Nova Twins, And So I Watch You From Afar, Joshua Burnside and Oscar Worldpeace among the latest 21 artists to receive support from PRS Foundation’s Momentum Music Fund
- First two Liverpool based artists to receive Momentum Accelerator support
PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, together with PPL, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Invest NI and Spotify reveal the next 12 artists who will receive support from the pioneering Momentum Music Fund. The artists, who have been selected by a network of industry experts, are:
And So I Watch You From Afar – Audio visual and live show development
C Duncan – Touring
Eyesore & The Jinx – Touring
FUR – Touring
Grace Savage – Marketing and promotion
Holding Absence – Recording
Joshua Burnside – Touring
Kid Kapichi – Marketing
Kidsmoke – Recording and marketing
Kobi Onyame – Recording
Man of Moon – Recording
Martha Ffion – Recording
Miink – Recording
NOVA TWINS – Marketing and promotion for singles and touring
Oscar #Worldpeace – Marketing
Petrol Girls – Marketing
RED RUM CLUB – Touring
Ryan McMullan – Recording, mixing and mastering
Siobhan Wilson – Marketing
Sub Blue – Recording and releasing
Zilo – Recording and marketing
Momentum supported Nova Twins said, “Without this grant we wouldn’t be able to give our music the proper release support that it deserves”
This latest round includes the first artists to be supported through the new Momentum Accelerator initiative. Grants of up to £5,000, plus advice and support are available for talented Liverpool based artists and their growing teams to help them reach a crucial tipping point and become more investment-ready in the future. The first two Liverpool based artists to benefit from this first round of Momentum Accelerator are, Eyesore & The Jinx and Sub Blue.
Vanessa Reed, CEO at PRS Foundation said, “Huge congratulations to the talented artists that have been supported in this latest round of our pioneering Momentum Music Fund which includes the results of a new partnership with Liverpool City Council. By supporting our first two Momentum Accelerator artists, we’re extending our Momentum support to more emerging artists outside of London where we’ll be investing in local infrastructure and earlier stage talent. I’m looking forward to extending this Momentum support to other UK cities and following the next steps of all artists selected in this latest round.”
Kevin McManus, Head of UNESCO City of Music at Culture Liverpool said, “We have been delighted to work with the PRS Foundation on this scheme. Talent development is crucial to the health of the local music sector and so to be able to offer the funding and support provided by Momentum has been a really positive move for the city. Liverpool is a music city and we are fortunate to always have genuine music talent coming through. But to ensure that this talent has this the opportunity to break though then initiatives like the Momentum Music Fund are absolutely essential in nurturing music creators. Momentum adds to some excellent programmes that already exist in the city like LIMF Academy and Bido Lito’s Sound Station amongst others.”
Sarah Mitchell, Director of Member Services at PPL commented: “The Momentum Music Fund is a force for good in the music industry, helping emerging and established artists to tour, record and promote their work at crucial points in their career. By nurturing UK talent the Momentum Music Fund plays an important role in supporting the future of our music industry. PPL is proud to play such an important part in this and we congratulate every artist on their success in receiving funding.”
Jamie Houston Music Specialist at Creative Scotland commented, “The range of musicians being supported in this round demonstrates the strength and diversity of talent within Scotland. Through benefitting from expert advice and recording and marketing new material, these career-boosting grants will help C Duncan, Kobi Onyame, Man of Moon, Martha Ffion and Siobhan Wilson at a crucial point in their careers. They join an esteemed list of artists from across the UK including Public Service Broadcasting, Dream Wife and Kate Tempest, amongst many others who have gone on to establish successful careers thanks to the support of the Momentum programme. We’re delighted to partner with the PRS Foundation to ensure Scotland’s musicians can benefit from this innovate programme and share their music with the world.”
Ciaran Scullion, Head of Music at Arts Council of Northern Ireland said, “The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is committed to providing valuable, meaningful opportunities for our artists and the Momentum Music Fund does that by enabling artists to take that vital next step in the development of their professional musical careers. We are proud to partner with PRS Foundation and Invest NI in this important initiative and congratulate And So I Watch You From Afar, Joshua Burnside, Ryan McMullan and all the artists taking part in this exciting opportunity.”
Lisa Matthews, Portfolio Manager at Arts Council of Wales said: “It’s great to see Kidsmoke be supported to take the next step in their development. Having returned from SXSW to UK showcases at WideDays and with a Great Escape and a hometown gig at Focus Wales lined up this year, they’re a brilliant example of the level we wanted to support in Wales though our partnership with PRS Foundation. We hope it encourages more Welsh artists at this stage to apply for the next round.”
Bryan Johnson, Lead, Artist & Industry Partnerships at Spotify said “This latest round of Momentum funding features twenty one incredibly talented artists who will benefit from financial support, enabling them to take the vital next steps in their careers. We look forward to working with all artists and their teams, and providing them with the tools and opportunities to expand their audience and showcase their music to our global user base. Congrats to all!.”
Managed by PRS Foundation, the Momentum Music fund awards grants of £5,000-£15,000 using funds from PRS Foundation, PPL, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest NI. Spotify, the official digital partner on the fund, contributes additional funding and a reward package containing exciting promotional opportunities and a close working relationship between Momentum artists and the Spotify team. Liverpool City Council’s partnership for the Momentum Music Fund, called Momentum Accelerator, ensures that at least £20,000 of grant support will be offered to talented Liverpool based artists.
The Momentum Music 5 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 2016 impact report analysing the first three years of the fund revealed that Momentum has generated £13million for the UK music industry. PRS Foundation and Arts Council England initiated The Momentum Music Fund in 2013. Arts Council England originally established the need for this specific fund and supported the programme from 2013-18.
For a full rundown of all the artists supported so far see: https://prsfoundation.com/funding/momentum-music-fund/momentum-artists. The next deadline for applications to the Momentum Music Fund is 28th May 2019 via the PRS Foundation website. We are particularly interested in receiving more applications from outside of London: https://prsfoundation.com/funding/momentum-music-fund.
Listen to the latest Momentum supported artists on the Spotify Momentum playlist here.
