PPL Momentum Accelerator

PPL Momentum Accelerator is a targeted scheme to support the development of outstanding artists and bands who are writing their own music, and future Industry Professionals, outside London and who face additional barriers in reaching a crucial career tipping point based on their location.

Through the evaluation of our PPL Momentum Music Fund and evidence from thousands of applications PRS Foundation receives each year, we identified talent pipeline gaps across the UK. Many music creators show strong musical potential but are unable to capitalise upon this due to financial barriers, gaps in regional infrastructure, knowledge, advice, and access to industry platforms.

PPL Momentum Accelerator’s long-term approach supports the development of these outstanding artists and bands outside London, with partners providing support for a number of future industry professionals such as managers, promoters, record labels, music publishers, booking agents, to bolster regional scenes across the UK.

Launched as a pilot in Liverpool in 2019, PPL Momentum Accelerator runs in Liverpool City Region, Yorkshire and Wales.

Deadlines: click here

PPL Momentum Accelerator (Liverpool) is in partnership with Liverpool City Region Music Board, Culture Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority,

PPL Momentum Accelerator (Yorkshire) is in partnership with Launchpad, delivered by Music:Leeds / Music Local and using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

PPL Momentum Accelerator Fund is managed by PRS Foundation in partnership with Arts Council of Wales, PPL and Spotify.

Guidance and FAQs in Welsh

The programme can support projects by songwriters, artists, bands, and performers who are writing their own music based in Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region and Wales, as well as future industry professionals based in Liverpool City Region and Wales.

The aims of PPL Momentum Accelerator are:

• To provide vital and timely financial support of up to £5k which will help talented artists and bands outside London to reach or get beyond early career tipping points
• To enable artists and bands become more investment-ready in the future
• To support regional industry infrastructure and access to team members so that artists, bands and industry professionals do not need to leave their region to progress in their careers

• Provide access to industry-facing platforms (e.g. live platforms, radio and DSP access, industry interest)

• Provide knowledge and advice to enable music creators and industry professionals to generate income, build audiences and sustain careers
• Support a diverse range of music creators and industry professionals across the UK
• Support sustainable regional scenes, with income generated staying in the area

Guidance and FAQs

Am I eligible?
What is PPL Momentum Accelerator?
Who should apply?
Who shouldn’t apply?
How much can I apply for?
What can’t be covered by a PPL Momentum Accelerator grant?
We received a grant already through PPL Momentum Accelerator. When can we apply again?
When are the deadlines?

Am I eligible?

If you can answer YES to the below questions you may qualify for PPL Momentum Accelerator support and should consider applying.

• Are you an artist/band based in an Accelerator region (Yorkshire*, Liverpool City Region** or Wales)?
• Do you write and/or perform your own music?
• Have you been profiled/featured in regional or national press, media and received coverage in blogs as an artist/band?
• Have you played shows or been asked to play multiple shows across your region?
• Do you have evidence of a strong fan base regionally?

• Are you making your first steps in getting national interest or already gaining some national attention?
• Do you have early signs of interest and/or working informally with other music professionals or organisations? (e.g. management, record label, booking agent, press)

For Industry Professionals

A ‘Future Industry Professional’ is someone working behind the scenes (i.e. on the industry side) to support musicians and music creators in the Liverpool City Region (LCR) or Wales.

• Are you based in LCR or Wales?
• Are you establishing yourself within the City Region or Wales, showing a strong commitment to talent within these areas?
• Do you have a good/growing track-record and are you ready to further develop skills and increase the impact your work will have on the scene?
• Have you been working in or around music for more than 18 months, and less than 10 years?
• You should show potential and with support be able to forge a full-time career in the music industry.

*We define Yorkshire by the areas covered by Local Enterprise Partnerships of Leeds City Region (West Yorkshire), Sheffield City Region (South Yorkshire), York & North Yorkshire (including Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby) alongside the local authorities of East Riding of Yorkshire and Kingston upon Hull.  However PPL Momentum Music remains open to applications from eligible music creators from across the UK.  You can find out more about all of our funding opportunities here.

