55 UK music organisations announced as PRS Foundation Talent Development Partners
- Sustaining creativity and supporting resilience and recovery through the vital work of the network
- 13 of the organisations to receive additional funding as part of the Youth Music partnership
- PPL support helps the network of Talent Development Partners to expand
55 organisations around the country are to receive support to be PRS Foundation Talent Development Partners for 2021/22:
- AudioActive
- Baby People
- Brighter Sound
- Bristol Music Trust
- British Underground
- Britten Pears Arts
- Britten Sinfonia
- Cheltenham Festivals
- Come Play With Me CIC
- Cryptic
- LIMF Academy
- Drake Music
- Drake Music Scotland
- English Folk Dance & Song Society
- FOCUS Wales
- Forté Project
- Future Bubblers
- Generator
- Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble
- Heart n Soul
- Higher Rhythm Ltd
- Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (hcmf//)
- Jazz re:freshed Ltd
- Manchester Collective
- Manchester Jazz Festival
- Mercury Musical Developments
- Moving On Music
- Music:Leeds
- Nonclassical
- Norwich Arts Centre
- Oh Yeah Music Centre
- Opera North
- OTO Projects
- Oxford Contemporary Music
- Performances Birmingham Limited
- Psappha
- Punch Records
- Red Note Ensemble Ltd
- Roundhouse Trust
- Saffron Records C.I.C
- Sage Gateshead
- Scottish Music Centre
- Serious Events Ltd
- Sneaky Petes Limited
- Sound and Music
- Sound Festival
- sounduk Arts
- South Asian Arts-UK
- The Music Works
- The Tin Music and Arts
- The Warren Youth Project
- Tomorrow’s Warriors
- Tŷ Cerdd
- UD
- Wide Events CIC
Launched in 2016 and expanding each year, this pioneering network of Talent Development Partners brings together organisations working at the frontline of talent development in the UK, supporting a broad range of music creators across different music genres, career levels and UK regions.
The network – which includes venues, festivals, rehearsal spaces, studios and other talent development experts – reaches over 5,000 diverse and exciting songwriters, composers, artists, bands, ensembles and producers each year.
Organisations are selected because of the quality and range of opportunities on offer for music creators in their specialist field or region, the year-round impact of their work, and because of what they bring to the network.
New to join the network this year are organisations Manchester Collective, Nonclassical, South Asian Arts-UK and sounduk Arts.
Talent Development Partners receive a grant from the Foundation for their year-round activity. They also work closely together and with PRS Foundation to address talent pipeline gaps through joint work and signposting. Hundreds of creators are already benefiting from the strategic partnership opportunities which have resulted from working together.
Funded activities include composer and songwriter development workshops, residencies, recording and release support, commissioning new music, live programming, advice and mentoring. Creators supported by Talent Development Partners include Little Simz, Lewis Capaldi, Ben Lunn, Yazz Ahmed, Charlotte Bray, Moses Boyd, Sam Fender and Yola.
Youth Music, with support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, add to the network additional funding and the support of Youth Music’s team to bring career development opportunities to young people across England, Scotland and Wales, helping to break down the barriers to the music industries which many young creatives face. This year, organisations receiving this additional support will be Cryptic, Drake Music Scotland, Forté Project, Jazz re:freshed, LIMF Academy, Manchester Collective, Manchester Jazz Festival, Mercury Musical Developments, Nonclassical, Psappha, South Asian Arts-UK, Ty Cerrd and Wide Days.
In January 2021 during the annual Talent Development Conference, which this year was held online, PRS Foundation announced that music licensing company PPL would be supporting the Talent Development Partner network. This new partnership builds on the close relationship forged between PPL and PRS Foundation through the PPL Momentum Music Fund and the International Showcase Fund and provides match funding for the Foundation’s donation from PRS for Music to allow more organisations to join the Talent Development Partner network.
As with other grantees, PRS Foundation has been supporting Talent Development Partners as they adapted through the unprecedented challenges facing organisations and music creators due to the COVID-19 pandemic – from virtual performances to creating Covid-safe and accessible spaces to work in real life and online, to sourcing vital new equipment for creators, alongside the usual transformational offerings. Network member festivals, venues and programming bodies face particularly tough months ahead but are well placed for more outstanding adaptation and post-lockdown delivery.
Joe Frankland, CEO of PRS Foundation said
“Our network of Talent Development Partners are some of the most passionate, resilient and adaptive people working in the music sector today. The determination of the network to ensure that it meets the changing needs of music creators has been admirable. So we’re pleased to help existing members of the network and to have a small number of new organisations joining to make strategic connections. Thanks to all partners, we look forward to a crucial year of recovery together.”
Matt Griffiths, CEO of Youth Music said
“Improving access into the music industries for all young people, whatever their background, is our priority. By investing in the Talent Development Partner programme, we are empowering forward-thinking organisations to diversify the creative sector through their own ideas. This is how we will see sustainable change for young creatives facing barriers.”
Peter Leathem, CEO at PPL, said:
“We are very proud to support the PRS Foundation’s network of Talent Development Partners who are operating at the grassroots level of the UK’s world-beating music industry. It is fantastic that the network has now expanded to 55 organisations who will each receive a grant to help to sustain and enhance the excellent work they do. This support has become even more important over the past year, given how many in the music industry have faced financial hardship because of the pandemic.”
