To demonstrate the importance and power of creative industries in a country’s economy the British Council Creative Economy team developed the Young Creative Entrepreneur (YCE) Awards programme.

Young Creative Entrepreneur (YCE) Awards programme aims to develop a powerful professional network between creative entrepreneurs in the world and to inspire and facilitate the sharing of best practices in building skills and access to resources, professional development, markets, mentoring and resources, thereby increasing opportunities for business between UK and the rest of the world.

The 'Soundpad' project was developed as a part of the British Council’s YCE awards scheme. It is a music project that seeks to champion and celebrate the importance of creative entrepreneurs in the 25 to 35 age category working in the varied and different aspects of the music industry in India and Sri Lanka. Soundpad originated in India in 2009 with the aim of offering a range of technical and creative approaches to music production as would be typically experienced in the UK. Since then it has developed significantly to offer opportunities to all music entrepreneurs including those involved in production, marketing and music event management fields.

As a result of the tireless efforts by the British Council in Sri Lanka, music entrepreneurs Anil Balasuriya (Rockapalooza Productions) and Santhush Weeraman (BNS Productions/Saregama Digital) have the opportunity of being part of the 'Soundpad' project, along with four music entrepreneurs from India which includes Nevil Timbadia (That Cat Entertainment), Nikhil Chinnapa (Submerge/MTV VJ), Sudeip V Nair (Monkey Designs and Kick Start Entertainment) and Arjun S Ravi (Indiecision/Journalist), received a rare networking opportunity with leaders in the music industry in the UK from 12 to 20 May 2010.

Anil Balasuriya

At the age 16, Anil realized that music would forever play an integral part of his life. In 1998, armed with four other individuals, he formed Independent Square and released a hundred copies of his debut EP. In 1999, they won country’s first ever battle of the bands competition titled On Stage organised by TNL Radio. Independent Square went on to release the country’s very first rock and roll album in the year 2000. He joined TNL after winning On stage in 1999 and 2004. Durning this period he got opportunities to promote Sri Lankan talent on air.

In June 2008, he decided to quit his job and formed his own company called Rockpalooza Productions. Through his company he organised gigs around Colombo, giving upcoming artists a platform to be heard. In addition organised individual gigs and themed events, staged festival of music titled Rockapalooza. Rockpalooza Productions will soon launch their very own record label this year, so that artists have fair representation and are given the opportunity of getting their music heard. They also intend to start their own music channel on cable TV. In addition, they are also negotiating with Yamaha Music Sri Lanka an opportunity to send Sri Lankan band to Japan for the Asia Beat Battle of the Bands gig.

Santhush Weeraman

A classically trained vocalist and keyboard player, Santhush is the emotional pulse behind the music of BNS. Behind his quiet exterior lies a reservoir of thought and emotion. There is one basic principle behind Santhush's performances - less is more. He has the remarkable ability to inject passion into a live appearance with the least effort. Santhush currently handles the Strategic expansion of the BNS group of companies. He is responsible for dealing with most of the corporate clientele involved with 'BNS', Saregama Films and Show Town productions.

He is involved in developing key strategies in getting clients to understand the synergy between their products and our brand 'BNS'. 'BNS' is not just two personalities in music, but a household brand in Sri Lanka. Every endorsement done by BNS is not merely a model contract but a strategic partnership with the brands where by both parties benefit on the long run. BNS currently endorses the most amount of brands as a single entity. The only other entertainment/sports entity on par with this are cricketers. Santhush is also instrumental in establishing the digital business model for BNS and Saregama Productions family. Saregama Digital has grown to become one of the top 3 companies in the digital content business in Sri Lanka over a very short time.