Featured Artist

MarkMeets Featured Artist: Championing New Music Since 2002

MarkMeets Featured Artist is our longstanding platform for discovering, promoting and supporting music talent. Since 2002, we have put artists in front of new audiences through interviews, reviews, live showcases, photography, video and publicity.

We have backed unsigned performers, championed independent releases and worked with artists who went on to become household names. Our contribution has extended beyond the website: arranging performance opportunities, making industry introductions, promoting gigs and helping talent secure television, radio and press exposure.

We were doing this before social media made music discovery an everyday habit. We are still doing it because there is nothing quite like hearing an artist for the first time and knowing you want other people to hear them too.

Explore our Featured Artist coverage

Backing New Music Before BBC Introducing Launched

MarkMeets began supporting emerging talent in 2002, five years before BBC Introducing launched in 2007. Our team was already attending, arranging and promoting music showcases, interviewing unsigned artists and sharing their work online.

Giving an unknown performer space was a deliberate editorial choice. A famous name might attract more immediate attention, but an emerging artist needed someone willing to listen, ask questions and introduce their music properly.

We made room for those artists. Our writers, interviewers, photographers and presenters helped turn performances and early releases into stories readers could discover and share.

Our retrospective on the first 17 years of MarkMeets Introducing records that work across publishing, showcases, social media and artist promotion.

Our Track Record in Numbers

By our 15th anniversary, artists supported through MarkMeets Introducing had collectively gone on to achieve:

20+ UK No. 1 singles.
100+ UK Top 10 singles.
35+ UK No. 1 albums.
70+ UK Top 10 albums.

These anniversary milestones reflect the success of artists within our wider support and coverage history. We are proud to have contributed through promotion, interviews, performances, introductions and media opportunities as their careers developed.

Our own achievements include arranging festival slots, organising showcase opportunities, producing original interviews and helping secure coverage across television, radio and the press. This has been practical, sustained work carried out over more than two decades.

BBC Recognition for Supporting Emerging Musicians

Our published retrospective records BBC recognition for MarkMeets founder Mark Boardman’s support of hundreds of emerging singers and musicians over a 15-year period.

That support reached undiscovered performers, buskers and working musicians trying to build an audience. It reflected the same commitment behind our Featured Artist section: give talent attention, help people hear it and use our experience to create opportunities.

For MarkMeets, promoting new music has never been confined to a single campaign. It has been part of the publication’s identity from the beginning.

Artists Featured and Supported by MarkMeets

Our Featured Artist and wider Introducing history includes performers from across pop, indie, soul, electronic music, country and other genres. Some were taking their first professional steps; others were developing a following or preparing to reach a much larger audience.

Artists featured or supported across our music coverage include:

Ed Sheeran, Florence + the Machine, Ellie Goulding, George Ezra, Becky Hill and The 1975.
James Bay, London Grammar, Years & Years, Rizzle Kicks, Jake Bugg and Marina and the Diamonds.
Jessie J, Sam Smith, Holly Humberstone, Pa Salieu, Izzy Bizu and Slaves.
The Shires, Jack Garratt, Conrad Sewell, Adam Lambert, Carly Rae Jepsen and Aiden Grimshaw.
Rae Morris, Mary Spender, Josh Butler, Rixton, Mila Falls and Eve-Yasmine.
Tizane, Robyn Regan, Franklin Lake, Sharlette, Harry Pane and Scarlet Baxter.
Sophie and the Bom Boms, James King, Riva, Kit Rice, Paige Ashley and Derek Ryan.
Harvey, now known as HRVY, Jamie Eldridge, James Eldridge, Laura Steel and Tom Andrews.
Tom Mann, Overload, Beth Sherburn, Blaise, Jukeboxx, District 3 and The Dolly Rockers.
Conway, Gio, Amy-Jo Clough, Luke Towler, Ria Ritchie, Diamond Days and Michael Sutthakorn.
Parade, Kingsland Road, Concept, Tich, Idolising Nova and Dani Sylvia.

Our wider music work has also involved artists including RAYE, Justin Bieber, One Direction, McFly, The Vamps, Michael Bublé, Charli XCX and Little Mix. The work has taken different forms across interviews, promotion, events and other projects.

The archive matters because it records those contributions: the interview published, the performance covered, the artist introduced and the release given attention.

What Artists Have Said About Our Support

Tom Mann: Featured Artist, October 2013

Our October 2013 interview with Tom Mann explored his sound, songwriting ambitions and experience of reaching a growing audience. He closed the conversation with a direct acknowledgement:

“Thanks Mark for having me as your featured artist and supporting me.”

Tom Mann, MarkMeets interview, October 2013

Idolising Nova: Supporting Discovery

In our November 2015 feature, Idolising Nova credited MarkMeets alongside BBC Introducing with encouraging listeners to discover new bands. Speaking about those platforms, they said:

“They really are great for upcoming bands and artists.”

Idolising Nova, MarkMeets interview, November 2015

Artists Sharing Their MarkMeets Interviews

Our retrospective preserves HRVY’s February 2014 social post encouraging followers to read his MarkMeets interview. It also records Shane Filan sharing our August 2013 interview about his solo music.

These acknowledgements show another part of the relationship: artists using their MarkMeets coverage to tell their own audiences more about their work.

What Is MarkMeets Featured Artist?

MarkMeets Featured Artist gives a performer or group a dedicated period of attention, traditionally across a month. We introduce the artist, explore their music and help readers find out where to listen, follow or see them live.

We consider unsigned newcomers, independent artists and established performers whose work deserves a wider audience. The deciding factor is our interest in the music and the story behind it.

