Glastonbury announce Emerging Talent Competition for 2016
Line-up rumours aside, Glastonbury Festival announced details of its Emerging Talent Competition 2016 today – an initiative which offers fresh music acts from UK and Ireland a window into performing on the main stages at one of Britain's biggest outdoor festivals.
The free-to-enter competition not only offers participants a chance to perform in the limelight, but also comes with a £5,000 Talent Development prize from PRS for Music Foundation, which aims to bump the lucky winner's songwriting and performing skills up to the next level. Two runners-up will also each be awarded a £2,500 PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development prize.
Have you got what it takes? If so, get set and listen up – as acts working within any musical genre can enter the 2016 competition for one week only from 9am Monday January 18th until 5pm Monday January 25th 2016 via glastonburyfestivals.co.uk to be in with a chance of reigning victorious. All it takes is a link to one original song on SoundCloud, plus a link to a video of themselves performing live (even if it’s only a iPhone clip shot in a bedroom).
Once the entries are in, a panel of 40 of the UK’s top music writers will help compile a longlist of 120 acts. The longlist will then be whittled down to a shortlist of eight artists by judges that will include Glastonbury honchos Michael and Emily Eavis. The live finals are set to take place in April at Pilton Working Men’s Club will then determine the final the winning act and runners up. In both 2014 and 2015, all eight of the finalists were offered slots at that year’s festival.
Recent Emerging Talent Competition entrants include hotly-tipped R&B singer Izzy Bizu (a 2016 BRITs Critics’ Choice and BBC Sound Of 2016 nominee) and fast-rising young rapper Isaiah Dreads. Last year’s winner was singer-songwriter Declan McKenna, who has since signed a management deal with Q Prime, who also manage Metallica, Muse, and Foals.
Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis commented: “New music has always been a huge part of what we do at Glastonbury, and the Emerging Talent Competition has become an incredible way for us to discover – and help draw attention to – the very latest talent.”
