Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief
Supporting artists, songwriters and composers to create and develop when they need it most
**JULY UPDATE: Donations help us to support outstanding Black music creators affected by the COVID-19 pandemic**
PRS Foundation is the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development.
We respond to needs to enable creative and career progression, and we believe that the success of the music we fund is driven by the diversity of the people who create it.
Donate to help Black music creators affected by COVID-19
We are proud to be a part of the Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief project, which was created to help support the global music community during this unprecedented crisis. It aims to amplify the efforts of organisations that focus on helping artists and those in the creative community most in need.
Spotify is making a donation to PRS Foundation and your donations will be matched by Spotify pound for pound up to a collective total of $10 million worldwide.
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Please note we have migrated our Justgiving page to a Crowd Funder page
With your ongoing support we are supporting music creators through our Sustaining Creativity Fund
Our new Sustaining Creativity Fund is
- Designed for music creators experiencing hardship from loss of work due to the Covid-19 pandemic
- This fund helps UK music creators to do what they do best, using a new model to support music making, however that looks
- We will offer timely grant support of £750 to make a difference and will support outstanding talent in flexible ways
- The grant can be spent on anything that enables music creators to continue to create exceptional new music
- This includes using support to adapt and sustain careers by covering lost income, supporting your costs or cash-flow
- It allows creators to spend time writing, recording, collaborating, innovating and making creative plans
- Funding will be available to those making music in any genre
This is a new type of support which responds to the changing needs of creators. For those experiencing significant impact on their work, income and ability to complete planned musical activities, we want to enable creativity and to help grantees to be in a good position to fulfil creative and career potential, breaking down the huge barriers presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
We see this new fund as sitting between the immediate hardship funding available from our friends and partners, and our other open and accessible programmes.
Your support also allows us to pay freelance and self-employed expert industry professionals in need of extra income who will be helping the PRS Foundation team to assess applications.
This timely new fund will be open, accessible and inclusive.
Deadlines 1 and 2 took place in April and May and we have already supported 146 outstanding music creators who are sustaining their creativity.
- 100% of the money raised enables us to support those who need it most
- The more you can donate, the more vital support we can offer, and we expect and are prepared for high demand
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What we do
We invest in the future of new music and support talent development across the UK; enabling music creators of all backgrounds to realise their potential and reach audiences across the world. Set up by PRS for Music in 2000, the PRS Foundation helps:
Music Creators
- Direct funding to artists, songwriters, composers, bands, producers and performers who write their own music
- Available to UK based music creators working in any genre and at any career level
- 400+ grants per year, ranging from £500 – £15,000 to enable writing, recording, release, touring and showcasing of exciting new music
- Our proactive, open and accessible approach helps us to reach outstanding talent from all backgrounds
- In 2019, 18% of our music creator grantees were Black (and 32.6% of music creator grantees were people of colour). 56% of music creators were women, mixed gender groups or gender minorities (and 19% or women grantees were Black).
Organisations
- Non-profit organisations working on the frontline of talent development to support music creators from all backgrounds – reaching over 5,000 artists, songwriters and composers each year
- Festivals, venues, promoters, orchestras, large ensembles and others offering vital support to develop talent in the UK and overseas
- 120+ grants per year
The Music Industry
- Our funding benefits the wider music sector, generating millions per year for the UK economy and the music industry talent pipeline
- All funding decisions are made by expert advisors from across the industry
- We work with, lead and learn from partners to ensure maximum reach and impact
- We champion positive change and we inspire and influence the next generation
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^ Eligible applicants will be:
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UK based Music Creators (artists, songwriters, composers, producers and performers who write their own music)
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Experiencing genuine hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes those who have lost income and have lost work as a result of the pandemic, those unable to pay bills, and those experiencing significant cash flow problems
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Able to provide evidence of relief funding need
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Able to submit music examples alongside brief creative plans