Momentum Music Fund to receive additional funding from Arts Council England

11 December 2014 - Press release

Arts Council England has today announced that it will extend funding for the Momentum Music Fund, a scheme that began in 2013 to support the progression of talented musicians and bands.

The fund was initiated as part of our on-going commitment to talent development across the arts and is delivered by PRS for Music Foundation. The aim is to provide financial support to help emerging artists and bands advance their careers in the music industry to make progress towards establishing themselves.

This further year of funding extends the original two year pilot scheme, and will be delivered again by PRS for Music Foundation  a music industry foundation which has vast experience of supporting new music and artist development across the UK. The hope is that the next rounds of Momentum investment will enable partners to support more musically distinctive artists and bands to develop nationwide whilst measuring the fund’s full impact on its beneficiaries over the past 2 years.

Almost 70 artists have been funded so far, and the benefits of the fund have already been felt through the subsequent success of artists such as Mercury Prize nominee William Doyle, aka East India Youth, who said:

‘Being nominated for the Mercury Prize is an amazing feeling. That I've been able to make my debut album at home without any real prospect of anyone hearing it to now having it displayed on a much wider stage and alongside some other amazing artists is something that will continue to baffle me. It's not been possible though without the help of people who have believed in what I'm doing and the help of resources like the Momentum Music Fund.

‘Having things like Momentum to aid the touring and - most importantly - the visual aspect of East India Youth has strengthened the way people have perceived and interacted with this album and I think that any success it has had is largely down to that.’

Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said: ‘I’m proud of what Momentum has achieved and excited about what it can do. As we stated when this fund was first announced, the Arts Council are aware of the great work that the music industry does in nurturing talent by investing heavily in new and emerging artists, but the path for talent to find its way is riddled with uncertainty at key points in an artist’s career.

‘By focussing on the artist and their needs, the Momentum pilot has shown how we can do more to support talent, and give that helping hand at the right moment.  This is where the fund can, and has, played an important role: backing talent where the industry can’t, bridging gaps in investment, mobilising better management and planning, and helping to build a pipeline from local music development programmes to national exposure. This additional investment will result in further evidence to help us do more  for music talent, and  will show how we can continue to make a real difference to artists – that, after all, is what we should be about.’

Vanessa Reed, Executive Director of PRS for Music Foundation, said: ‘We are delighted to continue our partnership with Arts Council England in delivering the highly successful Momentum Music fund which remains the most competitive programme we have ever run at PRS for Music Foundation. 

Over the last two years Momentum has attracted a huge range of applications from artists who need help to boost their career. Those selected for support include many of England’s most talented artists who are now receiving nominations for awards such as the Mercury Prize, Brit Awards, BBC Sound Poll and many more.

We look forward to offering this unique funding opportunity to more artists and to investing more in the breadth of talent which contributes to the ongoing success and global reputation of the UK’s music industry.

Visit the PRS for Music Foundation website for more information on when and how to apply for the fund.