New Year Message from PRS Foundation CEO, Joe Frankland

Following a year in which PRS Foundation celebrated 25 years of investing in the future of music, I am looking forward to what is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the music creator community we serve.

Songwriters, composers, artists and other music creators are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain their careers.

The impact of the grassroots touring crisis is felt by all in the ecosystem. Breaking through is challenging when over 100,000 tracks hit streaming platforms every day (and Deezer’s findings show that roughly 1/3 of releases are fully AI-generated!). And on a global stage, increased competition, rising costs and Brexit-related barriers mean we must urgently fill export pipeline gaps to ensure that UK talent can continue to thrive, particularly where it takes longer than it used to for music creators to break through.

When these threats are combined with barriers facing music creators and industry professionals from underrepresented backgrounds, we know that the sector is losing far too many talented songwriters, composers, artists and other creatives

To tackle the barriers outlined here, we must place the needs of the music creator community firmly at the centre of the UK’s innovative music industry.

But we go into the new year with several reasons to be hopeful.

Many UK artists enjoyed commercial success at home and abroad, with recent BPI data celebrating the success of artists such as Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Sleep Token and PRS Foundation grantee, Sam Fender who had an incredible 2025.

The sector is excited to see huge investment and new initiatives including the £30m Music Growth Package, the Creative Places Growth Fund (with £25m investment in six devolved regions of England) and the growth of the LIVE Trust.

From a new music perspective, I’m excited about creators and scenes bubbling up across the UK. Hundreds of talented PRS Foundation grantees are building their teams, growing their fanbases and stand ready to break through. And I’m currently in Groningen where over 25 UK-based artists are showcasing, picking up festival bookings and reminding me of just how diverse and exceptional new music from all corners of the UK is right now!

Over the last couple of years, we have increased our focus on the ecosystem around music creators. Our Talent Development Network is going from strength to strength, with over 70 non-profit organisations unearthing and nurturing talent while coming together to address challenges facing the sector head-on. And I am struck by the passion, knowledge and collaborative attitude of the industry professionals and future executives we support through various programmes.

The best thing about working here for well over a decade and leading the Foundation’s incredible team since 2019 is seeing talented creators progressing through these programmes and initiatives.

Last year we pledged more than £3.8m of grant support to over 300 music creators, 180 industry professionals and 85 non-profit organisations, with thanks to our dedicated team, trustees, partners and hundreds of external expert advisors.

And although we are all witnessing, experiencing and navigating such challenging times globally and as a sector, I take heart from the togetherness within a music creator community which sticks to its values.

Our inclusive, collaborative and intentional approach gets results as you will see in the below celebration of 2025 successes. To tackle the barriers outlined here, we must place the needs of the music creator community firmly at the centre of the UK’s innovative music industry.

And PRS Foundation is best placed to innovate and collaborate. In 2026 we look forward to working with existing partners and encourage others in the music sector to work with us to invest in the future, funding new music and supporting careers.

Collaboration with PRS Foundation helps to:

transform music creator careers across the UK,
empower more talented songwriters, composers and artists to realise their potential, sustain careers and reach worldwide audiences
bolster music scenes from the grassroots up
address complex barriers

Reach out to arrange a conversation with us via collaborate@prsfoundation.com.

Want to support individually? Donate via PRS Foundation’s JustGiving page here.

For more information see https://lnkd.in/dakvEjvW.
Best wishes for the year,

Joe Frankland, CEO, PRS Foundation

Proud moments in 2025

Alongside celebrating 25 years of investing in the future of music, the PRS Foundation team spent the year shouting about the successes of the music creators we have funded in recent years.

Grantee success and industry recognition at home and abroad included:

7 out of the last 8 Mercury Prize winners had previously received support through PRS Foundation programmes, including 2025 winner, Sam Fender who was supported in his early career by Talent Development Network organisation, Generator before going on to receive PPL Momentum Music Fund and International Showcase Fund support
And #FundedByPRSF music creators were winners of BRIT Awards (Ezra Collective, Sam Fender, A.G. Cook), the NI Music Prize (RÓIS), MOBO Awards (ALT BLK ERA, JULS, Ezra Collective), Ivors Classical Awards (Anibal Vidal, Anoushka Shankar, Nneka Cummings, Debbie Wiseman), IVORS (Sans Soucis, Self Esteem, Orla Gartland), Jazz FM Awards (Jalen Ngonda, Ezra Collective, Corto Alto, Ni Maxine), and RPS Awards (Sarah Ann Lewis, plus organisations NMC Recordings and Paraorchestra)
5 grantees released Number 1 Albums last year (Those Damn Crows, Sam Fender, Wolf Alice, The Lottery Winners and Dave)
Behind-the-scenes songwriter grantees enjoyed chart success too, including Violet Skies (Lily Allen, Cat Burns), Steph Marziano (Hayley Williams), Lostboy (Jade, Tate McRae) and Billen Ted (Rudimental x Jess Glynne)
14 grantees appeared on Later…with Jools Holland last year: Nectar Woode, ALT BLK ERA, Wolf Alice, Panic Shack, Kae Tempest, Peggy Seeger, Self Esteem, Baxter Dury, Yazmin Lacey, Joshua Idehen, Sasha Keable, Brooke Combe, Joy Crookes, and Emma-Jean Thackray. Grantees performing for U.S.-based Tiny Desk Sessions this year were Abel Selaocoe, Nubya Garcia, Sasha Keable, Kokoroko and Nova Twins
Oscar-winning The Brutalist composer, Daniel Blumberg acknowledged the important role PRS Foundation Talent Development Network organisation Café OTO has played in his career
In her Women in Music Awards acceptance speech, FKA Twigs announced a new partnership with Talent Development Network organisation Saffron Records
POWER UP participants Lunick Bourgess and Nick Eziefula were nominated for Music Business Worldwide Awards, and Keturah Cummings was awarded Music Entrepreneur of the Year at the Young Music Boss Awards

