Joining Co-Pilot: the Musicians’ Mentoring Network as a mentor
Information and guidance for anyone thinking of applying to become a mentor
A mentor is someone to trust. Someone you can feel comfortable with; like a friend who’s a professional and can give you their objective view and guidance. But mostly, I think it’s someone who can really listen.
If you work in music and think you could offer guidance to a musician, then you may want to consider joining Co-Pilot, which creates mentoring partnerships between together musicians and industry professionals.
Each musician’s path is unique, with many decisions to be made during their creative and professional journey; mentoring can play a life-changing role in offering individualised support at a key point in their career.
Whilst this programme is for people who have an established career in the music industry, there are no definitive skills and experience that every mentor must possess. You may already be seen by someone as a mentor without you fully realising it.
Ultimately, it might be helpful to ask yourself the following three questions:
- Can you inspire a musician to take the next steps in their career and fulfil their potential?
- Can you use your knowledge and experience of the music industry to support a musician’s development?
- Can you listen, provide guidance, and offer constructive feedback in an open, honest, and respectful way?
If this sounds like you, then you could be a Co-Pilot mentor.
What can I expect from mentoring
Co-Pilot mentors are volunteers and can occupy a wide range of roles. They might be a guide, role model or a sounding board.
Successful mentoring is a two-way learning relationship, which will benefit both the mentee and the mentor.
Mentors are not expected to share their contacts, open industry doors, create opportunities or deliver services to mentees.
Successful mentoring partnerships can change lives for musicians by drawing out and developing talent, providing guidance and, sometimes, lifelong professional relationships, but there are also huge advantages to being a mentor.
As a mentor you receive:
- An opportunity to develop your mentoring skills through training and online resources, including a‘coaching skills for mentors’ workshop
- A new learning experience to build your confidence, increase your self-awareness and develop your listening, leadership and collaboration skills
- An opportunity to share and gain knowledge with your mentee, strengthening your understanding of the music industry and how it impacts musicians
- An opportunity to learn from other mentors and build your networks through regular peer-to-peer sessions
- Access to a dedicated mentoring team to support you and your mentee throughout your mentoring relationship
- Friendship, rapport and a shared sense of purpose.
Apply to be a mentor
If you are eligible (see below) and ready to make an application then you can do so today via the MentorNet platform.
If you feel like you need more information then please submit your details below and get in touch by email.
We are committed to being as accessible as possible. If you need support applying then please contact mentoring@helpmusicians.org.uk with the subject line ‘Access enquiry’.
Hear more about Co-Pilot from two of our mentors
Emma Aucouturier
“At first I was reluctant to join Co-Pilot, but I gained confidence and learned so much from being a mentor. I was initially unsure about the knowledge and guidance I could provide my mentee but I realised I knew much more than I thought.
You may doubt yourself, your knowledge and what you can bring to an artist but you’ll bring so much value and learn a lot yourself as well. I would definitely mentor someone again.”
Benny Bizzie
“I have always been a mentor but just not in a professional capacity, so Co-Pilot is a formalised version of what I was already doing. There was a clear guide for the stages which broke down what the journey looked like. We also had zoom sessions where all the mentors met and discussed what we were going through and shared best practice as well.”
“We aren’t put on earth to gain all this experience and then not pass it on. Co-Pilot resonated with me and was a chance to give back. If I’d had Co-Pilot 15 years ago, it would have been a different ball game.”
FAQs
To apply to Co-Pilot as a mentor, you must:
- Be a musician or music industry professional with at least 5 years of music industry experience or equivalent knowledge
- Be available to offer 8 hours of remote mentoring on a voluntary basis to a musician based in the UK
- Be passionate about helping others navigate the music industry
This is a voluntary service, and no fees are paid to mentors.
Co-Pilot is delivered by Help Musicians, with gratitude to the individuals and organisations who support the charity.
To mentor with Co-Pilot, you will be asked to:
- Attend a compulsory welcome webinar
- Read the Co-Pilot guidebook and watch the four induction videos
- Meet your match during a 30-minute chemistry session
- Complete 8 hours with your mentee over 6 months (via one-to-one video conferencing)
- Respond to a midpoint and final evaluation survey
You will also have the option to:
- Attend peer-to-peer networking opportunities
- Attend expert practitioner webinars
Co-Pilot is an online network, so Mentors and Mentees can be located anywhere in the UK. To apply, you must have access to the internet and comfortable using video conferencing platforms. There is online mentoring system which we will use to conduct matching, communicate and arrange mentoring sessions.
If you decide to apply then you will receive an email confirming we’ve received your application, and will be notified of your acceptance into the network within four weeks of submitting your application.
Mentor/Mentee matching takes place every 12 weeks, so if your application has been accepted there may be a couple of months until your mentoring relationship can begin.
If something has changed in your plans after having submitted your application, please let the mentoring team know as soon as possible by emailing mentoring@helpmusicians.org.uk.
Mentor applications will be reviewed to determine suitability based on the current needs of the Co-Pilot network.
We assess all applicants for suitability to ensure we maintain a standard of mentors that meets the needs of the musicians. We only pair musicians with Mentors who we feel can appropriately support their needs.
For example, a musician may request help with building their online brand, in which case we would pair them with a Mentor who will be able to support them with that. On some occasions we are therefore unable to match every Mentor with a musician.