Having launched back in April amid a storm of media interest, the new innovative music talent platform, Salute Music Makers, has just a few days left before entries for this year close with the date being set at Midnight on August 13th.
From this point no further sign ups will be taken and the competition will then move onto the all-important, ‘listening phase’, whereby curators and music industry experts will evaluate, then judge all Music Makers with the aim of narrowing down the talent pool to a top 100 most promising songwriters.
Since the initial April 27th sign up date, The Salute team, spearheaded by legendary Undertones front-man, Feargal Sharkey, have been inundated with great UK talent covering all genres as outlined below and are now preparing for the next stage which will see their dedicated and experienced team of curators pick out music makers with the most potential, culminating in an unprecedented no-strings-attached £50,000 prize.
Since opening, Salute Music Makers has seen a wide range of genres represented, as was always their intention, with hip-hop accounting for 20% of the total entries, pop 16%, singer-songwriter 14%, rock 13% and indie 10%.
In addition, in terms of age demographics, the younger generations have seen the most pick up, with a huge 83% of contestants coming from the 16-34 category, thus showing that there is a youth-led hunger for song writing and fountain of talent available in the UK today.
However, there has been a noticeable disparity between genders applying for the Salute Music Makers Competition. With just 19% of entries being female, Salute are keen to find out why this is.
Renowned female producer and songwriter, Dee Adam, who has been recruited as a member of Salute’s curator panel, was keen to comment on the findings:
‘I am surprised and a little sad that so few girls have entered the competition, especially knowing how many talented female songwriters there are in the UK. Girls need to be heard and in an industry that is heavily dominated by males, it is telling that women still feel subservient and attitudes are still in the dark ages. There any still SO many challenges and barriers for women in the industry to break through or feel comfortable participating in a competition of this kind. It’s time for us to makes a difference!’
Feargal Sharkey also told us that:
‘From the beginning of the Salute Music Makers’ journey, diversity and opportunity has always been at the heart of our vision – whether that be in style of music, age or gender – we aim to be inclusive of all. We know that there is just as much female talent out there as male and we want to provide a platform for showcasing this talent, so don’t be shy if you think you have a killer track – £50,000 is at stake!’
Entrants to the Salute Music Makers competition stand the chance of winning £50,000 in cash, while the other five shortlisted finalists will each receive a £10,000 cash prize, no strings attached.The Salute competition reflects the dramatic changes in the way new music is written, recorded and shared. Recent advancements in music technology enable music makers to create music almost anytime, anywhere and the quality of organic, original music emerging from home studios has never been higher and is constantly evolving. Now is the perfect time to provide a platform for this talent by launching a competition that salutes the DIY generation of music makers.
Find out more on Salute here:
http://www.salutemusic.uk/
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