BBC Music Introducing is
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. The backbone of that network consists of 32
BBC local radio shows on stations across England and the Channel Islands, various network shows in
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, which also give artists the opportunity to be played nationally on
Radio 1,
1Xtra,
Radio 2,
Radio 3,
6 Music and
Asian Network, as well as playing Introducing stages at festivals such as
Glastonbury
Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...
,
Reading and Leeds,
South by Southwest
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
,
Latitude Festival
Latitude Festival is an annual music and arts festival set within the grounds of Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England.
The first edition of the festival took place in 2006 and has continued annually (apart from 2020 when it was cancel ...
and
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend.
Those 32 shows air every Saturday night, featuring local artists with airplay, interviews and sessions. They try to provide local gigs, festival stages and outside broadcasts whenever possible - and to forward their discoveries to sister shows on local and national BBC stations for further airplay.
Since launching in June 2007, the Introducing platform has helped launch the careers of
George Ezra,
Jack Garratt,
Florence and the Machine,
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
,
Ellie Goulding,
Becky Hill
Rebecca Claire Hill (born 14 February 1994) is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame after appearing on the first series of '' The Voice UK'', auditioning with John Legend's " Ordinary People". She joined Jessie J's team and rea ...
,
Jake Bugg,
Izzy Bizu,
Catfish and the Bottlemen,
James Bay,
220 Kid and
Little Simz.
History
''BBC Music Introducing'' was launched in 2007 as by this period, many BBC local radio stations had launched a weekly local music show to share and champion local artists. As shows such as ''The Box Office'' on
BBC Three Counties Radio, ''
The Download'' on
BBC Radio Oxford, ''The Friday Session'' on
BBC Hereford and Worcester, ''Raw Talent'' on
BBC Radio Humberside, ''The Weekender'' on
BBC Radio Nottingham and ''South Live'' on
BBC Southern Counties Radio
BBC Southern Counties Radio (BBC SCR) was the BBC Local Radio service for the England, English county, counties of Surrey and Sussex. The station also covered a large part of north-east Hampshire. It was the first BBC local radio station to in ...
proved popular there was interest in developing a more coherent structure and brand for new music on the BBC. These shows soon turned into the earliest BBC Music Introducing shows.
In September 2010, all BBC local unsigned music shows that had not renamed themselves as part of 'Introducing' were re-branded. In 2010 ''BBC Music Introducing'' was awarded the best new platform to discover music at the
BT Digital Music Awards. In May 2011, ''BBC Music Introducing'' won the Gold award for Best Use of Multiplatform at the
Sony Radio Academy Awards.
Since 5 January 2013, every
BBC Local Radio station across England and the Channel Islands broadcasts a BBC Music Introducing programme at 8pm on Saturday evenings. It also broadcasts on
BBC Radio Wales on Saturdays,
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...
on Fridays and
BBC Radio Ulster in Northern Ireland on Monday nights. There are more than 190,000 registered artists and nearly 1 million (950,000+) tracks uploaded to the BBC Music Introducing website, who get played weekly across Introducing shows on BBC radio, with each station reflecting its local music scene around the country. Most weeks, the platform receives in excess of 5,000 tracks with some peaking at 16,000 - representing 1073 hours of new music being sent into the BBC.
The BBC broadcasts 32 local shows across their network each week, with plans to cut them down to 20 regional shows - up from the original 10, confirmed in February 2023.
Successes
The earliest success stories include Florence and The Machine, who Introducing took to Texas in 2008 to play at SXSW festival,
Two Door Cinema Club in 2009, later headlined Glastonbury on the next year; Ed Sheeran who played Glastonbury Festival for the first time in 2011 on the BBC Introducing stage.
Introducing has also helped push the careers of the likes of
Two Door Cinema Club,
Marina and The Diamonds,
Ellie Goulding,
The 1975, Chip/Chipmunk,
Låpsley,
JME & Skepta,
Rizzle Kicks,
Stornoway
Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland.
The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...
,
Alt-J
Alt-J (stylised as alt-J, real name Δ) are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwil Sainsbury ...
,
TCTS,
Wretch 32
Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The ...
,
Ward Thomas,
Gabrielle Aplin,
Years & Years,
Circa Waves,
Saint Raymond,
Don Broco,
AlunaGeorge,
Becky Hill
Rebecca Claire Hill (born 14 February 1994) is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame after appearing on the first series of '' The Voice UK'', auditioning with John Legend's " Ordinary People". She joined Jessie J's team and rea ...