A feature should leave readers knowing more than a name. We want them to understand the sound, hear the artist’s own perspective and have a reason to explore the next track.

MarkMeets Featured Artist: supporting and promoting emerging music talent — MarkMeets Featured Artist — backing talent and introducing new music to new audiences.

How We Promote Our Featured Artists

Dedicated Profiles and Original Interviews

We give artists space to explain their work through profiles and interviews. That can mean discussing an early release, exploring songwriting influences or talking honestly about the experience of building a career.

Our interviewers have spoken to performers backstage, at showcases, during press opportunities and through dedicated sessions. Original questions give readers something beyond a standard press biography.

Video, Photography and Exclusive Content

Our features have included original photography, filmed interviews, quick-fire conversations and performance content. Where arranged, we have also featured exclusive material and cover performances recorded for MarkMeets.

For example, James King’s January 2015 feature was followed by two video interview segments with Adam Oakley later that year, alongside MarkMeets stage photography.

Continued Coverage Across Releases

Our support can continue beyond an introductory article. Following an artist’s next release gives readers a chance to hear their development and keeps the connection going.

Dani Sylvia’s Featured Artist profile was followed by coverage of her “Perfection Generation” music video, bringing new material back to our audience.

Social Media and Artist Takeovers

MarkMeets has hosted artist takeovers on Twitter, now known as X, giving performers direct access to our followers. Alongside social posts, interviews and release updates, these sessions offered artists another way to share their personality and connect with listeners.

Our promotion has also included newsletter coverage and sharing music features across our wider network.

Festival Slots, Showcases and Industry Introductions

MarkMeets has helped artists move beyond the page and onto the stage. Our work has included arranging festival performance slots, inviting talent to live music sessions and creating opportunities to perform in front of industry contacts.

London showcases have brought artists together with journalists, press contacts, talent scouts and other performers. We have worked alongside agencies and record labels, using our relationships to help developing talent reach people who could take an interest in their next steps.

Our support has also included press opportunities, magazine features, live promotion, suitable red-carpet access and introductions at entertainment events.

Working With SebCollective

Our retrospective recognises the team at SebCollective among the collaborators involved in supporting this work. Shared enthusiasm, useful contacts and people willing to put time into emerging artists have helped turn ideas into practical opportunities.

Free PR Support for Talent We Believe In

MarkMeets has provided substantial publicity and promotional support without charge. That commitment has extended to musicians, developing presenters and people working towards careers in television and radio.

We have photographed acts, reviewed singles and albums, promoted gigs, shared advice and helped artists make connections. We have backed performers while they were still finding their audience and continued to take an interest as their work progressed.

MarkMeets is run on a not-for-profit basis. Supporting talent is part of our purpose, and our enthusiasm starts with believing that someone’s work deserves to be heard.

Our Annual Ones to Watch

Alongside the monthly feature, our annual Ones to Watch coverage highlights performers we want readers to discover.

These selections bring together artists with different sounds and backgrounds. Some are building momentum around a debut; others have been working for years and are approaching a new stage.

We want the coverage to lead somewhere useful: a listener finding a song, following an artist, buying a release or booking a ticket.

The Audience Behind MarkMeets Featured Artist

MarkMeets.com receives 750,000 monthly page views and reaches readers across more than 125 countries. Our newsletter has 121,000 subscribers.

Our current social following includes:

Instagram: 171,000+ followers.
X / Twitter: 64,000+ followers.
Facebook: 209,000+ followers.
YouTube: 12,800+ subscribers.
TikTok: 84,000+ followers.

Our history includes more than 10 million cumulative page views, trending social conversations and longstanding relationships with artists, publicists, agencies and media professionals.

That network gives our music work an established publishing platform and an international audience. The reach of individual features varies, but each sits within a publication that has spent more than two decades covering entertainment and promoting talent.

Explore Our Music Archive

Our archive contains years of artist introductions and original conversations. Alongside the examples above, explore Derek Ryan’s March 2014 feature, our interview with Sophie and the Bom Boms and Conrad Sewell’s August 2015 feature.

These articles are part of a much larger record of listening, interviewing, reviewing and publishing. They show the consistency behind our commitment to new music.

Help Us Back the Next Artist

Readers are part of this story too. An interview can introduce someone, but listeners turn that introduction into support.

Read the feature and share it with someone who might enjoy the music.
Follow @MarkMeets and share relevant artist posts.
Listen to the releases and buy music or merchandise where you can.
Attend a gig and take a friend.
Share coverage through relevant music communities, websites and forums.
Recommend an artist you think we should hear.

Put an Artist Forward

Artists, managers, publicists and listeners can send recommendations to Press@MarkMeets.com.

Include a short introduction, links to representative tracks and information about upcoming releases or confirmed live dates. A live performance clip is helpful where available, along with a named contact and interview availability.

You do not need to tell us that an artist is the next global superstar. Let us hear the music, tell us what they are working on and explain why now is a good time to meet them.

More Than Two Decades of Music Discovery

MarkMeets Featured Artist represents years of practical support: the showcase attended, the interview arranged, the festival opportunity secured and the artist introduced to a new listener.

We are proud of that work and of the performers who have been part of it. There is more music to discover and more talent worth backing.

Meet our featured artists and explore the latest coverage.

MarkMeets — championing new music since 2002.

Author Profile

Mark Meets

Articles published under the MarkMeets byline are written and edited by our shared editorial team. Our coverage spans entertainment, business, technology, lifestyle and other topics of interest to MarkMeets readers.