FR, PRS Foundation reveal 2019 ReBalance finalists

Festival Republic and PRS Foundation have announced that Luna, Lady Sanity and Martha Hill are the first 2019 finalists for ReBalance, a programme providing five days’ recording time to a female artist or female-led band, as well as a slot at a Festival Republic or Live Nation Festival.

Launched in 2017, ReBalance aims to combat the gender imbalance within the music industry, providing support to UK-based core female-identified bands and artists, as well as offering studio apprenticeships to women wanting to become sound engineers.

Artists and engineers eligible for the scheme are nominated to a panel of industry experts who select their choices. A quarterly selection panel then shortlists and chooses the successful artists and engineers. One successful artist applicant is selected each month.

The first finalists for this year are Liverpool-based electronic pop artist Luna, Birmingham rapper Lady Sanity – set to perform at Wireless Festival this year –, and Newcastle’s Martha Hill, a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist.

https://twitter.com/Re_BalanceUK/status/1102510435767672832

Finalists have the opportunity to showcase their talents every few months at the ReBalance Sessions.

Candidates from last year’s programme include Dublin’s Æ MAK, who are booked to play Reading and Leeds festivals this year and have signed with Primary Talent’s Matt Bates.

Lazy Day, another 2018 finalist, will soon release their new EP Letters, recorded as part of the ReBalance programme, and will appear at Latitude festival this year. The band’s founder and lead singer, Tilly Scantlebury, will speak on the International Live Music Conference’s diversity panel on Thursday 7 March.

Recent reports from BBC news and the University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative have highlighted the continuing gender imbalance within the live music industry and the need for initiatives that address the lack of parity between male and female artists and crew members.

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