Voting to find winner of 'Next BRIT thing' starts

Voting started yesterday to find the winner of Next BRIT thing, a nationwide music competition for young people aged 11-19 backed by the UK music industry, the BRIT Awards and the government.

Ed Vaizey, Katie Melua and pupils from Abey Road School on the steps of Abbey Road Studios yesterdayEntrants have been able to upload audio and video entries to www.nextbritthing.com since Monday 19 September with nearly a thousand entries already received. Voting opened to the public yesterday and will run until 12 noon on Friday 16 December 2011.
 
Musicians of any genre are still being encouraged to record and upload their performances to Next BRIT thing with two categories for the competition: popular and classical music plus an additional award for composition.

Culture Minister, Ed Vaizey, Katie Melua and students from Abbey Road School visited Abbey Road Studios yesterday to launch the new public vote and charts.

Ed Vaizey said:

'By launching the Next Brit thing, the music industry is making a huge investment in the next generation of talent. Anything that brings music into young people’s lives gets my vote of confidence but one exciting element of Next Brit thing is that it gives aspiring young artists the opportunity to find their own style, be it classical, pop or jazz.
 
'Learning an instrument and singing are incredibly important for young people and should be a key part of education which is why we will shortly be launching a National Plan for Music Education. In the meantime, I urge as many people as possible to visit the website and get voting.'

Katie Melua said:

'The Next BRIT thing competition gives all young people a fantastic opportunity to show off their talent and get their music heard. So anyone that would like to get involved should start now by writing, performing, recording and voting on your favourite tracks. You never know where it might lead – it could be you recording your song at Abbey Road next year!'
 
Some of the UK’s biggest music stars including Jessie J, Pixie Lott, Paloma Faith, Tinchy Stryder, Laura Wright, Chipmunk, Eliza Doolittle, Dionne Bromfield and Dappy from NDubz have already supported Next BRIT thing.
 
From this week, a rolling chart of the most-voted for entries in the last seven days will be published online.  Regional charts will cover the South of England, the Midlands, North of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
 
The top 30 most popular acts in each category, in each region, will form a long-list to be assessed by the expert panel with up to six acts taking part in regional eliminations. These will be held at special one-day sessions where competitors will not only get to play in front of the judges but will also receive coaching and one-to-one feedback on their performances.
 
The regional events take place in the first week of February 2012 with the finalists going forward to the national final at the O2 Indigo in March 2012.
 
Prizes on offer include:

• the chance to record at Abbey Road Studios for the winner of the popular music category
• the chance to appear on the next BRIT Awards album
• a one-day masterclass with producer, Steve Levine
• a classical recording session
• tickets to the BRIT Awards for regional and national winners
• a share in £10,000 worth of music equipment from a major manufacturer