In 2009 the British Council presented the International Young Music Entrepreneur (IYME) award for the fourth time. The award seeks to champion and celebrate the importance of creative entrepreneurs working in the field of music and to showcase international innovation in music promotion using the UK as the nexus for cultural, creative and commercial exchange.Ten international finalists for the award, who will be from these countries - China, India, Kenya, Latin American region, Lithuania, Malaysia, Nigeria and Poland, visited the UK in May 2009 to undertake a common programme where they took part in valuable networking both with key UK music industry contacts and amongst their IYME peers. The programme run alongside The Great Escape music industry conference and festival.

Mr Meng Jinhui of Modern Sky Records went to the UK as the winner of China region. He did a presetation of his UK expereince..

Creative Dialogue - a session with Music Entrepreneur Meng Jinhui
Date: 15:00-17:00, 16 June 2009
Venue: Dali Courtyard , Gulou, Beijing

About The IYME Programme

IYME is one of the programme of International Young Creative Entrepreneur (IYCE) award programme, which celebrates the achievements and develops the potential of young creative entrepreneurs in emerging markets across world. There are nine international awards from nine sectors- Communications, Design, Fashion, Interactive, Music, Performing Arts, Publishing, Screen and Visual Arts. Since 2006, 30 young music entrepreneurs from 20 countries have taken part in the programme, building an active alumni network in the process. IYME winners so far are Mohammed ‘Momo' Merhari (Morocco, 2006), Audu Maikori (Nigeria, 2007) and Robert ‘Rkay' Kamanzi (Kenya, 2008). For more information on the previous IYME awards, please see:
IYME 2006
IYME 2007
IYME 2008

Finalists' Tour in UK

In May 2009, the finalists went to the UK for a 12-day exploration of the national music industry. The tour comprised visits, meetings, seminars and live concerts and events. This programme, which was developed with UK partners, took them to London, Brighton and Manchester and/or Liverpool to meet leaders of the music sector. The programme was tailored to the finalists' interests, and include both a group itinerary for the finalists to get a shared overview of the best of the UK music scene, developing contacts for commercial or collaborative purposes.

IYME also specifically includes:

Award ceremony:All finalists will participate in the IYME and UKYME award ceremony, where the winner of the 2009 award will be announced.

Presentation of work. Finalists will be asked to select one track from their country that they feel could have a wider UK and international appeal. All tracks will be collated onto a CD which the British Council will promote and distribute at The Great Escape and through its wider network. In addition, work selected for the CD will also be featured on our Creative Economy webpage (www.creativeconomy.org.uk ) for visitors to vote for their favourite.

Sunday 3 May Finalists arrive in UK
Monday 4-Tuesday 5 Initial group tour meetings in London
Wednesday 6-Friday 8 Group meetings in Manchester and/or Liverpool
Saturday 9-Sunday 10 Free time in London
Monday 11-Wed 13 London, to include more general meetings in London, judging, IYME Alumni Seminar
Thursday 14- Saturday 16 The Great Escape conference and festival, Brighton
Sunday 17 May Finalists free to leave UK

Music Sector Definition

IYME participants can be drawn from any of the following areas of the music sector:

• Record companies; Artists & Repertoire (A&R); producing, recording, engineering; music licensing, and distribution
• Venue and/or festival programming and management
• Artists management and agents
• Music broadcasting
• Music journalism and publishing
• Music development & management
• Music marketing; public and media relations
• Music retail and distribution; online (including digital) and high street outlets
• Consultants providing specialist services in any of the areas outlined

Eligibility
A participant must:

• Be aged between 25 and 35 at the date applications are due
• Already work in the creative sector (as outlined in each of the sectoral definitions below) with at least three years experience in their sector
• Be entrepreneurial and have shown their ability in the promotion of that creative sector in their country, in either a commercial context, public context, or both
• Through their character, drive and abilities, demonstrate their potential to be a future leader of the sector in their country
• Have English language skills to IELTS 6- ‘competent user' or above

IYME Schedule-China Region

22 February 2009-Deadline for submitting applications
23-28 February 2009-Application selection
1 March 2009-Deadline for announcing national finalist
4-16 May 2009-UK tour

About International Young Creative Entrepreneur (IYCE) Award

The International Young Creative Entrepreneur Award is launched by the British Council in design, publication, music, visual arts, performing arts, movie, new media and fashion design area. This award is unique for its recognition of the central role of young creative entrepreneurs in the development of a competitive and sustainable creative economy. It is essential for the UK to develop a culture of engagement and collaboration with these young international creative entrepreneurs at this vital stage in their professional development. For more information of the winners of the award, please visit:www.creativeconomy.org.uk

In 2009,China will take part in the award of the following sectors:music, performing arts and design. The finalist of China will go to UK for a tour, comprising visits, meetings, seminars, workshops and IYCE awards during May and September 2009. For more details, please pay attention to our website.