Scottish songwriter turns grief into a giving project that sends half of his music profits back to communities.

Aberdeen, Scotland, November 2025

David Sheret

In a world that sometimes feels rushed and fragile, a Scottish songwriter and entrepreneur has chosen to use his time differently. Finn Moray, the creative song writing persona of David Sheret, is launching his debut album, AON, a two-part project that sends fifty per cent of all net profits from his music and related work to the regions they come from.

AON came out of a very hard six weeks in spring 2025 for David. He lost his dad, respected Scottish horseman Willie Sheret MBE, a close friend and the family’s wee dog. That loss forced a simple choice about how he spent his time and what his life was actually for.

The project begins with a free-to-download song, The Tree on the Sun. It began life as a poem David wrote more than ten years ago, which he later read at the funeral of his father in May this year. Turning that poem into a song was his way of honouring his dad and others he had lost, and it made him realise that his writing could do more than tell his own story. The Tree on the Sun became the starting point for a wider body of work that honours people and places across Scotland and looks to give something back to the communities behind them.

“Losing my dad, my friend Paul, and my dog Jax so close together changed everything,” says David. “Life is short, and it made me reflect and think I can do more with what I have. My dad lived happy and present. He loved people, he loved his work, and he loved giving back. AON is my way of trying to live more like that and to turn my writing and songs into something that genuinely helps other people.”

Finn Moray

AON: The Call and The Gathering

AON is a body of work in two parts. AON: THE CALL is part one. It is Finn’s interpretation of the songs he heard in his head. He wrote them, shaped and arranged the chords, structured the sequencing and then used digital audio workstations and AI tools to help organise, refine and support the creative process. These tools allowed him to build the foundation of the sound he imagined. The final sonic identity was shaped with the expertise of Argentinian Latin Grammy Award-winning producer Mariano Beyoglonian, who helped Finn mix and master the songs into the form he always intended.

AON: THE GATHERING is part two. It is the echo that follows AON: THE CALL. It is what happens when other artists bring their own experience to these songs, see what Finn saw in their own way and reinterpret and enhance the work. After the launch of AON THE CALL, Finn will be running a competition in every region to find undiscovered talent who can take on the song for their area, reinterpret it in their own style and use THE GATHERING as a platform to shine, further baking the work into each region and community.

For the income that comes from the core catalogue, including AON: THE CALL, the Social Compact is simple. After costs, fifty per cent of net profit is committed to good causes in the regions connected to Finn Moray. These causes will be chosen and kept under review by a small external advisory committee with representation from across Scotland, set up to guide all Finn Moray community profits so that funds are directed where they can make the greatest difference. The other fifty per cent is retained to keep Finn, his collaborators and the project sustainable.

When AON: THE GATHERING begins, communities continue to receive fifty per cent of net profits. Finn voluntarily reduces his own share to twenty-five per cent and assigns the other twenty-five per cent to the artists who perform on AON: THE GATHERING. This artist pot is shared equally among the singers selected to record the songs so that each participant receives a clear and fair percentage that reflects the number of artists involved. It is what Finn Moray stands for at heart.

“This is about fairness,” he explains. “AON: THE CALL, is my interpretation. AON: THE GATHERING is other people’s craft meeting mine. If someone takes a song I wrote, pours their own story into it and carries it to their own audience, they should feel the project respects that. Dropping my share for AON: THE GATHERING is a practical way of saying that.”

Institutions that already give back

The money that flows from AON is not tied to a single type of project. Guided by the advisory committee, Finn and his team will support organisations in each region that already give back and clearly need help. These may be cultural groups, community hubs, health and wellbeing projects or small charities that hold space for people who might otherwise fall through the gaps. The focus is on backing real people with real intentions and giving them the means and platform to do more good.

Each year an independently verified report will set out which organisations have received support, how much they have received and why they were chosen. The intention is to build steady, long-term backing rather than a one-off fundraising moment.

Finn Moray - AON

From Scotland to the world, a thought, not a slogan

Although AON is rooted in Scottish towns, villages and city streets, the vision is not a narrow national exercise. The project begins in Scotland because that is where Finn is from, but the deeper ambition is to start a way of working that can travel. Any artist or community, anywhere in the world, could look at the model and ask a simple question. Why not share success with our own communities in this way? Why not build a network of collaborators who do this together?

This international thinking is already part of the work. The sound of The Tree on the Sun and the wider project has been shaped in Argentina by Latin Grammy Award-winning producer and mixing engineer Mariano Beyoglonian. The online presence has been developed in Pakistan with long-term collaborator Shoaib Hussain and his team at Webhil. Polish and American partners have also contributed to different parts of the project. In that sense AON is already a small network, built between Scotland, Argentina, Pakistan, Poland, the US and beyond by people who share values rather than a postcode and who are committed to sending part of any success back into local communities.

