PRS Foundation has revealed the next 17 acts who will receive support from the Momentum Music Fund.
Managed by PRS Foundation, the Momentum Music fund awards grants of £5,000 to £15,000 using funds from PRS Foundation, PPL, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest NI. Official digital partner Spotify contributes additional funding and a reward package, while event partner Ben Sherman offers live opportunities, additional marketing, promotional and bespoke branding support.
The successful artists, selected by a network of industry experts, are: Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard (marketing single releases and touring costs, Esya (recording and promotion for an EP), Girl Ray (touring), Honeyblood (recording an EP), I See Rivers (recording and promotion of debut album), Man & The Echo (marketing and promotion of second album), Maxsta (visuals for live shows and videos), Pat Dam Smyth (marketing of tour), Penelope Isles (touring), Penya (recording and marketing of second album), Rachael Dadd (touring), Ryan Vail (recording and release of album), Squid (touring), Tawiah (touring and live show installation and design), The Ninth Wave (touring), The Orielles (recording of second album) and WH Lung (recording of second album).
Joe Frankland, CEO of PRS Foundation, which initiated The Momentum Music Fund with Arts Council England in 2013, said, “Huge congratulations to all the artists from across the UK selected in this latest round. We’ve seen from our evaluation report the direct impact of Momentum support on artists careers, whether it’s average earnings increasing, performing to bigger audiences, social and streaming stats increasing or being nominated for awards such as the Mercury Prize. I’m looking forward to following the progress of this latest round and how this support impacts their individual careers.”
Sarah Mitchell, director of member services at PPL, added: “At PPL, we are excited to see the array of UK talent being funded in this latest round of the Momentum Music Fund. Our primary role is to collect and distribute money on behalf of thousands of performers and record companies, from session musicians and orchestral players to self-releasing artists and independent record labels. Supporting PRS Foundation is a natural extension of this ethos and we are proud to work with the charity in helping to build music careers and support the talent of the future.”
Bryan Johnson, lead, artist & industry partnerships at Spotify said, “This new round of Momentum funding features 17 artists who will benefit from vital financial support to help progress them to the next level of their careers. We look forward to working with all artists and their teams, and providing them with the tools and opportunities to expand their fanbase and showcase their music to our global audience of 232 million users.”
The Momentum Music five-year impact report, which was launched at the Great Escape in May this year, showed that since 2013 the fund has supported over 200 artists, over 90 new albums and more than 100 UK tours totaling over 650 UK live dates.
The next deadline for applications to the Momentum Music Fund is September 11, 2019 via the PRS Foundation website.
