What is it?
A BBC initiative that gives fledgling UK musicians a chance to reach a wider audience via the Beeb’s labyrinthine network of radio and TV shows, festival stages and online platforms. Think of it as a vast A&R machine, sucking up raw British talent, filtering it through a series of gatekeepers and spitting out success stories such as Florence and the Machine, Ed Sheeran and Slaves, who have all been through the programme since it launched in 2007.
I’m a young flamenco-punk musician from Rhyl and would like to avail myself of this service. How do I go about it?
Log on to the BBC Introducing site, upload your three strongest tracks, then sit back and await global fame. Or wait for your submission to be picked up by your nearest BBC broadcaster – 36 regional stations host an Introducing show every Saturday evening. If it plays well locally, it may graduate to national level and end up on Radios 1, 2 or 3, 1Xtra or 6Music. From there it’s a short hop, via appearances on BBC stages at Glastonbury, SXSW, Leeds and Reading, to the aforementioned global fame.
Has it been popular?
Very. Nearly 600,000 tracks have been submitted over nine years, and the BBC’s head of popular music, live music and events, Jason Carter, who set it all up, says the numbers have been “rising massively” in recent months, with 500 new artists uploading tracks each week. At the same time the scope has broadened to encompass classical, jazz and country – and maybe even flamenco-punk.
Who’s the next big success story?
Carter is excited about Hertfordshire singer-songwriter Declan McKenna: “He uploaded his music to Three Counties Radio, attracted a lot of support from Radio 1, did a Maida Vale session, and is now booked on to lots of festivals this summer.” Carter also mentions the “phenomenal” Isaac Gracie and “the great 1Xtra artist” Folly Rae.