,
Devlin,
The Ting Tings,
Will Heard, Moko,
KStewart,
Mama ft. Antonella,
The Sherlocks,
London Grammar,
Oh Wonder,
Fickle Friends,
The Amazons,
The Shires,
Aquilo,
Nothing But Thieves,
Jacob Collier,
Jerry Williams,
Matt Maltese, Jordan Max,
IDER,
Glass Animals
Glass Animals are a British indie rock band formed in Oxford, England in 2010. The band's line-up consists of Dave Bayley (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, songwriting), Drew MacFarlane (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Edmund Irwin-Singe ...
and
Pulled Apart By Horses.
In 2014 and 2015, BBC Music Introducing was an entry route to the
UK's selection process for the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
, with
Molly Smitten-Downes being chosen for the 2014 competition. The UK’s entry in 2023 had previously been supported by the network, in October 2024 it was announced that BBC Introducing would be used to source the UK entry for 2025.
In March 2022, BBC Introducing on Asian Network with
Jasmine Takhar was nominated for best radio show at the Music Week Awards.
The platform
Radio network coverage
The 32 Introducing shows on BBC local radio are a hub to showcase the wealth of new music being discovered across the locality. From here, artists are forwarded to BBC DJs to play on national radio, and they can also be put forward to play festival stages by their local show. Every week the BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra music teams feature an Introducing artist on their playlists. Previous Introducing artists of the week have included Tom Grennan, The Sherlocks, The Big Moon, Mahalia,
Willie J Healey, Isaac Gracie, Declan McKenna, Pale Waves, Shy Luv, Mullally, Isaiah Dreads and Alicai Harley.
Upload tool
In February 2009, an upload tool (now internally referred to as Peel, named after the late
John Peel) was launched on the BBC Music Introducing website to allow users to upload their music direct to Introducing producers and presenters. Artists or bands enter their
postcode
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...
at the point of registering and notifications about any songs they upload are sent to BBC staff working on their nearest Introducing radio show, which can then be forwarded to the likes of BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 1Xtra or BBC Asian Network.
All material submitted to the BBC Music Introducing brand via the upload tool is classified by the BBC as
User Generated Content (UGC),
and they encourage
users to read the Corporation's Terms of Use
in relation to UGC before uploading material.
Festival stages
BBC Music Introducing has hosted a stage at festivals since 2007. In the last ten years Introducing has been present at
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
,
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...
,
Latitude Festival
Latitude Festival is an annual music and arts festival set within the grounds of Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England.
The first edition of the festival took place in 2006 and has continued annually (apart from 2020 when it was cancel ...
,
T in the Park,
Radio 1's Big Weekend,
Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Reeperbahn, 6 Music Live, Winter Jazzfest in New York,
South by Southwest
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
and more.
In 2017 BBC Music Introducing was present at
Creamfields and the
Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), focusing solely on DJs and electronic acts for the first time.
Previous acts to have played the Introducing stages include Jack Garratt, Ed Sheeran, George Ezra, Bombay Bicycle Club, Little Simz, Blossoms, Loyle Carner, Slaves, Rosie Lowe, Glass Animals, Soak, Viola Beach, Catfish and the Bottlemen, James Bay, Royal Blood and CHVRCHES.
Artist of the Year Award
Organised between 2014 and 2017, the
BBC Music Awards celebrated the best in British music. Since the inaugural awards ceremony, the BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year award has been presented to an artist who has made a significant impact with the aid of BBC Music Introducing. The award has continued following the end of the music awards.
The winners are:
*2014 –
Catfish and the Bottlemen
*2015 –
Jack Garratt
*2016 –
Izzy Bizu
*2017 –
Declan McKenna
*2018 –
Tom Grennan
*2019 –
Celeste
*2020 –
Arlo Parks
*2021 –
Self Esteem
*2022 –
Nia Archives
*2023 –
Olivia Dean
*2024 –
Myles Smith
10th anniversary (2017)
On Wednesday 4 October 2017, BBC Music Introducing celebrated its tenth birthday by holding a four-hour gig at the O2 Academy Brixton which was live on BBC Radio 1 and hosted by
Annie Mac and
Huw Stephens. Introducing alumni including
George Ezra, Nao,
Everything Everything,
The Big Moon,
Declan McKenna,
Slaves
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
,
Rae Morris,
Blossoms and
Jake Bugg performed at the live showcase. South London grime artist
Yizzy also performed on the night, and was the winner of Introducing's Future Fund – an artist grant launched in partnership with
PRS for Music Foundation.
On Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October, BBC Music Introducing hosted Amplify – a mass-scale conference composed of masterclasses, workshops and performances at
ExCeL London. It featured talks from key figures in the music industry including Huw Stephens, Steve Lamacq, Jamie Cullum, Twin B, Annie Mac, DJ Target and Jo Whiley. The event subsequently continued in 2018 named 'BBC Introducing Live' taking place at
Tobacco Dock in London.
