The Department for International Trade (DIT) has awarded funding to 19 British music acts as part of the Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS).
The Scheme, which was launched in February 2014, aims to boost the reach of UK artists, develop international fanbases and increase music sales for the UK music industry on an international level.
Artists receiving funding include Fickle Friends, Nothing But Thieves, Pale Waves, Tunng, Sharna Brass, Anna Calvi and Lucy Spraggan.
Almost £320,000 has been distributed between the artists in this latest round of MEGS funding.
Since launching, the scheme has distributed well over £3m in support of 201 different music export projects around the world.
Recent recipients include Editors, Nina Nesbitt, Shame, The Wombats, Public Service Broadcasting, Ghostpoet and Jane Weaver.
The Music Export Growth Scheme was first founded to support small-to-medium sized companies by providing funding for artist’s marketing campaigns and overseas touring to help UK artists hit their potential on an international stage.
Chris Tams, BPI director of international overseeing the MEGS programme, said: ‘The Music Export Growth Scheme has given a diverse range of British talent the chance to develop their international fanbases through touring and marketing support.
‘This also promotes the profile of British music abroad and to date has boosted our exports with an 11 to 1 return on investment for each pound put in by the UK Government. We’ve seen a broad range of artists and musical styles promoted, but we’d love to see more applications put forward to support female acts in particular as well as more specialist genres such as classical.’
Brighton-based indie pop act Fickle Friends commented: ‘Playing America has always been a big part of our mission as a band. Not only have a large percentage of our fanbase and listeners been from there from the beginning, America always been a country that we have felt an affinity to, and been desperate to play in.
‘In the UK we had the luxury of building from the ground up, tour managing ourselves, driving in our drummer’s mum’s Ford Galaxy and sleeping on floors. Unfortunately, that grassroots approach isn’t quite as simple in the US so we are very grateful for being given MEGS funding so that we can continue to build a viable career the US and translate some of that DIY approach.’
The full list of artists to receive funding this year are:
Ady Suleiman
Alpines
Anna Calvi
Catching Flies
Emma McGann
Fickle Friends
Leon Vynehall
Life
Lucy Spraggan
Moose Blood
Nothing But Thieves
Pale Waves
Rina Sawayama
Roo Panes
Sharna Bass
Stone Broken
The Allergies
The Boxer Rebellion
Tunng
Applications for the next round of funding opened on August 6th and will close on September 3rd. Find out more and apply here.
The Scheme, which was launched in February 2014, aims to boost the reach of UK artists, develop international fanbases and increase music sales for the UK music industry on an international level.
Artists receiving funding include Fickle Friends, Nothing But Thieves, Pale Waves, Tunng, Sharna Brass, Anna Calvi and Lucy Spraggan.
Almost £320,000 has been distributed between the artists in this latest round of MEGS funding.
Since launching, the scheme has distributed well over £3m in support of 201 different music export projects around the world.
Recent recipients include Editors, Nina Nesbitt, Shame, The Wombats, Public Service Broadcasting, Ghostpoet and Jane Weaver.
The Music Export Growth Scheme was first founded to support small-to-medium sized companies by providing funding for artist’s marketing campaigns and overseas touring to help UK artists hit their potential on an international stage.
Chris Tams, BPI director of international overseeing the MEGS programme, said: ‘The Music Export Growth Scheme has given a diverse range of British talent the chance to develop their international fanbases through touring and marketing support.
‘This also promotes the profile of British music abroad and to date has boosted our exports with an 11 to 1 return on investment for each pound put in by the UK Government. We’ve seen a broad range of artists and musical styles promoted, but we’d love to see more applications put forward to support female acts in particular as well as more specialist genres such as classical.’
Brighton-based indie pop act Fickle Friends commented: ‘Playing America has always been a big part of our mission as a band. Not only have a large percentage of our fanbase and listeners been from there from the beginning, America always been a country that we have felt an affinity to, and been desperate to play in.
‘In the UK we had the luxury of building from the ground up, tour managing ourselves, driving in our drummer’s mum’s Ford Galaxy and sleeping on floors. Unfortunately, that grassroots approach isn’t quite as simple in the US so we are very grateful for being given MEGS funding so that we can continue to build a viable career the US and translate some of that DIY approach.’
The full list of artists to receive funding this year are:
Ady Suleiman
Alpines
Anna Calvi
Catching Flies
Emma McGann
Fickle Friends
Leon Vynehall
Life
Lucy Spraggan
Moose Blood
Nothing But Thieves
Pale Waves
Rina Sawayama
Roo Panes
Sharna Bass
Stone Broken
The Allergies
The Boxer Rebellion
Tunng
Applications for the next round of funding opened on August 6th and will close on September 3rd. Find out more and apply here.
