2016 Emerging Talent Competition announced

18th January 2016

We’re very pleased to announce our EMERGING TALENT COMPETITION 2016, which will give new UK and Ireland-based acts of any musical genre the chance to compete for a slot on one of the main stages at this year’s Festival.

The free-to-enter competition is supported by PRS for Music and the PRS for Music Foundation. The winners will also be awarded a £5,000 Talent Development prize from PRS for Music Foundation to help take their songwriting and performing to the next level. Two runners-up will also each be awarded a £2,500 PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development prize.

Acts from any musical genre could enter the 2016 competition FOR ONE WEEK ONLY from 9am Monday 18th January until 5pm Monday 25th January 2016. To enter, acts needed to supply a link to one original song on SoundCloud – which is free to join – plus a link to a video of themselves performing live (even if it’s only recorded in a bedroom).

Entries to the competition are now closed.

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.

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 8 artists by judges including Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis, before the live finals at Pilton Working Men’s Club in April decide the winning act. In both 2014 and 2015, all eight of the finalists were offered slots at that year’s Festival.

Says Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis: “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.”

Vanessa Reed Executive Director of PRS for Music Foundation says: “This is a brilliant opportunity for up-and-coming music creators from across the UK to get vital support at an early stage in their music careers, to develop their talent and also perform at the iconic Glastonbury festival. We’re looking forward to seeing which talented new artists apply.”