Thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund, we’re launching a Record Label & Artist Development Service, called Red Tangent Records.

This is the brainchild of a former beneficiary, who is now a Changing Tunes Musician-in-Residence and is heading up the label as its Executive.

Red Tangent will support talented musicians who have lived experience of the criminal justice system. It will be an incubator, giving artists tailored support so that they can advance their work and thrive in a challenging and changing industry. It will support artists to develop, record and market their music, and to build sustainable careers.

Red Tangent Records will help remove barriers for people who have come through the criminal justice system, giving them the opportunity to be recognised for their work, to break free from the stigma of their past, and to establish themselves in the music industry. It aims to change people’s perception of what it means to be an ex-prisoner. Ultimately, it will help enrich the music industry with diverse voices and talent.

Watch this space for a link to the Red Tangent website!

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Beneficiary steering group

We are working with an Advisory Group of beneficiaries, to help us develop our artistic work. Our advisors bring valuable insights from their lived experience. They keep us up-to-speed about the issues that our beneficiaries face and how we can support their creative engagement and rehabilitation.

By giving our beneficiaries more creative platforms, leadership roles and influence over provision, we can develop creative solutions that make a genuine difference.

We’re delighted to have the support of our Trustee, Paula Harriott, to help us root our work in the lived experience of the people we are here to support.

Paula brings her own lived experience and expertise in supporting organisations to listen to and amplify the user voice. Paula is a passionate advocate for highlighting the inequalities that affect vulnerable people in the criminal justice system. She is currently Head of Prisoner Involvement at Prison Reform Trust where she leads on integrating prisoner voice and experience into their work. She was previously Head of Involvement at Revolving Doors Agency 2015-2107, Head of Programmes at User Voice 2010-2015, and in both positions led programmes for service-user involvement in prison and probation, as well as forensic mental health services.