Programmes and presenters
National programmes
* BBC Introducing on Radio 1 Dance (presented by Jaguar)
* BBC Introducing on Radio 1 (presented by Jess Iszatt)
* The BBC Introducing Mixtape (presented by Emily Pilbeam on BBC Radio 6 Music)
* BBC Introducing on the Asian Network with Jasmine Takhar
* BBC Introducing on 1Xtra (with Theo Johnson)
Country-specific
* BBC Music Introducing with Adam Walton (BBC Radio Wales)
* BBC Music Introducing with Bethan Elfyn (BBC Radio Wales)
* BBC Music Introducing in Scotland (presented by Phoebe I-H and Shereen Cutkelvin)
* BBC Music Introducing/
Across the Line (radio show) in Northern Ireland (presented by Gemma Bradley)
Local and regional programmes
* BBC Music Introducing in Beds, Herts & Bucks (presented by Honor Morrison)
* BBC Music Introducing in Cambridgeshire (presented by Rebecca May)
* BBC Music Introducing in the Channel Islands (presented by Tim Hunter)
* BBC Music Introducing in Coventry & Warwickshire (presented by Brody Swain)
* BBC Music Introducing in Cumbria (presented by Emma Linton)
* BBC Music Introducing in the East Midlands (presented by Dean Jackson)
* BBC Music Introducing in Essex (presented by Jake Peach)
* BBC Music Introducing in Hereford & Worcester (presented by Andrew Marston on Saturdays and Lizzie Crow on Sundays)
* BBC Music Introducing in Humberside (presented by Alan Raw)
* BBC Music Introducing in Kent (presented by Abbie McCarthy)
* BBC Music Introducing in Lancashire (presented by William Wolstenholme)
* BBC Music Introducing in Lincolnshire (presented by George Smith)
* BBC Music Introducing in London (presented by Jess Iszatt)
* BBC Music Introducing in Manchester (presented by Roesh)
* BBC Music Introducing in Merseyside (presented by Dave Monks)
* BBC Music Introducing in Norfolk (presented by Kitty Perrin)
* BBC Music Introducing in the North East (presented by Nick Roberts)
* BBC Music Introducing in Northampton (presented by Kerrie Cosh)
*
BBC Introducing in Oxfordshire (presented by Dave Gilyeat)
* BBC Music Introducing in Sheffield (presented by Christian Carlisle)
* BBC Music Introducing in Shropshire (presented by Michaela Wylde and Simon Berry on Saturdays and Lizzie Crow on Sundays)
* BBC Music Introducing: Solent (presented by Steph Nieuwenhuys)
* BBC Music Introducing in The South West (presented by Daniel Pascoe)
* BBC Music Introducing in Stoke (presented by Rob Adcock)
* BBC Introducing in Suffolk (presented by Angelle Joseph)
* BBC Music Introducing in Sussex & Surrey (presented by Melita Dennett)
* BBC Music Introducing in Tees (presented by Shakk)
* BBC Music Introducing in The West (presented by James Threlfall)
* BBC Music Introducing in the West Midlands (presented by Theo Johnson)
* BBC Music Introducing in West Yorkshire (presented by Emily Pilbeam)
* BBC Music Introducing in York and North Yorkshire (presented by Jericho Keys)
References
External links
BBC Music Introducing
''BBC Introducing with Jen and Ally''(Radio 1)
''The BBC Introducing Mixtape''(Radio 6 Music)
''100% HomeGrown''(Radio 1Xtra)
{{BBC 6 Music
Introducing
Introducing or Introducing... may refer to:
Albums
* ''Introducing... The Beatles'', 1964
* ''Introducing... Mari Hamada'', 1993
* ''Introducing...Rubén González'', 1997
* ''Introducing ... Talk Talk'', 2003
* ''Introducing...the Best Of'', by M ...
Introducing
Introducing or Introducing... may refer to:
Albums
* ''Introducing... The Beatles'', 1964
* ''Introducing... Mari Hamada'', 1993
* ''Introducing...Rubén González'', 1997
* ''Introducing ... Talk Talk'', 2003
* ''Introducing...the Best Of'', by M ...
BBC Local Radio programmes
BBC Radio 1 programmes
BBC Radio 6 Music programmes
British music radio programmes
Introducing
Introducing or Introducing... may refer to:
Albums
* ''Introducing... The Beatles'', 1964
* ''Introducing... Mari Hamada'', 1993
* ''Introducing...Rubén González'', 1997
* ''Introducing ... Talk Talk'', 2003
* ''Introducing...the Best Of'', by M ...
BBC New Media
Awards established in 2014
2007 establishments in the United Kingdom