44 UK music organisations announced as PRS Foundation Talent Development Partners for 2023-2024

24 April 2023 - Press release

PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, announces the 44 organisations around the country supported to be PRS Foundation Talent Development Partners for 2023/24:

AudioActive
B:Music
Brighter Sound
Bristol Music Trust
British Underground
Britten Sinfonia
Come Play With Me
Cryptic
Drake Music
Drake Music Scotland
English Folk Dance & Song Society
FOCUS Wales
Forté Project
Future Bubblers
Generator
Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble
Heart n Soul
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (hcmf//)
Jazz re:freshed
Liverpool City Council (LIMF Academy)
Manchester Jazz Festival
Mercury Musical Developments
Moving On Music
Music:Leeds
Oh Yeah Music Centre
Opera North
OTO Projects (Café OTO)
Oxford Contemporary Music
Psappha
PUNCH
Red Note Ensemble
Roundhouse Trust
SAFFRON RECORDS
Sage Gateshead
Serious Events
Sound and Music
Sound Festival
Sound UK Arts
South Asian Arts-uk
The Music Works
Tomorrow’s Warriors
Tŷ Cerdd – Music Centre Wales
UD Music Foundation
Wide Events

Launched in 2016, this pioneering network of Talent Development Partners brings together organisations working at the frontline of talent development in the UK, supporting a broad range of music creators across different music genres, career levels from the grassroots up and across the regions of the UK. 

The network – which includes festivals, venues, studios and other talent development expert organisations – reaches over 4,000 diverse and exciting songwriters, composers, artists, bands, ensembles and producers each year. 

Organisations are selected because of the quality and range of opportunities on offer for music creators in their specialist field or region, the impact of their work, and because of what they bring to the network. 

Talent Development Partners receive a grant from the Foundation for their year-round activity. They also work closely together and with PRS Foundation to address talent pipeline gaps through joint work and signposting. Hundreds of creators are already benefitting from the strategic partnership opportunities which have resulted from working together. 

Funded activities include composer and songwriter development workshops, residencies, recording and release support, commissioning new music, advice and mentoring. Creators that have benefitted from support by Talent Development Partners include Nubya Garcia, Theon Cross, Daniel Casmir, Abel Selaocoe, Lemonade Shoelace, Nik Nak, Black Country New Road, Sanity, Jasdeep Singh Degun, Nwando Ebizie. 

PRS Foundation’s approach to diversity, inclusion, equity and justice includes co-founding impactful initiatives such as Women Make Music, Keychange and more recently POWER UP. The team is applying learnings across all its programmes and the Talent Development Partner network presents an opportunity to share great practice on the ground in the UK and across all music creator career levels. As well as asking the Talent Development organisations to report on the backgrounds of the creators they support, they are asked to report on the diversity of their management teams, Board members and those delivering programmes. The sector has a long way to go in terms of the talent development workforce reflecting the diverse backgrounds of music creators, and Talent Development Partners are playing a key role in shaping a more inclusive, fairer and equitable sector, with several diverse-led organisations already in the network and an increasing focus on authentic representation in decision-making, delivery and programming. 

Additionally, health and wellbeing strands feature in a number of the Talent Development Partner programmes, recognising a growing need for this type of support for those entering or working in the industry. 

During the Talent Development Conference in January 2021, PRS Foundation announced that music licensing company PPL would be supporting the Talent Development Partner network. This partnership builds on the close relationship forged between PPL and PRS Foundation through the PPL Momentum Music Fund and the International Showcase Fund and provides match funding for the Foundation’s donation from PRS for Music. 

Joe Frankland, CEO of PRS Foundation said, “We’re delighted to be able to support over the next 12 months these excellent organisations and the work they do across the UK for music creators. Their resilience and innovation during an intensely difficult period to ensure music creators are able to tackle increasingly complex barriers to progression and development has been incredible. I look forward to seeing the impact these organisations and the passionate people working for them will have on music creators around the country to develop their talents.” 

Peter Leathem OBE, CEO at PPL, said: “The impact and output of organisations in the PRS Foundation Talent Development Partners Network helps to ensure the UK's music sector is diverse and thriving. PPL’s members come from a wide range of genres, geographies and generations; so we see and hear first-hand how investment, be it financial or strategic, is critical to the development of new artists and bands and the creation of new music. Congratulations to all of the partners announced today and thank you for the work you do. We’re delighted to be part of your journey and to continue supporting the next generation of music talent.” 

Becci Scotcher, Senior Grants & Programmes Manager at PRS Foundation said, “Huge congratulations to all the organisations being supported though our Talent Development Partner initiative. The role they play in today’s talent development pipeline is more important than ever and together they form a strong network of support in the UK for music creators, no matter where they are based.”