Championing local acts
The Artist Top 9
Every edition we pick nine artists from our region we believe will go on to have success, and we print them: a photo, a genre, a track to listen to and a QR code straight to their music. Ones to watch, on paper, in people's hands.
We take the Top 9 with us everywhere. We attend networking events, we host our own, and we travel to music conventions all around the country — and the printed Top 9 goes in the bag with us. The point is simple: get artists from our region in front of people who can open doors for them.
Copies have gone into the hands of label owners, promoters, and DJs including Emily Pilbeam of BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Introducing, and Jericho Keys of BBC Introducing. A printed sheet is harder to ignore than a link, and it travels home in someone's pocket.
It has also gone to UK Music — including chief executive Tom Kiehl, who has urged councils to back the organisation's Local Music Action Charter — and to people in local government from Bradford to Hull, among them the Leader of Bradford Council. Putting nine local names in a decision-maker's hand is a quick way to make a city's talent real to the people who fund and shape culture.
What goes into an edition
- Nine acts, chosen across genres — rock, hip-hop, bassline, synth-pop, metal, songwriters.
- A photo, a one-line description and a recommended track for each artist.
- A QR code per act, straight through to their music and socials.
- Printed in volume and handed out in person, plus published across our channels.
Where they got to
Artists we picked early are now on national radio
Many of the acts we have featured have gone on to become prominent nationally — which is exactly the outcome the format is designed to produce.
Hannah Hu picking up BBC Radio 6 Music play
Kenzo Jae picking up BBC Radio 1 play
Kenzo Jae going on to be signed to a major label
Marky B, Jae Depz and S Dog building big YouTube followings and the festival circuit
Why it matters
Naming talent builds a scene
Championing local acts is not a nice-to-have. It is one of the cheapest, fastest levers a city has for growing its music economy.
It inspires artists
When a local act sees a peer picked out and taken seriously, the bar rises. Bands rehearse harder, release more and take themselves seriously as a career rather than a hobby.
It creates names
Scenes need names. Recognisable local acts give audiences a reason to buy a ticket for a band they have not heard yet, and give venues a bill that sells.
It draws people in
Names draw people into a city and into its venues — midweek footfall, bar spend, late-night transport, visitors from neighbouring towns.
It builds a buzz
A scene with a story travels. Press, radio and industry start looking at the city, and the next generation of artists decides to stay and build here rather than leave.
Replicable anywhere
There is amazing music in every city
Nothing about the Top 9 is specific to Bradford. Every city and every town has artists who are good enough and simply have not been picked out, printed and carried into the right rooms. The format is cheap to produce, quick to establish, and works as well for a district of 50,000 as it does for a city of half a million.
We can run a Top 9 programme for your area end to end — selection panel, artist liaison, design, print, distribution and the industry networking that puts it in front of labels, promoters and broadcasters — or set it up and hand it over to a local team to keep running.
What a city gets
- A recurring, recognisable local artist showcase in print and online.
- Direct routes for local acts to industry, radio and festival bookers.
- A visible signal that the council backs its artists — a strong cultural strategy proof point.
- Content the local press, venues and schools all want to use.
- An artist dataset that feeds funding bids and future programming.
Let's talk
Start the conversation
Happy to run a free initial call on your city's music ecosystem and where the quick wins are.