Want to expand your audio production career into the sonic arts?
Introducing: the Audio Artist Pathway
A brand new collaboration between Multitrack and In The Dark.
Over 12 months, The Audio Artist Pathway will create space for six UK-based, mid-career audio producers from underrepresented backgrounds to expand their craft and step into the audio arts.
Craft. Community. Learning. Access. Funding.
Over the course of a year, the six Pathway Artists will develop an original idea with the opportunity to showcase work in progress at the 2027 XMTR Audio Arts Festival in St Leonards/Hastings.
Successful applicants will be supported through:
A stipend of £3,000
Monthly Masterclasses
One-to-one pastoral/career support sessions
Community peer-support gatherings and critiques
Connections to regional venues, funding and networks across audio-art disciplines
Dates for your diary
Applications open: 1st May 2026
Applications close: 31st May 2026, at Midnight
Pathway runs: September 2026 - September 2027
Who is the Pathway for?
The Audio Artist Pathway is designed for mid-career audio practitioners with at least five years’ experience working in sound.
You might be:
A radio or podcast producer
A radio documentary maker
A sound designer
A studio manager or mix engineer
A live radio producer
Or working in another professional audio role
The programme is aimed at people who already have strong audio production skills but want to expand their practice in new artistic directions.
The pathway is open to UK-based audio makers from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the audio industry, including people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from minority ethnic groups, and people who are disabled, neurodivergent or living with a long-term health condition.
Read on for more details on eligibility…
Who is eligible to apply?
To apply for the Audio Artist Pathway, you must meet one or more of our criteria around socioeconomic background, race or ethnicity, and disability.
And you must have a minimum of five years experience working in the audio industry.
You can be based anywhere in the UK, and we particularly encourage applications from people based outside London and in regions underserved by the arts.
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The Audio Artist Pathway is open to people who are from a low socioeconomic background.
Here’s how we define that:
If you qualified for free school meals.
If, when you were age 14, your highest earning parent or guardian was not self-employed or in senior management, and was employed in one of the following categories:
Technical and craft occupations such as: motor mechanic, fitter, inspector, plumber, printer, tool maker, electrician, gardener, train driver
Semi-routine manual and service occupations such as: postal worker, machine operative, security guard, caretaker, farm worker, catering assistant, receptionist, sales assistant
Routine manual and service occupations such as: HGV driver, van driver, cleaner, porter, packer, sewing machinist, messenger, labourer, waiter/waitress, bar staff
If, when you were age 14, your parent or guardian was long term unemployed
Note: these are broad categories that may not exactly fit your family situation – e.g. if you’re a carer or if a family divorce changed your financial position. Please use your judgment when self-identifying.
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The Audio Artist Pathway is open to people who are:
Asian/British Asian
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
From another minority ethnic group
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The Audio Artist Pathway is open to people who are disabled, neurodivergent or have a long term health condition (defined as a condition lasting or expected to last 12 months or more).
You can self-identify this and you won’t need to show a diagnosis.
How to apply
Make sure to read this page, the FAQs and the application guidance in detail. When you’re ready, here’s what you need to do:
You apply via this Google Form (available from May 1st)
The application consists of 13 questions (most are quick to answer, with two main questions which will require more preparation)
The full list of questions is provided in the application guidance, to help you prep before filling out the Google Form
You will also need to upload a recent CV
Why an audio art project?
We are living through a period of rapid change in the audio industry. Many talented audio makers are under increasing pressure to produce work more quickly and cheaply, often at the expense of creativity. As workflows shift and AI becomes more embedded in production, there is a real risk that vital creative skills and knowledge will be lost.
At the heart of both Multitrack and In The Dark, there’s a belief in the unique creative power of sound — its ability to challenge dominant cultures, foster connection, and tell stories that resonate deeply. We are committed to ensuring that the artists behind this work are supported to adapt and thrive as the industry evolves.
Rather than allowing creative talent to be displaced, we see an opportunity to preserve and strengthen it. By supporting mid-career audio makers to expand their skills and explore new creative pathways, we can help sustain the originality and human insight that are essential to powerful sound-based storytelling.
This belief is at the heart of the Audio Artist Pathway. Through this initiative, we will support makers facing barriers to develop new skills, broaden their opportunities, and continue contributing to the industry in meaningful ways.
Our goal is to help build a future where creative audio talent is nurtured, valued, and empowered to flourish.