To celebrate its 28th year as a headline sponsor of The BRIT Awards, Mastercard is unveiling Manchester Legends – a Manchester-based outreach programme designed to inspire young people to pursue careers in the music industry – building on the success of Mastercard’s inaugural Mic Drops programme in 2025.
Collaborating with iconic Manchester music legends, Mastercard is shining a light on the rich music and cultural history of Manchester, a city that boasts 215 live music venues and a live music ecosystem that makes up 64 per cent of its overall music industry; demonstrating how central music is to its identity and to the people who make the UK’s music industry what it is today.
DJ Paulette, a highly regarded DJ across the UK and Europe, born and raised in Manchester, launched the initiative earlier this month, giving a surprise performance and a talk discussing her career and giving advice for breaking into the industry. Students from Stretford High School attended to hear first-hand how to carve their own path in music and learn that careers in the industry are wide-ranging and diverse, extending far beyond performing.
The initiative launches as new research commissioned by Mastercard reveals significant gaps in access for young people looking to break into music and the wider creative industries, highlighting a lack of clear routes into the sector (51 per cent), as well as disparities in access to opportunities based on income (65 per cent), education (45 per cent) and region (43 per cent). The Manchester Legends sessions aim to help address these gaps and support young people across the city.
Throughout February and March, Mastercard’s Manchester Legends will host young people from Manchester and the surrounding area to a series of in-person sessions to learn about the people and professions that make music what it is. From artists to producers, sound engineers to photographers, songwriters and album artwork designers, each of the talks will give unprecedented access and inspiration to the young people who need it most.
The research also reveals that 20 per cent of people aged 14-21 have never experienced live music , rising to nearly a quarter (23 per cent) in Manchester. This lack of exposure, alongside limited awareness of the kind of opportunities within the music industry, means over half of young people don’t feel they know how to pursue a career in music (55 per cent).
The data shows the top barriers young people are facing are a lack of confidence in their skills (35 per cent), the cost of lessons and equipment (34 per cent), and not knowing where to start (33 per cent), something Mastercard hopes to address through initiatives like Manchester Legends and its ongoing support of The BRIT Awards.
Charlie Carrington, SVP, Marketing and Communications at Mastercard, says: “As a long-standing supporter of The BRIT Awards, Mastercard is committed to helping the next generation of talent thrive. Manchester has always been a powerhouse of British culture, and Manchester Legends is designed to give young people in the city direct access to industry expertise, practical guidance and real-world inspiration. From behind-the-scenes production and engineering roles to creative strategy, photography and management, there are countless ways to build a life in the creative industries. We want to help young people see what is possible, and help them achieve it.”
This year’s campaign builds on the success of Mastercard’s Mic Drops programme in 2025, where students at five schools across the UK were invited to creative sessions designed to inspire the next generation by spotlighting diverse career paths.
Paulette Constable, House Music DJ, says: “Manchester has always been such an important city for music, and being part of these sessions with Mastercard has been really special. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is to differentiate between the nos, not all of them actually mean no. Sometimes it’s not now, not tonight, not this week. That doesn’t mean stop. It’s important young people don’t pigeonhole themselves into what they think is possible either. The creative industries aren’t one straight path, there are so many ways in. Stay curious, back yourself and keep going”.
Alongside this, Manchester is shining a light on small businesses across the city. From February 23 to March 15, customers who make a purchase with their Mastercard in participating record stores, including Piccadilly Records, Eastern Block, Vinyl Revival and Vinyl Exchange, will be able to enter a prize draw to win 24 Mastercard pre-paid cards worth £250 to spend back in store.
This is Mastercard’s second initiative in six months celebrating Manchester’s small business community. In October, the company partnered with Mary “Queen of Shops” Portas to host a pop-up market in the city’s NOMA district, showcasing a range of innovative, community-minded businesses.