“At its core, this whole project is about people, communication and trust,” says Finn. “We have built it between Scotland and the world with people I admire and respect. None of us are in the same room, but we share the same values and the same instinct to give something back where we live. That is the point. The hope is that more artists and communities will join in and build their own versions of this idea. We are for good people doing good things together, wherever they are in the world.”

AI that helps rather than frightens

The same thinking carries into how the project uses AI. In a global debate that is often led by fear, Finn is focused on simple and practical usefulness. AI tools are used to clean audio, build instrumental and vocal stems, test arrangements and gather themes. They are not used to write lyrics, melodies or emotional content.

One of the biggest gains is the ability to shape AI voices until they sound as close as possible to how Finn hears the songs in his head. He can explore different tones, phrasing and harmonies in a way that would have been impossible in the past, at least on an independent budget, and arrive at a version that truly reflects his creative intent.

“We use AI to enhance what people are already doing, not to replace them,” he says. “It lets me get much closer to the exact vocal sound I imagine for each song. That becomes a clear guide track, not a shortcut. It means we can handle more stories, and show people clearly how the song should sound. It makes the human work easier, better and more authentic. It will also help every artist involved in AON: THE GATHERING understand exactly what we feel and gives them an incredible platform to jump off.”

A gentle challenge to Holyrood, Westminster and to all of us

AON arrives in a country where Holyrood is wrestling with the reality of population change, public services and limited funds, and massive challenges both economically and culturally. These pressures are real, but Finn believes ordinary people have power long before any government acts.

For example, Scotland has just over five and a half million people, and around two-thirds are of working age. If every Scottish adult between eighteen and sixty-five found a way to raise one thousand pounds a year for good causes, the total would be around three and a half billion pounds. It is theoretical, but it shows what is possible when individuals choose small, consistent action.

“AON might never handle numbers like that,” he says. “That is not the point. The point is that we are not powerless. My contribution happens to be songs, a social compact and a structure that sends half of what we earn from this work to good causes. Someone else’s contribution will look completely different. What matters is choosing to do something and sticking with it.”

Living positively in a short life

The tone of the project is hopeful. AON is built from grief, but it is not a sad monument. It is an attempt to live in a way that reflects the qualities David admired in his father.

“Finn Moray is my creative pseudonym,” he says. “It is the part of me that writes songs and feels things deeply. AON is me choosing to let that part into the light in a positive way. As I said earlier, my dad was a real lover of life and saw the positives in almost everything. He worked hard. He gave people his time, his knowledge. I want my creative life to feel like that. If I can do that and send real money to good people who are already giving back, then that feels like time well spent.”

For listeners the invitation is simple. On AON, Finn Moray has written a song for Bridge of Don, Inverness, Aberchirder (Foggie), Ayr, Dunfermline, St Andrews, Cumbernauld, Anderston, Lerwick, Darvel, Yetholm, Dunbeath, Aberdeen, Bridgeton and Holyrood. These are all places that hold meaning for David and his father and family. Finn asks listeners to let him know which track makes them feel good and that they share that with someone else whilst getting in touch to nominate institutions that quietly give back and need support. Then, when AON: THE GATHERING begins, help find and support the artists in those regions who wish to step forward to audition for the chance to reinterpret the songs on AON.

“None of this belongs to me alone,” says Finn. “I am the person who started it. The rest is up to anyone who chooses to take part.”

Call to action

Listeners can find The Tree on the Sun and AON: THE CALL songs from AON on the Finn Moray website, which also carries the Social Compact information in full.

Artists in Scotland who want to be considered for AON: THE GATHERING can sign up on the website.

Regional Scottish good causes that already give back and need support are invited to introduce themselves through becoming a FINNATIC on the website. The project focuses on groups that hold space for people, support culture and wellbeing or provide connection or support where it is lacking. Listen to AON: THE CALL excerpt here.

Notes to editors

About Finn Moray

Finn Moray is the creative song writing persona of Scottish artist and entrepreneur David Sheret. Outside his music work, David runs Sheret Energy Offshore, a consultancy focused on strategic decision-making and AI-supported analysis in the offshore energy sector.

About AON: Heart Is Where The Home Is

AON is a two-part musical and social project. AON: THE CALL is a collection of original songs written from Finn’s own experience and shaped using DAWs, supportive AI tools and collaboration with Argentinian Latin Grammy Award-winning producer Mariano Beyoglonian. AON: THE GATHERING will curate reinterpretations of those songs by artists across the regions and through open competitions to find undiscovered talent.

About the Finn Moray Social Compact

The Finn Moray Social Compact allocates fifty per cent of net profit from the core catalogue to institutions that already give back. For reinterpretations under AON: THE GATHERING, net profit is shared fifty per cent to the region, twenty-five per cent to the covering artist’s pool and twenty-five per cent to Finn.

Media contact: Finn Moray (David Sheret)

Role: Artist

Email: finn@finnmoray.com

Phone: +447718312121

Website: www.finnmoray.com

Photography of David Sheret: Rory Raitt