Bars and pubs have a chance of winning £10,000 to upgrade their venue for live music in a competition run by performing rights body PRS for Music.
It has today launched a call for entries for its annual Music Makeover competition which for 2013 sees a doubling of the value of the top prize.
The winner will receive £10,000 to kit out their venue with equipment from music equipment retailer GAK. There are also 10 runner-up prizes of £200 GAK vouchers.
Pubs and bars across the UK can enter at prsformusic.com/musicmakeover. The deadline for entries is December 31 and the winner will be announced in January.
The judging panel will include representatives from the British Beer and Pub Association, the Musicians’ Union, the Scottish Music Industry Association and PRS for Music, which represents 100,000 songwriters and composers.
The competition is also endorsed by artists including David McAlmont, Status Quo, Chvrches, Alt J, Wolf Alice, Scouting for Girls and Sandi Thom.
Iain Cook of Chvrches said: “Local pubs and small venues are hugely important. I’ve been playing in bands since 1993 and there’s a real willingness from pubs and promoters to give young talent a chance. They are a really encouraging force.”
Paul Clements, PRS for Music’s director of public performance sales, said: “Pubs across the UK continue to be one of the most popular places for people to socialise and we recognise that they are crucial in maintaining and developing the UK music scene.
“Music Makeover 2013 offers landlords across the UK a chance to enter our campaign to revamp their pub and make live music a central part of their success.
“We have doubled this year’s prize money to £10,000 which will undoubtedly make a huge difference to the lucky winner.”
Previous winners include The Royal Oak in Somerset, The Market Inn in Kent and The Burnaby Arms in Bedford.
Lucie Fuller of The Burnaby Arms said: “Regardless of whether you’re an independent pub or owned by a brewery, most landlords don’t have this kind of money to spend on doing up a space specifically for live music. Being able to revamp the pub with the new equipment gave us another avenue to explore and has benefited us immensely.”
Research by PRS for Music found that there is significant sales uplift for music venues compared to non-music venues. On average, pubs and venues that provided live music can take up to £306 more per day on wet sales, increasing to £667 per venue per day over the weekend.
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