Eurovision 2020: UK entry "could be an act coming back"

Next year's Eurovision entry could be an established act, according to music company BMG.

It was recently announced that for the first time a record label will team up with the BBC to choose the entrant and song for the contest.

The company has a publishing arm with a roster of songwriters, as well as a group of record labels. Artists signed to BMG include Kylie Minogue, Boy George, Dido and Simply Red. 

Discussing their plans for Eurovision, Alistair Norbury, president, repertoire and marketing UK for BMG, told Music Week: "It could be a new act, it could be an emerging act, it could be an act coming back. It's a complete blank canvas.

"The song will definitely have a BMG songwriter's involvement, it may well be a co-write. The most important thing is to come up with the best song. As we've seen, the average hit now has four to five writers on it."

Next year will mark 23 years since the UK last won Eurovision, when Katrina and The Waves stormed to victory with Love Shine A Light. 

Norbury continued: "Whoever the artist is, the track will be on BMG and the song will have some BMG publishing within it.

"It's actually been very interesting seeing who's phoning up. It's going to be a very intriguing process."

MORE: Eurovision's highest charting songs in the UK

The move to put the UK's Eurovision entry in the hands of a record label follows a run of dissapointing results for the country in recent years. This year's entry, Michael Rice's Bigger Than Us, finished last place, while 2018 entrant SuRie came 24th with Storm. 

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 takes place in Rotterdam between May 12-16.