At this year's Women In Music Awards, we celebrated the achievements of game-changing executives and artists as the industry came together to honour their work. Music Week has spoken to the winners in all 14 categories to tell their stories. Here, Cre8ing Vision duo Andrea Euell and Nicola Charles Ossai, winners of our Campaigner Award, reflect on the organisation's vital role in the UK business…
Andrea Euell and Nicola Charles Ossai have been named winners of the Campaigner Award at this year’s Women In Music Awards – marking the first recognition they’ve received since establishing Cre8ing Vision.
“Our first ever!” exclaims Ossai. “But everything has its right time. We’ve got loads to shout about.”
Underlining her point, the pair are currently in the throes of planning a studio session initiative to help emerging talent from Manchester and London to produce an EP.
Alongside co-founder Kwame Kwaten, Euell and Ossai set out to tackle a problem they knew well: how do you get young people into an industry where knowing the right people can be as important as having the right ambitions? The trio had those connections in abundance, built through years of combined experience across the music business – so they called on their network.
What began with the Urban Music Seminar – later evolving into the Ultimate Music Seminar – brought aspiring creatives into the room with industry leaders and artists including Stormzy, Mahalia, Kano and Labrinth. From there, it expanded into the umbrella organisation Cre8ing Vision, offering free events and programmes spanning A&R focus groups, recruitment opportunities, live showcases, writing camps and mentoring. The tangible speak for themselves: Melanie Ijeh went on to work in A&R and artist management at 0207 Def Jam while founding artist management company Sense AM; David O’Sullivan is now head A&R manager at NQ; and Akara Etteh worked as an A&R scout at Believe, Atlantic, Warner, Capitol and RCA before becoming a marketing intern at AWAL. These are clear examples of the pathways into the business that Cre8ing Vision has helped build.
None of it happens in isolation. Behind that work is a network of industry partners whose support allows Cre8ing Vision to keep its programmes free and accessible.
For Euell and Ossai, the impact and personal reward are visible not only in the continued growth of its alumni, but also in its ability to break down barriers to entry. As Euell puts it, “We can see the benefits of the work that we do because you can see that growth – the alumni growth, people still coming through, continuing to break down those barriers of entry, and accessing talent that is just not London-centric.”
And after decades of doing the work, the Women In Music Campaigner Award gives Euell and Ossai another reason to look back – and plenty to look forward to...
What does it mean to win the Campaigner Award at WIM 2026?
Nicola Charles Ossai: “We've never been ones for glory; we've always just had a passion for what we do. So to be quite honest, when we first got told, I actually started crying because it means an awful lot. To be recognised at Women In Music is a really great accolade for what we've achieved as a team. We work really hard behind the scenes, and it's just emotional to know that someone thinks [we’ve] made a massive difference. Winning one of the biggest awards at the Women In Music Awards is just so amazing to me.”
Andrea Euell: “There are so many talented women out there doing great work in the industry, and so to be recognised together is a huge honour for both of us. I think we've always had this thing where we would never accept an award individually – that's always been our thing because we're a team, and we're equals.”
Going back to the beginning, what was the principal motivation to set up Cre8ing Vision?
NCO: “Some of it is our passion for music and our passion to help young adults achieve their goals. One of the biggest things that always comes up is that a lot of people just don't have access to the knowledge or the people, or they simply don't know that this information is out there. So the biggest thing is awareness. We want people to be safeguarded and knowledgeable in what they're achieving. We also want to help them be aware of certain pitfalls and how to overcome them, while staying open to all the great things they can achieve and be a part of within the creative industry.”
AE: “For us, it was really important to create something that could sit between emerging talent – whether you’re an exec, writer, or artist -– and the music business, to help funnel people into the industry. So reinvesting in the community and the next generation, being in a position where we have good connections and joining those two sides together. Jo Charrington said something in last year's Ultimate Seminar: this is the only place where you can get such a high number of high-calibre industry people with the next generation under one roof.’ I think that sums it up across the board in everything we do. Seeing that gap and knowing we had the potential to fill it drove our passion.”
A lot of people just don't have access to the knowledge or the people, or they simply don't know that this information is out there
Nicola Charles Ossai
You’ve worked with some huge industry names, and so many people who've come through your work have gone on to become stars themselves. Did you ever think it would become this powerful a platform?
NCO: “For us, it's not really been about becoming powerful. It's always been about, 'Are we meeting the needs of what's out there?' Over the years, it has naturally grown to be what it is, which has been a real bonus on top of what we're trying to achieve.”