**We define the Liverpool City Region as the Combined Authority which includes Liverpool City Region’s six local authorities – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral. However PPL Momentum Music remains open to applications from eligible music creators from across the UK.  You can find out more about all of our funding opportunities here.

What is PPL Momentum Accelerator?

PPL Momentum Accelerator is a targeted scheme to support the development of outstanding artists and bands who are writing their own music and Industry Professionals outside London and who face additional barriers in reaching  a crucial career tipping point.

PPL Momentum Accelerator is currently available for music creators based in Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region and Wales and Industry Professionals in Liverpool City Region and Wales:

In Yorkshire:

PPL Momentum Accelerator  is delivered in partnership with Music:Leeds’ Launchpad, and with support from Arts Council England, PPL and Spotify. Available support includes:

1. At least 4 Yorkshire based artists each year will receive PPL Momentum Accelerator grants of up to £5,000, plus advice and support for the artist and their growing teams to help them reach a crucial tipping point and become more investment-ready in the future. There will be 2 deadlines per year.
2. Ringfenced PPL Momentum Music Fund support to ensure that each year at least 2 Yorkshire based artists will receive funding of up to £15,000.

In Liverpool City Region:

The PPL Momentum Accelerator Fund is managed by PRS Foundation in partnership with Culture Liverpool, PPL and Spotify, and funded by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Strategic Investment Fund.

Through this partnership, we will support:

• 2 x PPL Momentum Accelerator artist grantees with support of £5,000 each. Artists or their representatives will apply through an open call and grantees will be selected by a panel of independent expert advisors. There will be 1 deadline per year.
• 1 x full PPL Momentum Fund artist grantee with support of up to £15,000. Artists or their representatives will apply to a PPL Momentum deadline and will be selected through the standard PPL Momentum Fund process
• 5 x PPL Momentum Accelerator ‘Future Industry Professional’ grantees will receive £1,000 worth of support which might include a micro-grant, mentoring or other holistic support. Future Industry Professionals will be selected in partnership with the Liverpool City Region Music Board.

In Wales:

The PPL Momentum Accelerator Fund is managed by PRS Foundation in partnership with Arts Council Wales, PPL and Spotify. Through this partnership, we will support;

• 7 x PPL Momentum Accelerator artist grantees with support of £5,000 each. Artists or their representatives will apply through an open call run and grantees will be selected by a panel of independent expert advisors
• 2 x PPL Momentum Accelerator ‘Future Industry Professional’ grantees will receive £2,000 worth of support which might include a micro-grant, mentoring or other holistic support
• There will be 2 deadlines per year for Wales based Music Creators and Industry Professionals

Any artists selected for PPL Momentum Accelerator will be eligible to apply in future deadlines to the PPL Momentum Fund so we encourage most Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region and Wales based artists and bands to apply to the Accelerator deadline.

Please see individual region breakdowns above for further information and note, all information is subject to change.

Who should apply?

Music Creators (artists/bands)

Artists/Bands applying for PPL Momentum Accelerator must show strong musical potential but face barriers to reach or get beyond crucial early career tipping points, with signs of interest and/or working informally with other music professionals or organisations. Applicants should show regional progression and growth as an artist with the potential to fast-track to reach a national tipping point in the next 6 months – and a plan to back that up. The activity that funding would support must take place in the UK.

Industry Professionals

Industry Professionals applying for PPL Momentum Accelerator will be able to demonstrate a good or growing track record in working behind the scenes in Liverpool City Region or Wales, to support music creators in those areas but face barriers to reach or get beyond crucial early career tipping points. You’ll need to demonstrate the need for funding and/or other capacity building support to support you in taking those next crucial steps and a plan of how you’ll get there with PPL Momentum Accelerator support.

