Help Musicians UK's new Do It Differently Fund announces first 22 awardees

13 December 2018 - Press release

Pivotal new fund for independent music creators offers nearly £60k of holistic support across creative, wellbeing and business

 

Help Musicians UK (HMUK) today celebrated the first 22 music creators who have received funding from the charity's first ever Do it Differently Fund – which has distributed over £59,000 in grants. 

Do it Differently was created by HMUK in partnership with BAPAM (British Association for Performing Arts Medicine) and ThinkMusic to champion the UK's exceptional DIY talent. It provides the most comprehensive suite of support yet across creative, business and wellbeing for independently-driven music creators.

Launched in October this year, Do it Differently received 460 applications, the highest number of applications for a single HMUK fund. The hugely anticipated second round of Do It Differently will open in Spring 2019. The fund offers a grant of up to £3,000 focused on creative development, plus an optional £2,000 to go towards business planning and wellbeing services.

The Do it Differently Fund has been HMUK's most accessible fund yet, seeing the charity take applications on video for the first time and from the broadest range of music-makers. Bands, soloists, producers, DJs, songwriters and composers all applied, a higher than average proportion of the applicants to this fund were female (68%).

HMUK assembled a diverse judging panel of industry experts, including artist manager and independent assessor Andrew Ellis, Brighter Sound Project Manager Kate Lowes, The Rattle Community Manager Jess McCarten, ThinkMusic Director Jonathan Robinson and Holly Wilson, Concert Promotions Coordinator at DHP Family, which selected the final 22 recipients. 

 

The 22 Do it Differently music-creators, are a rich example of the UK's DIY scene. The selected artists, spanning the UK from London to Scotland and Wales, reflect a diverse range of genres, including experimental, pop, folk, jazz, grime, hip hop and soul. They will use their grants to support several aspects of their career, from self-releasing, studio hire, mixing and mastering, to touring costs, hiring session musicians, visual design, PR and marketing. 

The 22 awardees are:
Amble Skuse, AWATE, Calista Kazuko, BABYTEETH, The Anchoress, Bloom, ESKA, Georgia Ruth, Bellatrix, Cassels, Julian Costello, Kirk Barley, KYRI, Dead Naked Hippies, MEI, Michael Begg, Nathan James Dearden, Robyn Steward, Lady Sanity, VanIves,Valerie Welbanks, Stergin

 

 

Claire Gevaux, Help Musicians UK Director of Programme, said: 
"Following conversations we had earlier in the year, we heard that combining creativity, business development and wellbeing was the number one priority for music creators across the country working in every genre. And thanks to our partners, ThinkMusic and the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine, we have been able to design this innovative fund which brings all those needs into one holistic offer.  The popularity of the Do it Differently Fund exceeded our expectations and the exceptionally high quality of applications made the panel's job all the more difficult to agree 22 awardees in our first pilot round.   We also made the process our most accessible to date and have attracted a truly diverse pool of independent music creators and we're delighted that so many female artists were encouraged to apply.  We are planning the next round in Spring 2019 and we hope that this fund continues to address a much needed gap in the market to consider the artist as a whole.  Our congratulations to the first cohort and we look forward to seeing how they develop plans balanced with a sustainable career, their health and wellbeing".