The Tune into Nature Music Prize 2026

Winner, highly commended entry and shortlisted artists announced!

The Tune into Nature Music Prize is a prize for musicians and singer/songwriters aged 18-30 and resident in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man whose work demonstrates a true collaboration with nature.

The BBC has been collaborating with the prize, run by The University of Derby and EarthPercent with Voice for Nature, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Sounds Right.

Will Pearce, aka Beetlemania, wowed the judges including BBC presenter Elizabeth Alker, with his entry 2-Spot Ladybird. He’s been crowned the winner.

He said, “I am now a science teacher, and I wrote this song as a reminder to myself to not over-intellectualise nature or be a gatekeeper for others who may fall in love with it too.”

The track sampled the call of a capercaillie and the sound of a common eider duck, as well as other natural sounds, including a herring gull and skylark recorded during a trip to Lundy, an island in the Bristol Channel.

Shivani Sen was Highly Commended for her song ‘RASA’.

Shivani explained, “This track is an ode to my childhood as an Indian classical vocalist in training, walking each Tuesday evening toward my guru’s home.

“Along the way, I would notice the birds above and rain resting on treetops. From my earliest memories of sound, nature has always been the site of my most vivid creative encounters.”

As the prize winner, Beetlemania will receive £500 and the option to have the track featured as a new release on NATURE’s profile on major streaming platforms as part of the Sounds Right initiative, benefitting from promotion and marketing and featured on a special playlist, helping to raise funds for nature restoration and protection.

Radio 3’s Unclassified has devoted a special edition to the prize, playing the winning and highly commended tracks, along with those from the ten other shortlisted artists. Further airplay of tracks is planned on BBC Introducing shows.

Find out more about the prize and details of all the shortlisted artists and their tracks, ranging from folk and jazz to classic and electronic here. The BBC is not responsible for the content or management of third party websites.