I've raised £10000 to Support Songwriters Age 50+ Across The World

Organised by Saskia Griffiths-Moore

Story

Talent Is Timeless exists to connect and inspire songwriters age 50+.

Too often people feel overlooked and unwelcome in the music industry because of their age.

Talent Is Timeless is here to change that and to give more mature songwriters 3 things:

1) The platform they need;

2) The confidence to take it; and

3) The respect they deserve!

There is no limit, ceiling or starting age for talent and creativity. Judy Collins

We began in the lockdown as an effort to uplift people with music and make a statement to the music industry, but quickly snowballed into a viral celebrity backed age-positive movement! We are not the only ones tired and frustrated with ageism.

The prizes for the main competition are set up to help our winner and runners up take real steps forward in the industry, and our winning prize is a record deal, production at Abbey Road Studios, play listing in Caffe Nero, and much, much more (see Talent Is Timeless Website).

"I am especially pleased to be involved in "Talent is Timeless” because I believe that age is no barrier to writing." Ralph McTell

And aside from the competition, every month we offer free and donation based songwriting workshops for the UK/EU and USA/Canadian timezones, Masterclasses with experts, low or no-stakes monthly competitions, and an open mic platform for people to share their music.

We also run a companion membership site for people who entered the competition and want to stay connected to this creative community.

Because we don't charge an entry fee, we are fundraising from donations to cover our costs for the winning prizes and the cost of running the whole competition.

This is extremely unusual in the songwriting competition world, but is what feels right to us.

"I’m proud to support and be part of this initiative because I believe talent doesn’t just reside in young writers, but also continues into older age and often becomes enriched due to ongoing life experience." Ian Matthews, Kasabian

It takes a lot of work behind the scenes to make this competition and community work, and we've taken a HUGE a leap of faith so no-one would have to feel a price barrier to entering.

I trust that those who can believe in our activities and message will show their support here, as they did last year! Roughly a third of people who entered the 2021 competition donated anything from £5 - £1000. We just about covered our costs, and everyone benefited from the excitement of the competition and the community that arose because of it.

If people who can afford it can help cover for those who can't, this movement and community can continue and help all the artists within, flourish.

We believe in creating real world opportunities for Talent Is Timeless entrants by organising showcases of artists over age 50, introducing labels, publishers and agents to the community, and connecting people with their local media where possible.

"Caffe Nero is proud to support ‘Talent is Timeless’. Creativity and talent has no age boundaries and everyone should be encouraged to be creative at all stages of their lives." Pablo Ettinger, Co-founder of Caffe Nero

I'm extremely proud of what we have been able to achieve as a community, not least of which being celebrity backing by Ralph McTell, Ian Matthews (Kasabian), Tony Moore (Iron Maiden) and businesses like Caffe Nero as well being able to take our winner to Abbey Road Studios to record the winning track.

But all this aside, do you know what matters to me most? You. The people in this community that openly and honestly share their stories and songs with one another.

Please show your support for our movement and our message and all the people in our community by donating now!

Talent Is Timeless members on the steps at Abbey Road Oct 2022 (from left to right: Graham Larkin, Chris Fryers, Louise French, Ervin Munir)

Juliet Lawson performing at the Talent Is Timeless Christmas showcase 2022 in London

Founder Saskia Griffiths-Moore with 2022 winners 'Radio Stranger' (Kelly Brightwell & Woody Moran) from Portland Oregon receiving their award on the steps at Abbey Road Studio 2022