POWER UP Year 3 Participants

With the announcement of 40 Year 3 music creator and industry professionals, the POWER UP Participant network became a 120-person strong networking bringing varied experiences and considerable expertise to the Participant Programme and the wider POWER UP Movement.

POWER UP has now received over 1,200 applications since it was launched in February 2021, with applications from 848 Black music creators and 355 Black industry professionals at crucial career stages. The demand for a fairer and equitable music industry is now huge, and POWER UP is proving to be a vital initiative. Over £12.8m of grant support has been requested through POWER UP alone across three annual deadlines – with PRS Foundation and funding partners investing over £1.1m into participants’ projects alongside invaluable holistic support.

A snapshot of Year 1 & Year 2 Participant successes so far include:

• Two-piece band Nova Twins won a Heavy Music Award, toured the US and Europe, signed to Marshall Records and have secured BBC Radio 1, NME and Spotify Equal support globally. Their POWER-UP supported second album Supernova was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, they won a 2022 AIM Award and received 2 x BRITS 2023 nominations
• Other artist and music creator Award winners since POWER UP was launched include Ego Ella May (Jazz FM Awards), TAALIAH (AIM Award), Bemz (DJ Mag Award) and DoomCannon (MOBO Award). Not to be outdone, Industry Professionals winning awards include Jennifer John (AIM Award), Eunice Obianagha (whose creative events work was nominated for a Music Week Award), and Christine Osazuwa and Hannah Shogbola who joined the Music Week Women in Music Awards’ Roll of Honour
• Several industry professionals have launched new ventures, and new roles, promotions and appointments include: Adem Holness being appointed Head of Contemporary Music at the Southbank Centre; Ree Sewell being appointed A&R Coordinator at Universal; Eric Hunter becoming Education & Membership Engagement Manager at The MMF; Christine Osazuwa being appointed as Chief Strategy Officer at Shoob; Travis Beckford being appointed as Associate Director for the UK and Europe at ASCAP; and Eunice Obianagha has recently been appointed as Head of Diversity at UK Music
• Despa Robinson was appointed to the AIM Board, and Daniel Kidane was elected to the Ivors Academy Senate
• Artist KG became a full-time Capital Dance radio presenter, with coverage in Complex, Mixmag and Clash, and industry professional Kwame Daniels presented his own Inna Rhythm series on BBC Ulster
• Guvna B (Year 2 artist managed by a Year 1 participant) became the first rapper to top the UK Official Christian and Gospel Chart
• Live agency, Marshall announced that they have signed CHERYM and Bemz
• Abel Selaocoe took part in the Proms in 2021 and 2022, signed to Warner Classics, and presented the three-part BBC Radio 3 show Cello His debut album hit No. 4 in the Classical Album Chart and he was on Later with Jools…
• Des Agyekumhene’s company Soga were behind the Close To Home NFT campaign for Aitch– the first artist to claim an NFT entering the UK’s official album charts
• Forward Slash founder Keturah Cummings was selected for the 2022 Barclays Black Founder Accelerator programme and launched new podcastJack of All Trades
• Dan Kidane’s Sun Poem was premiered in 2022 with the LSO and Sir Simon Rattle performances across the UK and Europe garnering critical acclaim

• Dapz on the Map secured a FIFA ’23 Soundtrack feature
• Loretta Andrews published her book Talking to Children About Race
• Adetokunbo “T” Oyelola’s client YolanDa Brown was appointed as Chair of the BPI; and YolanDa and Adetokunbo launched a campaign to open Soul Mama – a Black-owned music venue