The Sound Initiative is Cambodia’s only educational artist development and leadership programme for young Cambodians, focused on youth aged between 18-30. A young social enterprise established formally in 2018, their mission is to revive Cambodian music through supporting young Cambodian artists and musicians to develop original music and content, while growing their careers. They offer a youth focused vocational programme that provides music training, mentoring and access to resources to learn and create original music. They have worked with 17 young musicians in their inaugural programme, and in 2019 have developed a scholarship based Music Academy programme where they support and offer 1:1 coaching to 12 participants.

The education system in Cambodia does not have arts curriculum in schools, so aspiring artists learn musing on YouTube or using unstructured resources. TSI responds to this gap by building and providing a structured training programme, developing their technical and creative skills, while encouraging original content. The participants benefit from this training free of charge. Their programme and activities include:

- Delivering vocational training programmes for singer-songwriters and music producers.

- Running intensive short-term technical and career coaching by visiting international mentors;

- Developing a music studio in which to record, produce, rehearse, and teach musical performance;

- Showcasing emerging talent at concerts, providing valuable exposure and experience;

- Industry analysis, and production of guidelines, frameworks, or other resources for industry professionals and policymakers.

For more information, please visit their website.