Power Up Year 2 Participants
With the announcement of 40 Year 2 music creator and industry professionals, the POWER UP Participant network became an 80-person strong networking bringing varied experiences and considerable expertise to the Participant Programme and the wider POWER UP Movement.
With 431 applications received for that deadline, POWER UP has received close to 1,000 applications in two years. At the time, over £10m of grant support had been requested and the demand for a fairer and equitable music industry from those hitting glass ceilings and experiencing racial barriers is now undeniable. The long-term network of participants represents Black talent across the UK and in the Year 2 cohort, 50% of participants are based outside London, including 3 in Scotland, 2 in Wales and 2 in Northern Ireland. 50% of participants are women or gender minorities, and over a quarter are LGBTQ+. And selected Participants work across a broad range of genres – from Black Music genres including R&B and Rap, to Electronic & Dance, Pop, Jazz, Americana, Alternative/Rock, and everything in between – and in many different roles and sectors of music.
Early successes so far include:
- Live agency, Marshall announced that they have signed Bemz and CHERYM
- Bemz won Breakthrough MC/Vocalist of the Year at the DJ Mag Awards 2022
- DoomCannon’s debut album (part-funded by POWER UP and released on Brownswood) was released in Summer 2022, garnering universal acclaim
- Whitney Asomani, co-founder of Twenty:Two Agency was featured in Music Week’s Women in Music x YouTube Legacy Series
- Adetokunbo “T” Oyelola’s client YolanDa Brown continues her ascent as an artist and broadcaster and has just been appointed as Chair of the BPI
- Tawiah’s live return at the Southbank Centre for In The Black Fantastic was sold out, and her album Eartha was released at the end of 2022
- Travis Beckford’s THEFUTUREIS events company has collaborated with the likes of the Black Music Coalition at Royal Albert Hall and most recently with Nike
- Forward Slash founder Keturah Cummings was selected for the 2022 Barclays Black Founder Accelerator programme and launched new podcast Jack of All Trades