AE: “You don't go in with an ego to build something that's going to produce all these stars. You come in with the passion and determination to create this safe space that people can access. My biggest honour is that a young person can say, ‘Because of you guys, I'm in the business now.’ It's not always about the glitz and the glam. Sometimes it's about the executive who got their first job. Those are really honourable moments for us. We've developed organically because we work so closely with communities of young people. We speak to young people on a daily basis, so by listening to what they want, we're able to develop and grow.”
NCO: “One thing I don’t think people realise is that we all have day jobs. This is not our full-time work, so when we're putting these things on, they're outside working hours, they're late nights, they're weekends. We always look to get people experience in roles like PR, stage management, videography, whatever it is. We always try to give them that exposure and access. We even have an A&R scouting team whose members have now gone on to be employed by major record labels. What I'm trying to say is that the reward we get isn't financial. It really comes down to passion because, I'll be honest with you, if I relied on Cre8ing Vision alone, I wouldn’t be able to pay my mortgage. It's that simple. We do it purely out of passion because everything we get, we put right back into the business.”
What’s your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
AE: “Our challenges come as a not-for-profit. You're in that space where every year you wipe the slate clean and start your finances again, yet you've built these very solid initiatives that you have to fund every year.”
NCO: “There have been years when we've had to fund them ourselves.”
AE: “And that's not taking away [from] the amazing sponsorships that we have in place. But everyone's financials change year in, year out, so it impacts a not-for-profit. That's our biggest challenge, but we make it work one way or the other. Some of our initiatives don't have any financial backing, but we run them day-to-day ourselves.”
Can you let us into the relationship between the two of you? Why does it work, and do you ever disagree?
NCO: “I'm going to say this, and it’s the honest truth about Andrea’s and my relationship: I met her over 20 years ago and we went from not knowing each other to working together, spending Christmas Eve together, and having dinners together. Our partners know each other. We go out together. Birthdays. Weddings. The whole shebang. So we do see each other as family. Andrea and I talk about much more than just about business. Sometimes we just pick up the phone and go, ‘How are you doing? Let's have a chat.’ We've both been through very hard life experiences and helped each other to get through those hard times outside of Cre8ing Vision, and that's very important.”
AE: “Women should stick together. We understand each other and we're emotionally connected. I think it's really powerful when you can work in a company where two women are totally aligned. We're aiming for the same thing, so there is no power struggle. We are like sisters. When you can get two women working together, why should we be pitted against one another? I think sometimes society wants you to be that way, but it's not that way for us. We've built this very firm, solid working relationship – but most importantly, friendship."
Women should stick together. We understand each other and we're emotionally connected. I think it's really powerful when you can work in a company where two women are totally aligned.
Andrea Euell
How satisfied are you with what you see in terms of representation and the opening up of the workforce to people from all backgrounds in the industry?
NCO: “It's going in the right direction, but I think there's still work to be done. I worked at UBS, a global investment bank, and something I was a part of there was taking people with no qualifications from the job centre and giving them an 18-month exposure within the bank. Anyone who showed certain potential was hired. I think that's a great initiative, and maybe something that [could] be introduced in the music world – investing in people who might not have the education or the right access routes. It takes a lot to do something like that, but it unearths real opportunity. There are some hidden gems out there, but I do think people are trying.”
AE: “We want to see a fairer, more inclusive space, especially for women. These days, you hear stories from young people who may be afraid to be in the studios in the evenings. There needs to be more protection for women within the industry at that level, but also a more inclusive space, breaking down those barriers, and allowing more grassroots talent into the business, even if it's at entry level.”
What's your message to the wider music industry?
AE: “Just that there is a lot of talent coming through at grassroots level. Don't overlook the talent – it's hugely important to the next generation of the music business, and our alumni prove it. Without taking away from the gratitude we have for the support so far, we just ask that people continue supporting us and the work that we do.”
NCO: “As an organisation, we exist because you believed in us. All the rewards and thanks, you should share in those too. We want to keep doing what we're doing, and we are truly grateful for all your support, but we need that continued backing to allow us to do what we're doing.”
So, ultimately, what do you want the legacy of Cre8ing Vision to be?
NCO: “That we made a difference, we made an impact, and we were diverse. Everything that a company aspires to be and says it wants to be, we want to be known for that. That’s why this award is so important – it represents everything we’ve been fighting to achieve and shows people what we're really about.”
PHOTOS: Louise Haywood-Schiefer/Panni Renner
