PRS Foundation announces the music creators and future industry professionals from the Liverpool City Region supported through the PPL Momentum Accelerator fund
• Five artists and five ‘Future Industry Professionals’ receive targeted support to develop their talents and careers
PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, together with Culture Liverpool, the Liverpool City Region Music Board and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, announce the music creators and industry professionals based in the Liverpool City Region receiving PPL Momentum Accelerator support.
The five music creators receiving support are:
Pixey – Recording and touring
Trout – Touring
Tokky Horror – Two EP releases
Degie – Recording and marketing singles releases and touring
nil00 – Live EP showcase
The five future industry professionals being supported are:
Ni Maxine – Sustainable live event to promote local jazz/ soul talent
Holly Tulloch – Women-run festival, tackling gender equality issues in events on a local level
James Gillaspy – Sustainable merchandising for local artists
Jennifer Kickhefer – Mentoring
Natasha Evans – Developing a community for underrepresented groups in the electronic music industry
PPL Momentum Accelerator funding supports exciting artists with a growing fanbase and who are working to establish a music industry team. For this Liverpool strand of the initiative, those in the local music scene with potential to be industry professionals of the future were also eligible for support. Each artist receives up to £5,000 as well as mentoring from regional and national experts. The five future industry professionals will each be receiving up to £1,000 worth of support as combinations of small grants, mentoring or other holistic support.
PPL Momentum Accelerator supported artist, Trout said, “The PPL Momentum Accelerator fund will assist in progressing our careers, by allowing us to branch out from our hometown into national territories, which we are currently at the tipping point of doing. With this fund we will be able to accept opportunities that we couldn’t before, as we have the financial backing to do so.”
PPL Momentum Accelerator supported industry professional James Gillaspy said, “The PPL Momentum Accelerator fund is enabling me to financially invest in a way that would not have normally been possible, which has significantly empowered my ability to realise and deliver what are some fairly ambitious plans. I am extremely grateful for this support and am sure that this foundational investment will be profoundly important for what I hope is a successful career in the music industry.”
Westley Holdsworth, Grants & Programmes Manager at PRS Foundation said: “Congratulations to the five music creators and five industry professionals receiving our PPL Momentum Accelerator support in this latest round. This targeted support will provide funds directly to Liverpool City Region-based music creators and industry professionals, enabling each artist to develop towards that next career level tipping point and support those active and impactful individuals in the local music industry, championing the scenes.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Our area is already leading the way as a global music city – we have a proven track record of doing the sector proud – and we want to support the next generation of artists to continue that legacy. This is a really exciting opportunity for local musicians to showcase their talent, establish their career and help us to provide that the Liverpool City Region is the undisputed home of British music.”
Kevin McManus, Head of UNESCO City of Music, said, “The Music Board are delighted to be able to continue to work with PRS Foundation and PPL on these programmes which have a great track record of supporting artists and future professionals to further their careers.”
Sarah Wall, Senior Events and Marketing Manager at PPL, said: “We know just how important local musical ecosystems are – a thriving scene can have a huge impact on an artist’s career and help propel them to the next level. That’s why we are delighted that these ten music creators and industry professionals will receive the valuable support of the PPL Momentum Accelerator programme at this crucial stage in their careers. The Liverpool City Region has an extraordinary musical heritage and is already home to an array of fantastic artists and professionals. Projects like the Accelerator programme are helping to deliver the next generation of talent for Liverpool.”
The full PPL Momentum Music Fund offers grants of up to £15,000 and is for artists with a team already in place and at a tipping point, ready to take the next step in their careers. Past Liverpool-based recipients of the PPL Momentum Music Fund support include Låpsley, All We Are, Jalen N’Gonda, Trudy & the Romance, Dialect and SPINN.
Managed by PRS Foundation, the PPL Momentum Music Fund initiative awards grants of £5,000-£15,000 using funds from PRS Foundation, PPL, Creative Wales and Arts Council of 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.
Since 2013, Momentum has supported 526 artists and invested over £5.2m in grants into new music. Based on the 10 Years of PPL Momentum Music Fund (2013-22), this means Momentum has supported:
- More than 275 albums
- Over 300 UK Tours and over 1,400 live dates
- And helped to generate over £22m 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.
Listen to the latest PPL Momentum supported artists on the Spotify Momentum playlist here.
