Yamaha Music London announces joint 2023 emerging artist ambassadors

In partnership with Yamaha Music London, Headliner recently offered an exciting opportunity to emerging solo artists in the UK whereby the winner would become the 2023 ambassador for Yamaha Music London’s unique flagship UK store.

The finalists were invited to Yamaha Music London in Soho on December 8 where they were invited to perform two original songs. Following this, the judging panel (which comprised Clean Bandit’s Grace Chatto and Yasmin Green, Ash Dutton, A&R at EMI Records, Stephen Davies, retail operations manager at Yamaha Music London, Kavitha Rao, music and marketing manager at Boisdale and Grace Mcguigan, client relations manager at Headliner) deliberated before each artist was welcomed back to perform a third and final song.

After impressing the judging panel due to the high standard of finalists, it was decided that indie/pop artist Bertie Green and pop artist Beth Keeping would be awarded joint winners of the ambassadorship prize.

Green is an unsigned artist, songwriter and multi instrumentalist from North West London that has played at Glastonbury and writes for a wide range of artists, spanning the genres of folk, pop, indie and rock, and he’s a regular on the live music showcase circuit in London.

“The Yamaha employees and team are so kind,” says Green. “As independent artists, we're so used to being sold a dream and then you get there and it's just not what they said. What was so funny about this was it was the complete opposite – what was advertised was brilliant and you got there and it exceeded all expectations.

“The first note I ever played on an instrument was on a Yamaha piano,” he points out, “so that's just crazy to think that I started my musical journey on a Yamaha piano and now I'm an ambassador for them. Their grand pianos are absolutely amazing – best in class. 

"To be working with a brand who produces the most beautiful instruments and then also back that up with such a kind, welcoming, warm and genuine love of music is so nice.

“I don't think that you can put a limit on how important and special this is,” Green says of his win. “Being an emerging or an independent artist in the early stages of your career is difficult for such a range of reasons, so when someone gives you support and space to express yourself in such a genuine way, it is transformative. 

"Beyond that, the biggest thing is the feeling of welcome and love, and knowing that you're being supported by people who owe you nothing, but because of your craft, they've really listened. It just means so much to be working with Headliner and Yamaha who really care and really want us to succeed. 

"When you have that support, that pushes you further than anything, and you can't really put a number on that.”

Joint-ambassador, Keeping is a UK-based singer/songwriter who started out writing for other artists in Singapore, Ireland and the USA before recording her first EP in Nashville. 

After gaining close to a million views on TikTok over the pandemic, Keeping felt inspired to start focusing on her own music as an artist. Keeping’s desire to champion and empower women is evident not only through her lyrics, but also in her initiative, Write Like A Girl, which shines a light on female songwriters.

“I didn't really understand how big and important this opportunity was at the time – I just applied and then the more I heard about it, and then when I got into the final, I started to get a little bit nervous!” says Keeping.

“I'm so excited for 2023 and to be able to work with Yamaha. Their instruments and their brand is just amazing. The first few songs I performed on this beautiful concert grand piano that is worth a lot of money – it's so big, it's for huge, orchestral halls – it wouldn't even fit in my house! It was so beautiful – it was an absolute joy to be able to play my songs on it.

“I'm so grateful to Yamaha and Headliner for this opportunity, because I've grown as an artist over the last year through doing live shows and through social media, and I've gained some new fans, but actually, gaining the attention of industry is a whole other ballgame, and it's actually really hard sometimes. 

"It’s a real privilege to have this opportunity and hopefully to open some doors that maybe were closed to me before. I'm really excited for these incredible opportunities and to be able to really throw myself into 2023, full pelt, and see what happens.”

As joint winners, Green and Keeping now have access to Yamaha's extensive collection of award-winning instruments for a year, a free recording session each at a professional studio, a chance to perform at some of London's best venues (including Yamaha's Soho-based music store) and will receive exclusive mentorship to develop their future success as artists.

In addition, they will both receive an editorial profile in Headliner, will each be welcomed as a guest on Headliner’s podcast platform, will receive three months of PR support, will feature on Yamaha Music London’s (YML) socials and will be able to use the Yamaha Music London Ambassador logo on all their marketing materials and assets.

“When I was asked to be a judge I had no idea how difficult it would be to get it down to one winner, hence why we had joint winners,” commented Mcguigan.

“Each artist was amazing in their own way; we would have put them all through if we could have! Bertie Green blew me away with his voice and stage presence – I couldn't help but smile while he was performing. Beth Keeping's ability to play the piano and guitar was amazing and her voice was effortless. I feel blessed to have met such a talented, humble group of artists.”