Ten artists to benefit from ground breaking new music funding programme unveiled

Saturday 07 Sep 2013 @ 08:10
Arts Council England

PRS for Music Foundation has announced the first ten artists to be awarded grants from the newly established Momentum music fund, launched in May and made possible with National Lottery funding through the Arts Council.

The successful artists are:

Brolin, Dutch Uncles, Esco Williams, Floating Points, Hacktivist, Hannah Peel, Kindness, Teleman, Thumpers, The Wytches

These hotly-tipped artists were selected from around 500 submitted applications by independent panels of music industry experts, including executives from record labels and booking agencies, radio DJs and journalists. All applicants had to submit detailed proposals explaining how funding would benefit their career development. Decisions were based on the quality of the artist's music and the strength of the business case presented.

The successful artists will receive awards of up to £15,000 to fund a range of commercial music activities, including recordings, physical and digital releases, marketing campaigns, collaborations with leading producers and UK tours. They will also be championed across BBC radio stations by DJs such as Huw Stephens, Target, Jo Whiley and Tom Robinson.

The aim of the fund is to support exceptional artists to realise their potential and contribute to the musical success story of this country.

Alan Davey, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, said:

'This is a brilliant milestone for Momentum and, after many months of hard work behind the scenes both at the Arts Council and PRS for Music Foundation, it's marvellous to see artists starting to benefit from this fund.'

Vanessa Reed, Executive Director of PRS for Music Foundation, said:

'The overall quality of the Momentum applications to our first deadline has reinforced my belief in the importance of this fund and the impact it's going to have on its first line-up of talented beneficiaries. Our message to those who were not successful this time is not to give up. There are more funding deadlines to come and we're actively seeking additional sponsors to increase the support we can offer.'