Musicians Making a Difference (MMAD), in partnership with creative studio Supermassive and Youth Justice NSW, have created a radio station for young people in juvenile detention.
‘Futures’ is an audio-based rehabilitative program presented as a hip hop radio station designed for young people in detention centres, aiming to reduce reoffending through music.
This station is accessible via in-room audio, classrooms, and common areas, and is designed to support rehabilitation through music, mentorship, and storytelling.
MMAD Co-Founder Dominic Brook
Playlist selection
The program will focus on Gen Z favourites.
Shows include Friday Freestyle, which plays beats for detainees to write lyrics as a stealth form of journaling, and Cons and Pros, a talk format where former inmates share lessons, regrets, and paths to redemption.
This musical rehab is strategically made to uplift and engage, and MMAD Co-Founder Dominic Brook, who has experience working with young detainees, calls it a tool for “transformation.”
“Music has the power to transform lives for the better,” Brook said. He added that the impact of Futures is already showing up in real lives.
“Through ‘Futures’, the transformation has been powerful,” he explains, recalling a psychologist’s story about “a boy who struggled with reading, writing, and speaking” but has made “huge progress through being part of the ‘Futures’ crew.”
Another young participant took it even further.
“One young man even made it into the top 20 for the MMAD Sony Star program after reaching out to us on his very first day of release.”
For Brook, those moments underline the bigger ambition: “We see this program as not only building skills but also opening up opportunities to create meaningful content around mental health and other important conversations for all young people.”
On the other side of the collaboration, Youth Justice staff have described ‘Futures’ as one of the most effective initiatives.
After a 12-month pilot in Cobham Youth Justice Centre, the future plan is to expand the program to other youth detention centres across the country, and ultimately to be operated by former detainees who have graduated from the program.
“‘Futures’ is a remarkable initiative designed to help young people in custody find their voice, develop new skills, and build self-esteem,” says Jihad Dib, Minister for Youth Justice.
“Through programs such as ‘Futures’, we can help young people find their voice and empower them to make real and lasting transformation in their lives. It is only by working with young people to find new pathways to the future that we can truly reduce the chances of them reoffending,” Dib added.
Supermassive Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer Jon Austin said that while developing the station came with challenges, sticking to the basics helped overcome them, particularly when it comes to the “principles of engagement.”
“Youth rehabilitation is notoriously challenging, but the same principles of engagement still apply. People are more likely to pay attention when the message takes the shape of the things they love and plays in the spaces they respect.
“Futures was built on this premise, and it’s proving effective already. We set out with the hope of getting young people in detention centres listening to an average of one hour a week. The latest reports show they’re listening to an average of 14 hours a week,” he said.