment to equity, integrity and long-term impact.

On the label side, BLK SCL! Sound has partnered with EMI North (Universal Music Group) - a major-label imprint and team focused on championing and developing artists from across the North of England and the devolved nations. The partnership connects BLK SCL!’s independent, curator-led vision with major-label insight, infrastructure and reach.

“We’re incredibly excited to be working with Yaw to launch and support in the development of BLK SCL! Yaw is an inspirational and incredibly talented leader who has been involved with many vital projects across the music industry and brings a vast wealth of knowledge and creativity to our roster of label partners. His dedication to developing and supporting creatives across the North aligns perfectly with our goals, and this shared vision will be key in supporting talented people across the North of the UK”. Scott Lewis, Label Manager, EMI North

Across Connex and Atelier, BLK SCL! is collaborating with MusicFutures, which is a five-year research and business innovation programme funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through UKRI, led by the University of Liverpool in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University. Focused on building a sustainable and inclusive R&D ecosystem for music, creativity and technology in the Liverpool City Region, MusicFutures supports skills and talent development through training, professional development and access to research, technology and industry expertise. In year one, MusicFutures is supporting BLK SCL! by part-funding the BLK SCL! Summit and enabling the paid role within the BLK SCL! ecosystem (including a part-time programme coordinator role across BLK SCL!’s operation).

“MusicFutures’ mission is to shape the future of music through innovation, inclusion and sustainability. This exciting collaboration with BLK SCL is a unique opportunity to contribute to a pioneering venture that delivers on many of the recommendations in the 2024 Liverpool City Region Music Board Re:Map report, which identified barriers to progress and success experienced by Black and global majority musicians and music industry professionals” - Dr Mathew Flynn, Director of the Institute for Popular Music at the University of Liverpool and Co-Director of MusicFutures.

BLK SCL! will also work with music ecosystem builder Mick Ross as its development partner. Ross is the CEO of Generator, the North’s leading music development agency, and is widely recognised for building high-impact programmes, partnerships and platforms that help talent and music businesses grow - while pushing for a stronger, more connected Northern music economy.

“Yaw is a true pioneer in our industry - someone who has consistently created space, opportunity and long-term impact for Black music talent across the UK. What makes his work so powerful is that it’s rooted in authenticity, trust and a deep understanding of both the culture and the structural barriers that still exist within our industry.

BLK SCL! comes at a hugely important moment for the music industry, as conversations around equity, infrastructure and ownership continue to grow globally. We’re proud to support the vision through Generator, and proud to be part of an initiative that has the potential to create lasting impact while becoming an internationally recognised model for a more connected, representative and sustainable music industry.” - Mick Ross, CEO, Generator

Joanne Anderson, Founder and Director of BLaST, says “We are looking forward to working with BLK SCL! to support Black music and industry professionals and music business leaders to develop the growth of their social impact and social investment readiness.”

First signings and first release

BLK SCL! announces its first two signed artists to BLK SCL! Sound - both representing the depth,
excellence and diversity of Black music culture across the UK.

KOJ (Liverpool) is the sound of defiance - rising from working-class Liverpool with a voice
shaped by modern Britain, and a sound forged at the collision point of Grime, Rap and Punk. He
has earned support from Clash, Wonderland and The Face, alongside Apple Music and Amazon
Music, marking him out as a next-gen artist with both authority and direction. Renowned for live
shows spanning Boomtown, Latitude, Radio 1 Big Weekend, Reeperbahn and SXSW - KOJ’s
forthcoming single will be the first BLK SCL! SOUND release, due 26th June 2026. KOJ is
managed by Robert Swerdlow (Starwood Management) and represented for live by Primary
Talent.

Mace The Great is a Welsh artist and cultural force whose work reflects the richness, complexity
and creativity of Black identity shaping how Wales is heard and seen through a Black lens. He is a
Welsh Music Prize winner, with breakout momentum from exceptional performances on Red Bull,
1Xtra, DJ AG, the Steeze Factory and Sir Spyro’s Sounds of the Verse.