In 2007, British Council presents the International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year (IYMEY) for the second time, to champion and celebrate the importance of creative entrepreneurs working in the field of music. The award will be promoted through the British Council’s international network of offices.

About the IYMEY award:

IYMEY is the third in a proposed stable of ten International Young Creative Entrepreneur (IYCE) awards, which celebrate the achievements of young entrepreneurs across the creative industries, and make a significant contribution to their ability to access international markets. The award follows the successful model of theInternational Young Publisher of the Year (IYPY) and International Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year (IYDEY) awards.

The award celebrates entrepreneurial ability, and strengthens creative leadership, networking, and capacity building in the international music industry - particularly reinforcing engagement between young creative entrepreneurs in these markets and the UK.

Music sector definition

For the purpose of this award participants can be drawn from any of the following sectors:

• 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; online (including digital) and high street outlets

We recognise that a participant may be active as a musician as well as being focussed as an entrepreneur in the promotion of music in their country.

Am I eligible?

A participant must:

• Be aged between 25 and 35
• Already worked in the music sector (as defined above)
• Be entrepreneurial and have shown their ability in the promotion of music in their country, particularly in a commercial context
• 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 or above- ‘competent user’ or above.

How to apply?

Download the application form and submit it to British Council Division, C Wing, II Floor, Mittal Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021.

Last date to receive applications is 15 March 2007.

Programme for the finalist

In June 2007 the finalists will arrive in the UK for a 10-12 day exploration of the national music industry. This programme, which will be developed with UK partners, will take them to London and Manchester to meet leaders of the music sector. The programme will be 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 and specific meetings to introduce finalists to UK contacts of particular interest to them for commercial or collaborative purposes.  The tour will comprise visits, meetings, seminars and live concerts and events.

In 2006 this included these and other organisations/companies: Department of Culture Media and Sport; Association of Independent Music; Academy Music Group (Brixton Academy); Davenport Lyons (Entertainment lawyers); Universal Music; Cantaloupe Group; Koko (venue); Sparklestreet management; BBC Radio; Ninja Tune; Domino Records; Primary Talent International; Arts Council England; Union Square Music; Fabric; Onedotzero; African &Caribbean Music Circuit  (ACMC) Ltd.; CMO Management; Rough Trade et el.

Specifically, in 2007 this will also include:

Glastonbury Festival (22-24 June)

Founded in 1970, Glastonbury is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world.  It aims to encourage and stimulate youth culture from around the world in all its forms, including pop music, dance music, jazz, folk music, fringe theatre, drama, mime, circus, cinema, poetry and all the creative forms of art and design, including painting, sculpture and textile art. The last festival (2005) featured  hundreds of diverse acts (including Basement Jaxx, White Stripes, Coldplay, Razorlight, New Order, Brian Wilson, Kaiser Chiefs, Elvis Costello and many others!) and was attended by 135,000 people (with tickets selling out in under 3 hours!).  Glastonbury is famed for its concern with green issues and highlighting global environmental problems, working with campaigns including Greenpeace, Oxfam, WaterAid, Make Poverty History and others… in 2005 £1,350,000 was paid to charities and good causes.

London Calling (28-29 June)

London Calling is one of the latest additions to the UK music industry calendar – founded in 2005 it is a major new international trade exhibition in London for artists, managers, labels, music publishers, service providers and brands who are interested in building the ‘future of the music business’.  The two day show features a combination of networking, educational and business events as well as a live music programme.  The 2006 event attracted approximate 3,500 international delegates and included exhibition space, a world-class seminar/speaker line-up, showcases, networking events, one-on-one business sessions, live music stages and more.  

Showcasing event

All IYMEY finalists will take part in a showcasing event during the UK tour – to promote their work and music from their country.  In 2006 this took place at London Calling where all finalists were represented in exhibition and promotional material at the British Council stand at the show, where they also shared music from their countries and spoke about the local market.  In 2007 this may include a more formal seminar opportunity to speak about their work and national music industry.

Award ceremony

All IYMEY finalists will also participate in the IYMEY award ceremony, where the winner of the 2007 award will be announced. In 2006 this took place at London Calling, where the award is also likely to be presented in 2007.

Judging Process

The IYMEY judging process will take place during the UK tour. All of the finalists will be interviewed and asked to make a presentation about their work and vision for their country’s music industry to a judging panel of elite members of leading UK music entrepreneurs.

Award

The winner of the award of International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year will be announced at an awards ceremony during the UK visit. The prize will consist of:

• A financial award (£7,500), which will be linked to the UK and tailored to the winner’s specific needs. Ideas include for him/her to take a course in the UK, fund a placement in UK industry, bring over UK specialists to run workshops in-country, buy rights, or work on collaborative projects with contacts from their visit to the UK. The winner will be encouraged to come up with their own proposal, and both the local British Council office and the specialist art form departments in London will be involved in the process of agreeing how the prize money should be spent.

Contact Information

For further information please contact Rwituja Mookherjee or 22790127.