Applications for the next round (20) of Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) funding will open at 10am on August 24 and close at midnight on September 27 2021.
The Music Export Growth Scheme aims to boost British music exports by supporting small to medium-sized music companies as they build on the commercial potential and profile of their artists in overseas markets.
This latest round of the Scheme run by the record labels’ association, the BPI, is funded through the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).
Since launching in 2014, around £4 million has been awarded by the Scheme in response to up to 300 applications that have successfully supported largely independently-signed artists in generating £51 million in UK music exports – a return of £12 for every £1 invested.
Eligible music companies and self-releasing artists1 can submit their application here. Successful applicants will be notified at the end of October and announced in November. Applications that promote artists and genres of all backgrounds are encouraged and can be made by any UK SME company in support of overseas touring or promotional activity. Funding for up to 60% of planned total budgets will be considered.
British artists and their UK labels currently account for around one in every 10 global streams. Earlier this year the BPI published its report All Around The World, setting out how, with Government support and record label investment in artists and new music, annual British music exports could double to £1 billion by the end of the decade. The Music Export Growth Scheme has an important role to play in this global strategy, particularly in promoting independent artists and their music to new international audiences.
A diverse range of artists and genres have been supported over the past six years, including the BRITs with Mastercard and Hyundai Mercury Prize winner Dave and Hyundai Mercury Prize winners Wolf Alice and Young Fathers. Others successfully backed range from Welsh rockers Catfish & The Bottlemen, new wave jazz group Ezra Collective, Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt, and BRIT School rock outfit Black Midi, to saxophonist YolanDa Brown, grime performer Ghetts, singer-songwriter Tom Speight, Anglo-Indian-American percussionist Sarathy Korwar, and the London Symphony Orchestra3.
Chris Tams, BPI director of international, overseeing the MEGS programme, said: “The Music Export Growth Scheme is playing its full part in boosting British music exports, but, in an increasingly competitive global music market, the vital role it plays is needed now more than ever. We want to build on its success and on the diversity of indie artists and music genres that the Scheme has supported to date by encouraging eligible companies representing artists of all backgrounds and styles to apply.”