The Big Music Project competition launches nationwide
27 May 2014 02:12 PM
From yesterday (Monday 26th
May), classical or contemporary young performers aged between 14 and 24 will
have the chance to get their music heard by industry insiders by entering The
Big Music Project Competition, part of the Big Lottery-funded The Big Music
Project.
The Big Music Project
Competition is supported by The BRIT Awards and Next BRIT Thing and is just one
part of an ambitious project by the leading music organisation BPI,
Global’s Capital and Classic FM brands, and the youth work charity UK
Youth.
The competition will offer young
performers the ultimate opportunity to get up close and personal with the music
business and benefit from advice and mentoring from industry executives.
It will provide aspiring musicians with what they need to take a step towards a
career as a professional musician.
Winners will have the
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to record at the famous Abbey Road Studios and
perform live on stage at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Classic FM Live
series.
British band Lawson are backing
the competition, saying,
"Every new artist or band
needs a platform to have their music heard – The Big Music Project
Competition is an amazing opportunity backed by the BRITs for young musicians
to kick-start their career in the industry, and we're backing it all the
way."
Adding his support to the
competition, Will Kennard – one half of the chart-topping duo Chase &
Status – said,
“It's tough to get
started in the music industry as a DJ, music producer or singer-songwriter but
The Big Music Project Competition is a brilliant opportunity that gives all
young people in the UK a chance to make it big. Don’t let this chance
pass you by. If you love music, get involved!”
Classic FM presenter John Suchet said,
"My Classic FM colleagues
and I are very pleased to be involved in The Big Music Project Competition,
which nurtures talent and gives young musicians real routes into a performance
career. I look forward to seeing the winner perform on stage at Classic FM
Live."
The competition, which is split
into 14 – 18 and 19 – 24 age groups, will see youngsters sharing
their music online at http://www.thebigmusicproject.co.uk/. The entries attracting enough public
votes will have their music heard by top industry executives and could go on to
perform at a series of regional heats.
The project will tour 13
locations including Belfast, Glasgow, Gateshead, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool,
Leicester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, St Austell, Portsmouth and London in
November 2014. The competition will culminate in a grand finale during
BRITs Week in February 2015 as part of the celebrations surrounding the music
industry’s most exciting annual showcase of talent, The BRIT
Awards.
The competition is just one part
of The Big Music Project, which is supported by a Big Lottery Fund grant of
£4 million. The project will use the power of music to engage young
people from every corner of the UK to build confidence and get the transferable
skills they need through training and career opportunities to improve their
future prospects.
Notes to
editors
Strands of The Big Music
Project
1. A major media campaign driven by Capital to reach in excess of
4,500,000 young people through radio, social media and online activity. This
will promote participation in the rest of the project.
2. The Big Music Project Live (powered by Music Matters). Four
national music careers events will promote opportunities to engage with the
music industry sign up to our music competition and explore our work
opportunities programme.
3. The Big Music Project Competition (powered by The Next Brit Thing),
which develops talent, introduces young people to the inner workings of the
music industry and signposts local music-related development
opportunities.
4. A work opportunities programme called ‘On Track’ offering
in excess of 250 placements, ranging from the short term to year-long paid
internships across the music industry and beyond.
5. A grassroots training and development programme delivered through 100
youth clubs reaching in the region of 25,000 young people. We will recruit
1,000 project champions to learn about community cohesion, citizenship and
employability, with music as the unifying theme. These champions will go on to
peer educate a further 10,000 young people.
6. A major campaign website integrating existing social media platforms,
providing downloadable resources and upload functionality for young people to
showcase their creative skills.
Big Lottery Fund
The Big Lottery Fund is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for
good causes by the National Lottery. The Fund is committed to bringing
real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has
been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes
across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 BIG has awarded close to
£6bn. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December
2006.
Project Partners
Global: Global’s radio stations include the three biggest commercial
radio networks – Capital, Heart and Classic FM – as well as Capital
XTRA, LBC, Smooth, Xfm and Gold.
The BPI is the representative
voice of the UK recorded music business. It is a trade organisation funded by
its members. The BPI also organises the annual BRIT Awards show and The
Classic BRITs.
UK Youth is a national charity
at the heart of a network of organisations that support young people to learn,
grown and succeed. It develops and promotes learning opportunities beyond
mainstream school and through regional youth associations and local groups
reaches 690,000 young people each year.
www.thebigmusicproject.co.uk - http://www.twitter.com/BigMusicUK -http://www.facebook.com/bigmusicUK
#BigMusic
For further information on The
Big Music Project please contact:
Big Lottery Fund Press Office:
020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Lynne McDowell
Lynne.McDowell@bpi.co.uk
07763 619709
Sophie Randles
Sophie.randles@capitalfm.com
020 7054 8388