British artists receive further Government backing in music exports drive

Talented artists from the British music scene are benefiting from long-term Government investment through the Department for International Trade (DIT) as part of the Exporting is GREAT campaign designed to help build their international fanbases and to boost sales of their music outside of the UK thanks to the Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS).

The scheme, now in its fourth year and managed by UK labels association the BPI, supports small to medium sized music companies by contributing to their artist marketing campaigns and touring overseas.

In this latest (12^th) round of funding, 20 British acts have received grants totalling £294,583 to help fund their projects across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.  Artists to benefit include alt-pop singer JONES, Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt, Liverpool’s MiC LOWRY (who previously supported Justin Bieber on tour), Brighton all-female rock band Dream Wife, punk revolutionaries Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, the Mercury Prize shortlisted Editors and acclaimed London indie group Shame.  See Notes to Editors for full list.

Since its launch in January 2014 the Music Export Growth Scheme has distributed over £2.6 million in response to 178 successful applications to support a diverse range of artists drawn mainly from the indie community. The scheme has seen a return of over £10 to the UK economy for every £1 invested.  Half of the investment (50%) has supported touring and other promotional activity in the US, followed by Germany (10%), France (5%), The Netherlands (4%) and Belgium (3%). 

To date music groups have received over 60 per cent of the funding (63%), with rock (34%), pop (25%), electronic & dance (9%), folk (5%), R’n’B/soul (5%), urban (3%) and jazz/blues (3%) the most supported genres.  Male artists have accounted for two thirds of the grants (66%), while a quarter (25%) of the acts supported are from the BAME community or feature BAME artists in their line-up. 

Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion, Baroness Fairhead said:

“The UK is a world leader in music exports and is recognised for its exceptional home-grown talent around the globe. Through the music exports scheme, we help to nurture musicians of the future to explore new global markets.

“This department is determined to help the best of British talent to export their work to the rest of the world. That is why we will continue to provide a variety of support such as trade missions, our award-winning credit agency, UK Export Finance, and GREAT.gov.uk to those artists looking to break into overseas markets.”

Chris Tams, BPI Director of International overseeing the MEGS programme, said: “The Music Export Growth Scheme gives a diverse range of talented British artists the opportunity to grow their fanbase in key international markets through touring and marketing support. In the process, it helps to promote the profile of British music overseas and, crucially, helps to boost our exports with a return on investment to date of over £10 for each £1 put in by the UK Government.”    

MiC LOWRY Managers Alistair Goldsmith (Allegro Management) & Barbara Phillips (Positive Impact), said: “We are over the moon to have our application accepted by the BPI for the MEGS. The funding will help us facilitate a European tour later this year which will coincide with the release of new music. We plan to visit several countries where we know there is a significant demand for the band, and the MEGS funding will be important for us to accelerate the bandwidth of the group.

“MiC LOWRY have a proven domestic track record with numerous playlist records, sell-out tours, over 70,000 album equivalent sales in the UK, and we are now excited to continue building organically in fresh markets."

Speaking for female group & MEGS recipients, Dream Wife, Stephen Richards of Lucky Numbers Music, said: “We’re delighted for Dream Wife to receive the MEGS grant - it will allow the band to take the next step in their career and assist in expanding their growing reputation as an incredible and important live band internationally.”

Scottish singer-songwriter and MEGS recipient, Nina Nesbitt, said: “I am so overwhelmed to be chosen as one of the artists to receive the MEGS award.  The grant will make a huge difference to my career and allow me to run a two-month long campaign in the USA.  Having the funding means I can now take on big opportunities, such as supporting Clean Bandit and Jake Bugg across America, and give myself the best chance at becoming established in another territory. Thank you!”

Indie ska outfit and MEGS Recipient, Heavyball, said: “It was a real honour to receive the BPI Music Export Growth Scheme Grant, and it’s difficult to articulate just how much it means to us as a band. The money is always welcome, of course, but the fact that someone is, quite literally, prepared to put their money where their mouth is means so much more.

“We’re really excited about what the money means to expand our reach in Europe, and hope that we can repay the faith shown in us."

Applications for the next round (13^th) of MEGS funding are now open and will close on 28^th May 2018.  For details or to download an application form please visit the MEGS page on the BPI website here