In this Featured Alumni instalment we catch up with singer, producer, Youtuber, and Music Production graduate, Arthur Walwin!
Guest interview by an ACM Music Business student.
Since graduating from ACM’s Music Production course, Arthur has been lucky enough to play at the o2, and, with over 10,000 subscribers, has a growing YouTube audience to boot.
We caught up with Arthur to find out what exactly made him choose ACM and what he’s been getting up to since leaving.
Hey Arthur! For those that may not know who you are, can you tell us a bit about your background?
I’m a singer, producer and YouTuber, currently based in London. I started playing guitar when I was 12, which led to me playing in a bunch of pop punk/metal bands before I started working on my own project, WALWIN, and making YouTube videos.
Why did you choose to study at ACM in particular?
It was actually my Performing Arts teacher in high school. He knew I was super in to music and suggested I have a look at it. I completely forgot about it until the end of college, when it came time to think about a degree course. I checked out the Open Day and absolutely loved it. I’d never seen a school that was entirely dedicated to music.
What sort of stuff did you get up to during your time at ACM?
On paper, I was doing a Music Production degree course – but in reality, I spent a lot of my time using what I’d learnt in lectures and trying them out in sessions with small bands at my home studio. I learnt a ton of stuff from John Gallen‘s classes that I still use to this day!
What have you been up to since leaving ACM?
I spent the first few years after leaving working with pop punk/rock/metal bands on some small indie labels. Around 2013, I started working with Emma Blackery on her first record, Distance, and we reached Number 1 on the iTunes charts in the first day. That led me on to working with other YouTubers, like Cherry Wallis, and one of my favourite singers, Charlie Simpson.
You’re a vlogger as well as a musician & producer; what made you get in to the vlogging side of YouTube?
As producers, we spend a lot of time talking to ourselves anyway. I’m a super talkative person, so it only seemed natural to start vlogging. I also figured it’d be great to have all these cool memories to look back on. Every big tour I’ve done is now documented in 1080p.
Wow! So what have been some of your career highlights?
A lot of my highlights came within the space of a few months. 2016 was pretty phenomenal! In spring, I was playing guitar for Emma Blackery on Busted’s UK arena tour, (I finally lived out my dream of playing at The O2), and then literally a few weeks later, I was on my headline US tour.
What are some of the most important things that you took away from being at ACM?
Basically anything I learnt from John Gallen. Above all, he showed me how much of a horrible frequency 300hz is and when to get rid of it on a track.
What would you say to future students hoping to find success within the industry?
Know exactly what you want/what you want to get out of it. A lot of people go into music because they want a ton of cash – and then they get bummed out when they don’t make any. I’d definitely make more money as a radio plugger or working for a label, but I’m having way more fun being an artist and producing/mixing other people’s records. Figure out what you love doing and then figure out if you’re happy potentially not making as much as you could doing something else.
Keep up to date with Arthur here: YouTube / Twitter / Instagram / iTunes.
If you’d like to be a student at ACM to kickstart your career in the music industry like Arthur Walwin, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days/ to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.
