New report reveals impact of overseas showcasing on artists’ careers and the UK economy
Artists benefitting from the support include Jade Bird, Ms Banks, Be Charlotte, Suzi Wu, Sam Fender, Boy Azooga and Joshua Burnside PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development announces that its International Showcase Fund has generated £5.3million for the UK music industry and the UK economy from 2016-19, according to new independent impact report released today.

Read the full impact report, produced by Nordicity below.

The International Showcase Fund is run by PRS Foundation in partnership with Department for International Trade, British Underground, Arts Council England, PPL, the Musicians’ Union, Creative Scotland, Wales Arts International and Arts Council Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest NI. It offers support for artists to take their first steps into international territories by enabling them to perform at key showcasing festivals and conferences such as Eurosonic, SXSW, Reeperbahn, Zandari Festival, Womex, Canadian Music Week, JazzAhead and Mutek which attract thousands of people working in the music industry from every corner of the globe.

The new report highlights that over £850,000 has been granted to 364 export ready UK artists to showcase overseas between April 2016 and March 2019. 91% of the supported artists surveyed reported clear business outcomes from international showcasing such as securing recording and publishing deals, signing management and agent deals, and being booked for overseas tours and festivals. The average ISF beneficiary reported generating 3.5 tangible business outcomes as a result of ISF.

The average revenue for a beneficiary artist increased by over £14.5k (66%) after ISF support. Furthermore, live audiences nearly tripled, and the average social media footprint increased by 66% on Facebook and 73% on Twitter.

Additionally, the new report highlights that 40% of supported artists were from a BAME background and 43% were women, trans or non-binary.

PRS Foundation’s CEO Joe Frankland said “For those wanting to break through to a sustainable career, international development is more crucial than ever, and showcasing remains the most effective way to fast-track business and audience development. Thanks to the involvement of many new partners across the UK, ISF’s budget has doubled since our 2016 report was launched, and for the first time, music creators based anywhere in the UK can apply for funding support, including songwriters. A staggering 98% of grantees said they would not have been able to showcase internationally without support from our expanded list of partners. This report reveals the many creative, cultural and economic benefits of ISF, demonstrating why we must continue to ensure that current and future export challenges are addressed through a robust and flexible funding programme.”

The International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: “It’s great to see the International Showcase Fund (ISF) has already supported 364 artists, bands and songwriters to take their first steps onto the world stage by taking part in musical showcases, enabling them to make important industry contacts and to develop their careers.

“The ISF has generated a successful return on investment for the UK. For every £1 of the Department for International Trade’s contribution, artists generated £15 in export revenues.

“British musicians are enjoyed all over the world and I look forward to supporting more artists looking to reach overseas audiences.”

International Showcase Fund supported Jade Bird said “Funds like this are crucial in giving developing artists a platform where they can perform their music to new audiences all over the world…The support enabled me to travel to SXSW Festival in March 2018. I ended up performing 14 shows in 4 days and was awarded the Grulke Prize for Developing Non-US Act at SXSW and had one of the best experiences of my career so far.”