PRS Foundation reveals the third round of Yorkshire-based artists to receive its PPL Momentum Accelerator support, in partnership with Launchpad
- Two Yorkshire based artists – Chiedu Oraka and Treeboy & Arc – to receive PPL Momentum Accelerator talent development grants of up to £5,000 each
- They join fellow PPL Momentum Accelerator supported Yorkshire artists Downtown Kayoto, English Teacher, Harkin, Noya Rao, Simeon Walker and TEAM PICTURE from the two previous rounds
PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, announces today the two Yorkshire-based artists to receive the latest round of PPL Momentum Accelerator talent development grants, in partnership with Music:Leeds / Music Local’s Launchpad and supported by Arts Council England:
- Chiedu Oraka – Recording, marketing and touring
- Treeboy & Arc – Recording and marketing
Selected by a network of industry experts, the two artists each receive grants of up to £5,000 to develop their careers and continue building momentum to get to the next vital tipping points in their careers.
PPL Momentum Accelerator artist Chiedu Oraka said,
“I’m really grateful that I have been awarded the PPL Momentum Accelerator fund! This fund will enable me to deliver a significant body of work which I plan to release next year. Big up the PRS Foundation for creating opportunities like this for upcoming artists. I know this pot of money will take my career to the next level.”
Treeboy & Arc said,
“We’re incredibly grateful to receive the PPL Momentum Accelerator fund and will be using it to work on creating our debut album, something we’ve been working on for nearly 4 years now. The grant has given us the opportunity to record the album with Matt Peel at The Nave studios in Leeds, who is a producer we’ve wanted to work with for a fair while now!.”
Chiedu Oraka and Treeboy & Arc follow fellow PPL Momentum Accelerator supported Yorkshire artists Downtown Kayoto, English Teacher, Harkin, Noya Rao, Simeon Walker and TEAM PICTURE from the two previous rounds.
PPL Momentum Accelerator funding supports exciting artists with a growing fanbase and who are working to establish a music industry team. The full PPL Momentum Music Fund is for artists with a team already in place and at a tipping point, ready to take the next step in their careers. Find out more about PPL Momentum and PPL Momentum Accelerator on PRS Foundation’s website.
This series of targeted Yorkshire editions of PPL Momentum Accelerator is in partnership with Launchpad, delivered by Music:Leeds / Music Local, which offers opportunities and support for emerging artists, musicians, producers, bands, composers and industry professionals in the Yorkshire region. Since 2019, Launchpad has directly supported over 100 artists and professionals with a combination of live opportunities, recording support, project funding and one-to-one industry advice & mentoring. The next Launchpad open call will be in early 2022, with ongoing support available through the online Advice Portal.
Becci Scotcher, Senior Grants & Programmes Manager at PRS Foundation said:
“Huge congratulations to Chiedu Oraka and Treeboy & Arc on receiving our latest PPL Momentum Accelerator support. We’re delighted that together with our partners on the fund, PPL, Music Leeds/Music Local, Spotify, Arts Council England and PRS for Music, we’ve been able to bring this vital targeted support to Yorkshire and support 8 excellent music creators to build on their talent and impact the music scene in Yorkshire. We look forward to seeing the effect of this support on the artists’ development and career moving forward.”
Samuel (Whiskas) Nicholls, Founder & Director of Music:Leeds said,
“It’s fantastic to be able to provide ongong support to breakthrough artists from Yorkshire, covering a range of genres, and across the whole region. We’re can’t wait to hear the new music that Chiedu and Treeboy & Arc are able to create with this funding!”
Sarah Mitchell, Director of Membership and Communications at PPL, said:
“In 2021 the PPL Momentum Accelerator fund has supported eight artists in Yorkshire, in addition to the 33 artists from across the UK funded by the full PPL Momentum Music Fund. We are proud to be able to offer financial support to so many artists at crucial points in their careers. It’s a testament to the depth of talent we have here in the UK and specifically the incredible music creators throughout Yorkshire. We look forward to continuing our support of homegrown artists through PRS Foundation’s great work.”
Find out more about PPL Momentum Accelerator
Managed by PRS Foundation, the PPL Momentum Music Fund initiative awards grants of £5,000-£15,000 using funds from PRS Foundation, PPL, Creative Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland. 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.
This new partnership with Music:Leeds/ Music Local’s Launchpad and PRS Foundation’s PPL Momentum Accelerator targeted support for Yorkshire has been made possible thanks to support from Youth Music and using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Leeds 2023, arts@leeds, and PRS Foundation’s Talent Development Partner network. You can find out more about Launchpad here.
From April 2013-March 2020 (Years 1-7), Momentum supported 390 artists and invested over £3.74m into new music. Based on the 5 Years of Momentum Report (2013-18), this means Momentum has:
- Supported 225 albums
- Over 260 UK Tours and over 1,400 live dates
- Generated over £18m for the UK music industry and UK economy.
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.
Listen to the latest Momentum supported artists on the Spotify Momentum playlist here.
Find out more about PPL Momentum Music Fund
