Glastonbury Festival announces 2020 Emerging Talent Competition
Glastonbury Festival has today announced details of its 2020 EMERGING TALENT COMPETITION, which is once again 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 50th anniversary 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 can enter the 2020 competition FOR ONE WEEK ONLY from 9am Monday 27th January until 5pm Monday 3rd February 2020 via glastonburyfestivals.co.uk.
The 2019 Emerging Talent Competition winner was the soulful singer-songwriter Marie White, who has since signed with Decca Records and Universal Music Publishing Group following a year of highlights which included her performances at Glastonbury, a 6 Music live session and supporting Keane at the Royal Albert Hall.
Other recent Emerging Talent Competition finalists include rising rapper Flohio who was last week given the prestigious Music Moves Europe Talent Award; 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 singer Josh Barry, who has since toured with Rag’n’Bone Man and Gorgon City. Meanwhile, 2016 winners She Drew The Gun have received considerable acclaim for their politically-inspired psych-pop.
To enter, acts will need to supply a link to one original song on SoundCloud, plus a link to a video of themselves performing live (even if it’s 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 five competitions, all eight of the finalists were offered slots at that year’s Festival.
It’s always such a pleasure to hear the latest crop of amazing, undiscovered music that’s out there. Over the years, the Emerging Talent Competition has helped us to unearth so many incredible artists from across the genres - dozens of whom have been given slots at the Festival. I can’t wait to hear this year’s entries!
Performing at Glastonbury Festival is a dream for many new artists and this year is extra special due to it being Glastonbury’s 50th anniversary. PRS for Music is delighted to be partnering with Glastonbury Festival once again on the Emerging Talent Competition, an amazing initiative that brings new talent to the forefront and gives them an opportunity to perform at the best festival in the world. The competition is a highlight of the year for us and our members. I can’t wait to hear the music that this year brings.
The Emerging Talent Competition is a unique opportunity that highlights the extraordinary phenomenon of Glastonbury Festival and the important role that it plays in the UK music industry. Some of our major success stories at PRS Foundation have been discovered at the Emerging Talent Competition final, including Flohio, She Drew The Gun, Izzy Bizu and Declan McKenna. With a prestigious slot at Glastonbury Festival and a talent development bursary, all of these artists have been able to get to the next stage in their career – there might even be a few future headliners in there! We look forward to hearing who comes forward this year.
About PRS for Music
Here for music since 1914, PRS for Music is a world-leading music collective management organisation representing the rights of more than 175,000 talented songwriters, composers and music publishers. Redefining the global standard for music royalties, PRS for Music ensures songwriters and composers are paid whenever their musical compositions and songs are streamed, downloaded, broadcast, performed and played in public.
For 110 years it has grown and protected the rights of the music creator community, paying out royalties with more accuracy, transparency and speed. In 2023, PRS for Music paid out £943.6m in royalties and collected a record £1.08 billion in revenues. prsformusic.com
About PRS Foundation
Since 2000 PRS Foundation has given more than £44 million to over 8,500 new music initiatives. 9 out of 12 Mercury Prize 2022 nominees had received PRS Foundation support (including the winner Little Simz) and the charity has supported BRITS, RPS, AIM and Ivors Award-winners.
PRS Foundation supports outstanding talent from all backgrounds, covering the whole of the UK and all genres, with grantee success stories including Little Simz, Wolf Alice, Dave, Sam Fender, Years & Years, AJ Tracey, Anna Meredith, Yola, Glass Animals, Ezra Collective, Jade Bird, Ghetts, Shiva Feshareki, Sarathy Korwar, Floating Points, Nadine Shah, The Fanatix, Imogen Heap, IDLES, Kae Tempest, Kojey Radical and Emily Burns.
Widely respected as an inclusive, collaborative and proactive funding body, PRS Foundation supports an exceptional range of new music activity through direct grants to music creators and through support for pioneering organisations, including venues, festivals, promoters and other talent development organisations. PRS Foundation founded the Women Make Music fund, co-founded global gender equality initiative, Keychange and most recently launched the POWER UP initiative to tackle anti-Black racism in music. www.prsfoundation.com
