BBC Music has announced the launch of a new festival, BBC Music Introducing Live 18’.
Geared towards emerging talent and following on from the BBC’s inaugural Amplify conference last year, the rebranded event will welcome 15,000 budding musicians and industry talent to London’s Tobacco Dock from November 8-10.
James Stirling, head of content, BBC Music said the show will be a “unique event, drawing on the passion and experience of the entire UK Music Industry and providing unrivalled access for those aspiring to make their way in to the business.”
Set to comprise over 100 masterclasses and interactive sessions, performances, talks, practical workshops and Q&As, the festival will also feature over 250 speakers from all quarters of the music industry.
Music industry experts ranging from the recorded, live, broadcast and digital sectors will be on hand to share knowledge, while the event has support from across the biz, with UK Music, the BPI and PRS Foundation already signed up.
BBC Radio will broadcast live from the event, with live sets to follow each evening featuring BBC Music Introducing alumni and guests. The full line-up and ticket details will be announced next month.
David Joseph, chairman and CEO Universal Music UK, commented: “Last year’s Amplify event captured the essence of BBC Music Introducing, which has done so much for undiscovered and unsigned musicians over the past 10 years. We were proud to support several masterclasses for the next generation of artists and executives at Amplify and look forward to doing so again at November’s expanded event.”
BBC Music Introducing Live is a great idea that we’re proud to endorse
Vanessa Reed
PRS Foundation CEO Vanessa Reed said: “BBC Music Introducing Live is a great idea that we’re proud to endorse. We look forward to providing expertise to the event’s programme of panels and masterclasses and to taking part, with other industry bodies and artists, in this important platform for anyone interested in music discovery and collaboration.
Michael Dugher, UK Music CEO, commented: “We’re proud to support this brilliant new event from BBC Music, which helps promote a diverse range of exciting new artists in such a vibrant venue. BBC Music is a great champion of the live sector, which contributes £1 billion a year to our economy, and BBC Introducing has an incredible track record for producing great new talent. It’s fantastic to see the BBC launching a new event, building on the success of last year’s BBC Music Introducing Amplify.”
Geoff Taylor, chief executive, BPI & BRIT Awards, said: “The support of BBC Music is incredibly important as labels seek to discover, nurture and invest in fresh UK talent. BBC Music Introducing plays a pivotal role in this ecosystem by giving unsigned and emerging talent the opportunity to build profile and awareness that can take them to the next level.”
Jason Carter, director of event producers Get On Vision said: “I was incredibly fortunate to have worked on the creation and launch of BBC Music Introducing back in 2007, and to steer its path for a decade, so it’s a privilege to lead the production of BBC Music Introducing Live at Tobacco Dock - the next exciting chapter in the journey of a critical platform for emerging talent in the UK.”
By Ben Firth
