THE BRIT Awards are set to fund a ‘golden ticket’ bursary at a Wye Valley-based record label.

Nimbus Records at Wyastone Leys near Monmouth, has been selected to take one of 10 golden ticket winners by one of the recording industry’s leading organisations.

A BRITs spokesman said: “Talented young people from England and Wales will now get the chance to kick start their careers in the music industry.

“Each apprentice will be taught all aspects of the record industry, receive practical ‘hands-on’ experience, develop relevant skills, make key contacts, earn a salary of £15,000 and receive specialist training in either business administration or digital marketing.”

The BRITs Apprentice Scheme will start in January and last 14 months to the end of February 2019. The successful candidates will also have an opportunity to experience working at The BRIT Awards.

The scheme was devised by UK record labels association the BPI, which owns and runs The BRIT Awards and which also developed its charitable arm,

Antony Smith, Nimbus Records’ business director, said: “We are delighted to partner the BRITS and BPI in this new apprentice scheme and feel it is a positive opportunity for Nimbus and for the successful candidate.

“We are involved in every aspect of the record industry. From producing, engineering and editing recordings through to design, PR, sales and marketing.

“We have our own studio, CD and DVD manufacturing, printing, music publishing and distribution in both physical and digital domains.

“This is a great opportunity for someone to learn everything about the music industry and a great opportunity for us to learn more about the music buying habits of the next generation.”

The company pioneered high quality LP production in the 1970s and was the first company in the world to manufacture CDs under license from format developers Sony and Philips.

In 1994, Nimbus became a technology partner with Toshiba and Time Warner for the development of DVD and worked closely with Kodak to commercialise CD-R.

Today, it is involved with recording, manufacturing and global distribution on CD, via download and streaming, of more than 3,000 albums of classical, world, jazz and nostalgia music for its own catalogue and ten other partner labels.

The deadline for applications for the BRITs Apprentice Scheme at www.brittrust.co.uk/apprenticeships is November 17, and applicants must be 18 or over.

For more information, see www.wyastone.co.uk