Knucks, Warmduscher and Penelope Trappes among the latest artists to receive support from PRS Foundation’s PPL Momentum Music Fund

PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, together with PPL, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland, Spotify and Ben Sherman reveal the next artists who will receive support from the pioneering PPL Momentum Music Fund.  The artists, who have been selected by a network of industry experts, are:

Warmduscher – Recording

James Gillespie – Recording, marketing and promotion

Penelope Trappes – Touring

Ciaran Lavery – Marketing and promotion

Rev Magnetic – Touring 2021

Brighde Chaimbeul – Touring

Allusinlove – Recording

Brooke Bentham – Touring

Knucks –Marketing and promotion

Real Lies – Recording, Marketing and Promotion

Stanley Odd – Marketing and promotion

SCALPING – Recording, marketing and promotion

Aaron Taylor – Recording, marketing and promotion

Aaron Smith – Recording, touring, marketing and promotion

Polo – Recording, marketing and promotion

PPL Momentum supported Ciaran Lavery said, “Securing the PPL Momentum Funding is another example of how much of a positive support PRS and PPL have continuously been to my career, and I can’t thank them enough.”

PPL Momentum supported Polo said “With this announcement, we can now finance and release our debut LP with no compromises, and deliver a piece of work to our fans that we are truly proud of.”

Ben Wynter, Grants & Programmes Manager (Industry Funds) at PRS Foundation said, “Congratulations to all the artists supported in this latest round. It is so important that music creators who are at that vital tipping point in their careers are still able to access this support when it is strategic to their development – especially during these uncertain times. We’re proud to have been flexible and realistic when supporting the proposed activities to make sure that when it’s safe and feasible to do so, deserving music creators get the most impact from this support.” 

Sarah Mitchell, Director of Membership & Communications at PPL said:

“Congratulations to all those receiving PPL Momentum funding in this latest round of applications. At PPL, we know that many musicians have had to change their plans or put them on hold due to the current pandemic, and so we are pleased that through this Fund – and other industry initiatives including hardship funds – we can help artists to keep making and promoting music during this time.”

Ciaran Scullion, Head of Music, Arts Council of Northern Ireland added, “The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is proud to partner with PRS Foundation on PPL Momentum Music Fund, a vital initiative which enables our artists to take that all important next step in the development of their professional music careers.  We are committed to providing valuable, meaningful opportunities for our artists to develop and this funding programme offers artists not only the opportunity to connect with the UK-wide industry, but also to showcase the tremendous talent that is inherent to Northern Ireland on an international stage.  Congratulations to Ciaran Lavery and all the artists taking part in this current round.”

As well as these new funded artists, later today (13 May 2020) there will be a live stream broadcast at 4pm (BST) where Anna Meredith will discuss the impact of the fund. Tune in to the discussion on Zoom here or on PRS Foundation’s Facebook page here. There will also be a How to Apply to PPL Momentum live stream webinar with PRS Foundation’s Senior Grants & Programmes Manager Becci Scotcher, Grants Coordinator (Industry Funds) Aja Garrod-Prance and PPL’s  Davy Wales Performer Development Specialist on Zoom here or on PRS Foundation’s Facebook page here on 14 May 2020 from 4pm (BST).

Managed by PRS Foundation, the PPL Momentum Music fund awards grants of £5,000-£15,000 using funds from PRS Foundation, PPL, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland. Spotify, the official digital partner on the fund, contributes additional funding and a reward package containing exciting promotional opportunities and a close working relationship between Momentum artists and the Spotify team. Event partner Ben Sherman offers live opportunities, additional marketing, promotional and bespoke branding support.

From April 2013-March 2020 (Years 1-7), Momentum has now supported 390 artists and invested over £3.74m into new music. Based on the 5 Years of Momentum Report (2013-18), this means Momentum has:

–           Supported 225 albums

–           Over 260 UK Tours and over 1,400 live dates

–           Generated over £18m for the UK music industry and UK economy.

PRS Foundation and Arts Council England initiated The Momentum Music Fund in 2013. Arts Council England originally established the need for this specific fund and supported the programme from 2013-18.

For a full rundown of all the artists supported so far see: http://prsfoundation.com/funding/momentum-music-fund/momentum-artists. The next deadline for applications to the Momentum Music Fund is 26 May 2020 via the PRS Foundation website. We are particularly interested in receiving more applications from outside of London: http://prsfoundation.com/funding/momentum-music-fund.

Listen to the latest Momentum supported artists on the Spotify Momentum playlist here.