Community Interest Company · England & Wales
Making creativity accessible
A free online creative community and practical, studio-based artist development — so nobody is held back by where they live, what they earn, or who they know.
- Free to join, always
- Open to ages 14+
- Safeguarding policy and DSL in place
- Asset-locked CIC
180+Members in the creative community
WeeklyLive sessions, workshops and feedback
1M+Streams across work by our creative team
14+Online community open to anyone aged 14+
Our mission
Connect people through creative community, peer-led learning and practical opportunity — so no one is held back by circumstance.
CBLV exists to make creativity more accessible, supportive and useful. Members build confidence, develop real skills, meet collaborators, and reach studio resources that would otherwise be out of reach.
We started as an inclusive online community on Discord. Our in-person artist development is currently centred on Gloucestershire, delivered through partner spaces and creative collaborators including La Vie Studio in Cheltenham.
Why it matters
Creativity as a route to connection and progression
We use creativity to help people connect with others, build confidence, develop practical skills and access opportunities that may otherwise feel out of reach. For some people that means making their first song or joining a supportive community. For others it means developing professional work, gaining experience or taking a step towards education or a creative career.
Our aim is not simply to produce creative work. It is to reduce barriers to participation and give people relationships, skills, experiences and tangible next steps they can carry forward.
What we do
Two strands, one belief: creative access changes lives
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01Online creative community
A free, inclusive digital space where members join live workshops, share work, get honest feedback and build confidence — whatever their background, location or ability to pay.
Think of the Discord as a creative campus: live sessions, galleries, forums, feedback channels and member-led activity.
Join the server → -
02Practical artist development
We give emerging artists access to professional creative opportunities that can be difficult to reach because of cost, location, transport, personal circumstances or a lack of industry connections. Through recording, songwriting, filming, mentoring and production support, participants build skills, confidence, networks and tangible work that can help them take their next steps.
Delivered through partner spaces and creative infrastructure, including studio access in Cheltenham. The output is real — releases, pitch material, BBC Introducing submissions and funding applications — and so is the experience behind it.
Apply for support →
Our goals
Nine commitments, each answering a real barrier
Increase creative access
Free or affordable opportunities in music, art, writing and digital media for anyone who wants to take part.
Reduce isolation
A safe, welcoming space where people connect, share, learn and feel part of something.
Develop creative confidence
Workshops, feedback, collaboration and mentoring that move people from "I can't" to "I made this".
Support emerging artists
Recording sessions, music video support, songwriting camps and filmed live sessions that build practical skills and real experience.
Remove financial barriers
Studio time, production support, filming and mentoring for people who could never buy them.
Create tangible outputs
Real work that exists afterwards: songs, recordings, videos, artwork, writing and digital media.
Build pathways and progression
Experience, contacts and work that open next steps — releases, funding, BBC Introducing, sync, live bookings, press, further education or a creative career.
Pay creatives fairly
Where funding allows, we pay artists, facilitators, producers and mentors for their work — not just their goodwill.
Build a scalable model
Online community, peer learning and studio access combined in a way that grows sustainably.
Impact
Active. Growing. Real.
CBLV grew from a grassroots online community, not a business plan. It keeps growing through the members themselves — live sessions, peer workshops and artist-led activity every week. Our creative team has supported music that has achieved BBC radio play, international radio support and over one million cumulative streams. We see those milestones as evidence of something bigger: people without industry connections gaining the skills, confidence, experience and relationships to keep progressing.
- Artists supported through CBLV have reached:
Crowdfunder
Back our next project: La Vie Studio Access Sessions
Emerging artists rarely get the chance to work in a professional music environment, and cost is usually what stands in the way. La Vie Studio Access Sessions opens that door, giving grassroots artists free access to professional-grade music opportunities: time in a working studio, guidance from experienced producers and engineers, collaborative songwriting, filmed live sessions and the chance to perform at showcases.
The focus is on the experience as much as the end result. Artists learn how a real session runs, build their skills and confidence, and leave with the know-how and connections to keep progressing. We tested the idea with a small self-funded pilot in 2025, and now we want to open it up to more artists. Every contribution goes straight into studio time, guidance and opportunities for the artists taking part.
