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Artist News Business News Management & Funding
London Symphony Orchestra among latest MEGS recipients
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 22 May 2019
Record industry trade body BPI has announced that nineteen more independent acts will receive funding through its Music Export Growth Scheme, which seeks to support artists who have had success at home and who are looking for help to grow their businesses in new markets.
For the first time a classical music project is among those receiving funding, the BPI having been encouraging those in the classical genre to apply. The London Symphony Orchestra will receive backing to take their tour to South America. Other’s getting funding this time include Northern Ireland’s Soak, folk performer Luke Sital-Singh, Bristol-based trio Elder Island, R&B singer-songwriter Rosie Lowe and electronic music duo Honne.
The latest round of funding totals £257,000, which means MEGS has now dished out nearly £3.5 million to independent artists, labels and management firms since it launched five years ago.
The scheme is funded by the Department For International Trade, which is run by that Liam Fox. Commenting on the scheme, he said yesterday: “Successful British music acts are the unsung heroes of our economy. The UK is a world leader in music exports, which soared by 7% to £2.6 billion in 2017. As part of our exports strategy, we are proud to help UK artists to break into new global markets and, thanks to the Music Export Growth Scheme, hundreds of British acts have received funding that will help this growth to continue”.
On the BPI side, its CEO Geoff Taylor added: “Britain has a proud record of global success as a music nation but, in the intensely competitive era of global digital platforms, we need to invest more than ever to break UK artists overseas. A relatively small contribution from the Music Export Growth Scheme to an act’s tour or digital marketing can make all the difference in supporting its international success. In the process we all stand to gain – an enlightened approach that is all the more necessary as the UK looks to develop its international trade strategy”.
Applications are open for the next round of MEGS funding, with the deadline getting close now, it being 27 May. Details here.