We’ll be sharing our Top Tips of grantees to watch in 2026 so keep an eye on our socials!

Another milestone moment for us this year was PRS Foundation and Southbank Centre’s New Music Biennial (NMB) festival which took place in Bradford in June, and at Southbank Centre in July in partnership with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, BBC Radio 3 and NMC Recordings. New Music Biennial supports organisations to commission composers or to programme repeat performances of outstanding new music, with a broad range of new music programmed.

Highlights included:

Jasdeep Singh Degun premiering Into the Night – commissioned by the BBC Concert Orchestra – to a packed St. George’s Hall in Bradford
Moth x Human, composed by Ellie Wilson securing widespread media coverage (The Guardian, The Strad, Standard, BBC Radio 4), with repeat performances confirmed across the UK and in the Netherlands
NMB and Beyond Borders piece Thar Farraige is the title track of Linda Buckley’s new album
Several of the pieces have been programmed at other festivals and are reaching audiences through UK and international tours
The festival received a rave 4**** review in The Guardian

Other key milestones and personal highlights from last year included:

Announcing that hugely respected music industry executive, Jane Dyball was appointed as PRS Foundation’s Chair of the Board of Trustees in April 2025
Celebrating our anniversary through various events, including a special event in November at Somerset House in London which was presented by PRS Foundation fave, Jamz Supernova and featured ALT BLK ERA, Yazmin Lacey and Rakhi Singh
Attending several 25^th Anniversary ‘badged events’, including activations at Generator’s Mercury Fringe event, Liverpool Sound City and PRS Foundation and PPL’s showcase at Unconvention in Manchester where we also held a POWER UP residential and hosted a Talent Development Network meetup
Securing over 300 signatories for an open letter asking UK Government to bolster support for music export and exchange. PRS Foundation is the UK’s representative within the European Music Exporters Exchange (EMEE) network and plays a crucial role supporting music creators and industry professionals’ first steps into international territories. So we welcomed news from DCMS and DBT of the ambitious Music Growth Package last year and look forward to further collaboration across the sector to address complex music export barriers
Witnessing the growth of the Prelude partnership with Amazon MGM Studios which tackles underrepresentation within the world of media composition
Meeting Early Career Promoter Fund grantees and reflecting on the impact of the Arts Council England and DCMS-supported initiative. In its first full year, over £500,000 was invested to support 171 early career promoters which supported almost 400 live events. An early career promoter toolkit was launched in November and will be a vital resource for current and future grantees
Expanding global gender equity initiative Keychange which reached and empowered women and gender-diverse artists and innovators in the U.S., Canada and across 25 European countries

Announcing support from Tees Valley Combined Authority and partnerships which expanded our PPL Momentum Accelerator programme which fast-tracks the creative and career development of talent in specific regions (now Tees Valley, Liverpool City Region and Wales).

Deadlines and plans for 2026

We recently announced key application deadlines for 2026

For music creators working at all career levels, direct grant support of up to £5,000 is available through The Open Fund for Music Creators.

In the first six months of 2026 PRS Foundation will be implementing recommendations of the Women Make Music report in consultation with the sector to expand support and better meet the needs of women and gender diverse music creators. A bumper deadline will take place later in the year, and I look forward to announcing relevant changes while welcoming more support and partnership across the sector.

For those who have reached crucial career tipping points and require higher levels of support for more significant impact, we have announced this year’s deadlines for the PPL Momentum Music Fund, The Composers’ Fund and Hitmaker.

Our annual POWER UP deadline for Black music creators and industry professionals has also been announced. And we will be sharing the ‘5 Years of POWER UP’ report in Q2 2026, analysing the impact of the changemaking initiative and sharing learnings for the music industry.

Other targeted support to address various barriers will be available through PPL Momentum Accelerator, PPL Momentum Sbardun and other partnership programmes.

We will be reflecting on long-term impacts of our Talent Development Network initiative before we announce an early 2027 open call for non-profit organisations looking to be considered for ‘phase two’ of this impactful approach to supporting music creators from the grassroots up.

Industry professionals looking for support can access development opportunities through aforementioned POWER UP, PPL Momentum Accelerator and Keychange initiatives, as well as through regular Early Career Promoter Fund deadlines.

2026 marks 20 years of the International Showcase Fund (formerly ‘British Music Abroad’) supporting music export and exchange and we have ambitious plans for this and related programmes.

And we are working hard behind the scenes on new ways to bring together grantees from different programmes (music creators, industry professionals and organisations), so expect news of events and new digital tools to better meet the needs of music creator communities we support.