NME is joining forces with Thatchers Haze cider to launch The Emerging Artists Project, a nationwide search for the best undiscovered talent in the UK.
The renowned music weekly, now a free magazine and multi-media brand, will provide the winner of the campaign with exposure to its global audience of music fans, with cross-platform support from press coverage through to an EP release.
For the competition, artists will submit one original track to NME with the guarantee that they will be listened to and will receive feedback. NME’s new music reporter Tom Smith will then “pick an artist that brings to the competition the most exciting, unique and fresh sounds of any genre”. The winner will receive studio time worth £10,000, during which a four-track EP will be recorded and produced with the guidance of Murkage Dave.
Keith Walker, digital director, music at NME publishers Time Inc. UK said: “NME has been at the forefront of the music scene for more than six decades, with events, print and digital franchises dedicated to supporting breaking talent. Our global audience of music fans are always on the lookout for the best new talent to put on their headphones and with unsigned artists striving to grow their fan base, this is a great platform for them to get heard by the millions that turn to NME each month.”
The partnership between Thatchers Haze and NME will support Thatchers’ “wider commitment to music by building on Thatchers Haze Sessions, a live series of music gigs launched in 2016, which gives emerging artists the chance to get heard”.
Martin Thatcher, Thatchers’ managing director, adds: “This is an amazing opportunity to work with NME to promote up-and-coming talent in the music industry, and offer new artists the chance to get their music out to a wider audience.
The competition runs until July 12.
By Will Nicolaides
