Glastonbury announce Emerging Talent Competition

The winners of the free-to-enter competition will also be awarded a £5,000 Talent Development prize from PRS for Music Foundation to help take their songwriting and performing to the next level. Two runners-up will be awarded a £2,500 PRS each from the same Development fund.

The 2016 competition is open for one week only, beginning 9am Monday 18 January and closing 5pm Monday 25 January. To enter, acts will need to supply a link to one original song on SoundCloud, plus a link to a video of themselves performing live (even if it’s only recorded in a bedroom).Applications will be open here.

Recent Emerging Talent Competition entrants include hotly-tipped R&B singer Izzy Bizu (a 2016 BRITs Critics’ Choice and BBC Sound Of 2016 nominee) and fast-rising young rapper Isaiah Dreads. Last year’s winner was singer-songwriter Declan McKenna, who has since signed a management deal with Q Prime (who manage Metallica, Muse and Foals)

Once the entries are in, a panel of 40 of the UK’s top music writers will help compile a longlist of 120 acts. The longlist will then be whittled down to a shortlist of 8 artists by judges including Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis, before the live finals at Pilton Working Men’s Club in April decide the winning act. In both 2014 and 2015, all eight of the finalists were offered slots at that year’s Festival.

Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis says: “New music has always been a huge part of what we do at Glastonbury, and the Emerging Talent Competition has become an incredible way for us to discover - and help draw attention to - the very latest talent.”