PPL has been proud to support the British Music Embassy (BME) at SXSW in various forms since it was first established in Austin in 2008.
The BME is the UK’s official presence at SXSW and is now in its 17th year. This year, the stage hosted 80 performances from some of the UK’s most exciting new and emerging artists, including Alt Blk Era, Big Special, Confidence Man, CVC, Ellur, JC Stewart, Lizzie Berchie, Sam Ryder and Steam Down.
We support the BME because it creates an opportunity for artists to reach new international audiences and make connections that help their careers grow. Many of the artists who perform on the BME stage are supported through the PRS Foundation’s International Showcase Fund (ISF), which PPL part-funds.
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The ISF provides financial support to UK-based artists to perform at key international showcases like SXSW. The funding often allows artists to bring full bands or invest in the right setup to show their music at its best.
Past BME performers include The Lottery Winners, Wet Leg, Fontaines D.C., AJ Tracey, The Lathums, Celeste, Sports Team, Olivia Dean and The Snuts – acts who have gone on to build significant followings and careers after these early international showcases.
At this year’s SXSW, we caught up with a handful of the UK artists performing at the BME and other showcases, including:
- ADJUA, a Welsh-Ghanaian indie-R&B artist from Cardiff, who performed at the FOCUS Wales showcase and shared how ISF funding helped make her trip possible.
- Winnie Ama, a Belfast-born disco, electronic and soul artist, who performed at the Output Belfast boat party and talked about how the support allowed her to bring her band with her.
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- Big Special, a rock duo from Birmingham, who spoke about the BBC’s support for emerging artists and what it meant to play the BME stage.
- corto.alto, a Scottish future-electronic jazz artist, who performed at both the BME and the Jazz re:freshed showcase. He spoke about the support he received at what felt like a turning point in his career.
We also spoke with some of the key organisations who help make the event happen, including BBC Introducing and Jazz re:freshed – a British institution PPL has supported for several years. Its co-founders, Justin McKenzie and Adam Moses, and Executive Director Tony Olanipekum, spoke about how funding helps them create spaces for jazz artists to grow and reach new audiences.
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The British Music Embassy stage and UK House also hosted a series of networking events and panels throughout the week. These events brought together artists, managers, record labels, industry professionals and policymakers.
PPL’s CEO, Peter Leathem OBE, attended SXSW alongside other senior executives from the UK music industry and representatives from government and trade bodies.
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Head over to our Instagram and LinkedIn channels where you can watch more highlights from this year’s SXSW.
