2019 Emerging Talent Competition announced

4th February 2019

UPDATE: Entries are now closed. Many thanks to the thousands of you who put your act forward. Let the listening begin!

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We’re very pleased to announce our EMERGING TALENT COMPETITION 2019, which is supported by PRS for Music and PRS Foundation. The competition gives 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 winners of the free-to-enter competition will also be awarded a £5,000 Talent Development prize from PRS Foundation to help take their songwriting and performing to the next level. Two runners-up will also each be awarded a £2,500 PRS Foundation Talent Development prize.

Acts from any musical genre could enter the 2019 competition FOR ONE WEEK ONLY from 9am Monday 28th January until 5pm Monday 4th February 2019.

To enter, acts needed to supply a link to one original song on SoundCloud (NB: the link must be accessible for judges to listen), plus a link to a video of themselves performing live, even if it was only recorded in a bedroom.

Once the entries are in, a panel of 30 of the UK’s best music writers will help compile a longlist of 90 acts. The longlist will then be narrowed down to a shortlist of eight artists by judges including Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis, before the live finals in Pilton in April decide the winning act. For the past four competitions, all eight of the finalists were offered slots at that year’s Festival.

Recent Emerging Talent Competition finalists include Nigerian-born rapper Flohio, who features on the BBC’s Sound of 2019 list; R&B singer Izzy Bizu (a 2016 BRITs Critics’ Choice nominee and winner of the 2016 BBC Music Introducing Award); and singer-songwriter Declan McKenna, who won ETC 2015 and subsequently signed with Columbia and released a successful debut album. The 2017 ETC winner was soulful singer Josh Barry, who has since toured with Rag’n’Bone Man and Gorgon City and is due to release his debut album this year. Meanwhile, 2016 winners She Drew The Gun have received considerable acclaim for their politically-inspired psych-pop, with their latest album Revolution Of The Mind named among BBC 6 Music’s Top 10 albums of 2018.

Says Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis:
“After our year off, we can’t wait to hear the latest crop of undiscovered music that’s out there. New music is hugely important to what this Festival is about, and the Emerging Talent Competition has helped us to unearth so many incredible artists from across the genres. Bring on the entries!”

Amy Field, Events Manager, PRS for Music comments:
“Performing at Glastonbury Festival is a dream for many new artists, so I’m delighted for PRS for Music to be partnering with Glastonbury Festival once again on the Emerging Talent Competition, an amazing initiative that can make just that happen. I can’t wait to hear the music that comes out of this year’s edition.”

Vanessa Reed, CEO of PRS Foundation says:
“The Emerging Talent Competition is an incredibly exciting opportunity for talented up and coming artists to receive vital support to develop their careers and perform at the legendary Glastonbury Festival. It has been fantastic to the see the progress of all the winners and runners-up through the years – whether signing major recording deals, touring nationally and international or securing syncs on major national TV advertising campaigns. Can’t wait to see which talented artists apply this year.”