Who shouldn’t apply and where should they go instead?

• An artist/band not based in an Accelerator region (Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region or Wales)

• This application is not for artists/bands just starting out, demoing and playing their first gigs. If you are at an earlier stage in your career please click here for other funding options, including The Open Fund or Launchpad if based in Yorkshire
• This application is not for those just starting out in the music industry
• Those previously in receipt of The PPL Momentum Fund, The Hitmaker Fund or The Composers’ Fund cannot apply to PPL Momentum Accelerator

How much can I apply for?

PPL Momentum Accelerator offers grants for artists and bands of up to £5,000 to support music projects which might include:

• Recording and release
• Live Performance / Touring^
• High quality and innovative broadcast or pre-recorded online content^^
• Promotion and marketing
• Creation of new music / time to create
• Fees to creative collaborators
• Education / Training
• Commissioning
• Equipment (max 20% budget)^^^
• A combination of the above

We cannot fund marketing/promotion of new music without also funding an element of creation or performance.

Additional Support for Yorkshire based grantees

In conjunction with regional partners Music:Leeds and Launchpad on top of grants support, PPL Momentum Accelerator offers the following additional support to grantees:

Grantees receive bespoke advice and mentoring, and the programme develops team members (existing team, plus pairing with regional industry professionals)

Showcase Support: artists will play key regional and national showcase events (e.g. The Great Escape, Sound City, Tramlines, Live At Leeds)

^ Adheres to social distancing rules and is within Government guidance at the time.

^^ Adheres to social distancing rules and is within Government guidance at the time and please ensure that you comply with licensing regulations relating to live streams and pre-recorded content. Signed music creators should consult contracts and liaise with record companies and music publishers if needed to ensure that content is cleared for use and for exploitation.

^^^ applicants can apply for equipment or software costs which enable creation or new types of performances where those costs represent up to 20% of the total project budget.

Additional Support for Liverpool City Region ‘Future Industry Professionals’

In conjunction with regional partners Culture Liverpool and the City Region Music Board the PPL Momentum Accelerator scheme will also offer support to 5 ‘Future Industry Professionals’ based in Liverpool City Region. Successful Future Industry Professionals will be supported with up to £1,000 worth of support which may be a combination of mentoring, industry advice, micro-grants and professional development. Future Industry professionals will be selected through a nominations process in conjunction with Culture Liverpool and the City Region Music Board.

Additional Support for Wales ‘Future Industry Professionals’

In conjunction with Arts Council of Wales, as a pilot, the PPL Momentum Accelerator scheme will also offer support to 2 ‘Future Industry Professionals’ based in Wales. Successful Future Industry Professionals will be supported with up to £2,000 worth of support which may be a combination of mentoring, industry advice, micro-grants and professional development. Future Industry Professionals will be selected through our usual application process.

What can’t be covered by a PPL Momentum Accelerator grant?

• Van/car purchase
• International touring
• Support for a roster of artists – each music creator application must focus on one artist
• Projects requesting funding that would, is or could be covered by the deal the artist/band has with a label, publisher, management company or other relationships

• Capital projects (e.g. building work)
• Building a studio
• Salary costs or living costs

We received a grant already through PPL Momentum Accelerator. When can we apply again?

As a general rule, we prefer for applicants to wait until their previously funded project is complete before applying for other funding schemes.

Furthermore, PPL Momentum Accelerator grantees cannot reapply to Accelerator and must instead apply to PPL Momentum for suitable projects – something that is actively encouraged at least 12 months after Accelerator grant support is offered.

When are the deadlines?

The 2022 deadlines are:

Yorkshire

• TBC

Liverpool City Region 

• TBC

Wales

22nd August 2022

All applications must be submitted by 6pm on the day of the deadline.

When applying, keep in mind that we can only support activity happening after the decision date for your deadline – this will mean your activity must be at least 8 weeks after the deadline.

All deadlines are subject to change – check guidance regularly