- 4artists in the 2025 pilot
- 6songs produced
- 2songs with national airplay on BBC Radio 1Xtra
Get involved
Four ways in
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Join the community
Free, open to anyone 14 or over, and you can be as quiet or as involved as you like.
- Live workshops and feedback channels
- Collaborators for your next project
- No cost, no audition, no gatekeeping
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Apply for artist development
For emerging artists who need studio time, production, filming or mentoring to make the next thing real.
- Recording and production sessions
- Filmed live sessions and video
- Mentoring and release planning
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Fund or partner with us
Every pound buys studio hours, facilitator time and equipment for people who cannot buy them. We report honestly on what it produced.
- Grant funders and trusts
- Brand and industry partners
- In-kind space, gear and expertise
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Volunteer or facilitate
Run a workshop, mentor a member, or help behind the scenes. Facilitators working with our members are DBS-checked and briefed on our policies.
- Workshop leaders and mentors
- Engineers, editors and photographers
- Admin, funding and comms help
Raise money for CBLV while you shop, at no cost to you
Sign up to easyfundraising and choose CBLV Community CIC as your cause. Link your bank card in the easyfundraising app, and when you pay with it (or Apple/Google Pay) at participating shops, including Tesco, the retailer donates a small percentage of your spend to us. It also works when you shop online with thousands of brands through the app. You pay nothing extra.
Governance
Run properly, so you can trust us with people
We are a community interest company with an asset lock: our assets and profits are committed to community benefit, and that is enforceable.
- Safeguarding
A full safeguarding policy and code of conduct, written by activity type — online, studio, workshops, photography and travel — so it applies whatever we are running. Designated Safeguarding Lead: Seb Sanders. Alternative contact: Kiera Thaper. Board-level oversight: Patrick Hunt.
- Who takes part
Our own activity is for people aged 14 and over. Facilitators working directly with members are DBS-checked, and sessions are never one adult alone with one member.
- Independent and accountable
CBLV is an independent community interest company. We work with partner spaces, including La Vie Studio, on clear, arm's-length terms so that funding goes into creative opportunities for participants.
- Reporting
We publish an annual CIC report on our activity and who benefited, and report to funders against agreed outcomes.
Questions
Before you join, ask us anything
Does it cost anything to join?
No. The online community is free and always will be. Studio-based opportunities are funded or subsidised, so members are not asked to pay for them.
Who can take part?
Our online community is open to anyone aged 14 or over who wants to make something. You do not need experience, equipment or a portfolio.
Funded programmes and practical opportunities may have their own eligibility criteria, with places often prioritised for people facing financial, geographic, social or other barriers to creative participation, and for groups underrepresented in the creative industries.
Our in-person work is currently centred on Gloucestershire, while some programmes accept applications from elsewhere in England where funding allows.
What actually happens in the community?
Live workshops and listening sessions, feedback channels where members critique each other's work, galleries for finished pieces, and collaboration threads for finding people to work with.
How do you keep people safe?
We have a safeguarding policy and code of conduct, a named Designated Safeguarding Lead and an alternative contact, moderated channels, DBS-checked facilitators for in-person work, and a direct route to report a concern at hello@cblvcic.xyz.
How is CBLV funded?
Through grants, partnerships and donations. As a community interest company we have an asset lock, so funds and assets stay committed to community benefit rather than private profit.
How do I get a studio session?
Tell us about your project through the form below. We look at where you are, what the session would unlock, and whether we have funded capacity at the time.
Can my organisation partner with you?
Yes — venues, studios, schools, labels, brands and other community organisations. Get in touch and we'll talk it through.
Contact
Work with us. Join us. Support us.
Whether you want to collaborate, apply for artist development, volunteer, fund our work, or just ask what we're about — we read everything and reply within a few days.
- General enquirieshello@cblvcic.xyz
- Safeguarding concernshello@cblvcic.xyz
Put "Safeguarding" in the subject and it goes to our Designated Safeguarding Lead. - Just want to look around?Join the Discord and read before you post.
- Where we areOnline across the UK, with in-person work centred on Gloucestershire.
Thanks, there.
We've got your message and will reply within a few days. If you'd rather not wait, the Discord is open now.