PRS Foundation announces the latest recipients of the targeted PPL Momentum Accelerator support in Liverpool City Region, Yorkshire and Wales

25 May 2023 - Press release

• Music creators Courting, Piss Kitti, Ntantu, Dilettante, Sara Wolff, Samana, L E M F R E C K, Luke RV and Bwncath receive PPL Momentum Accelerator grants of up to £5,000 

• Music Industry professional Alexandra Jones receives PPL Momentum Sbardun | Accelerator support of up to £2,000

 

PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, announces today the latest music creators and industry professional receiving PPL Momentum Accelerator support in partnership with PPL, Spotify, Culture Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Music:Leeds/Music Local’s Launchpad, Arts Council England and Arts Council of Wales.

The music creators receiving support for their music projects are: 

• Courting (Liverpool City Region)
• Piss Kitti (Liverpool City Region)
• Sara Wolff (Liverpool City Region)

• Dilettante (Yorkshire)
• Ntantu (Yorkshire)

• Samana (Wales)
• L E M F R E C K (Wales)
• Luke RV (Wales)
• Bwncath (Wales)

 

Wales-based music industry professional receiving support is:

• Alexandra Jones

 

PPL Momentum Accelerator supported music creator Piss Kitti said, “Thanks to PPL Momentum Accelerator we will be able to solely focus on the creative side of making our debut album and not have to worry about the costs involved. We feel this is a massive step in the right direction for the band, we have been wanting to record an album for a long time and now it is a reality for us. We also feel like we are musically at our best right now, the stars have aligned for us and we are excited for the future.”

PPL Momentum Sbardun | Accelerator supported Alexandra Jones said, “I am really grateful and thankful to be recognised for my work in the Welsh Music Industry...The money is going to aid my creativity and allow me to progress in my career. Diolch yn fawr iawn!”

PRS Foundation’s PPL Momentum Accelerator (PPL Momentum Sbardun in Wales) offers grants of up to £5,000 to talented Liverpool City Region, Yorkshire or Wales-based artists with a growing fanbase, currently working to establish a music industry team.  Additionally, PPL Momentum Accelerator support of up to £2,000, which might include micro-grants, mentoring or other holistic support, is offered for music industry professionals to develop their skills and careers.

PPL Momentum Accelerator was initially launched as a pilot funding programme in the Liverpool City Region in 2019, and following its success, was expanded to Yorkshire in 2020 and Wales in 2022.

Artists and industry professional can find out more information and apply for PPL Momentum Accelerator / PPL Momentum Sbardun support via PRS Foundation’s website.  Next deadline for Liverpool City Region-based music creators to submit an application will be 29 May 2023 at 6:00pm.

 

Westley Holdsworth, Grants & Programmes Manager at PRS Foundation said, “Huge congratulations to the nine talented music creators and industry professional receiving this latest round of our PPL Momentum Accelerator/ PPL Momentum Sbardun support. This targeted initiative for those based in the Liverpool City Region, Yorkshire and Wales provides funds directly to each selected artist to develop their careers towards that next level tipping point and support the local music industry through the talented individuals working in the local scene.”

Sarah Wall, Senior Events and Marketing Manager at PPL, said “Congratulations to all recipients of this round of PPL Momentum Accelerator from all at PPL. The power of this fund comes from supporting existing organisations who understand the unique musical ecosystems in each location and are already doing vital work there. With Accelerator, we aim to bolster the efforts of music creators and industry professionals making ripples and give targeted support to enable future success.”

Kevin McManus, Head of UNESCO City of Music said “Supporting emerging talent is a key priority for the Liverpool City Region Music Board and we are delighted to have been able to continue our partnership with PRS Foundation and PPL on the PPL Momentum Accelerator programme. This is a proven talent development programme and we have always been keen to ensure that artists from the City Region are able to continue to benefit from it.”

Sam Nicholls / whiskas at Music:Leeds/Music Local’s Launchpad said “It's fantastic to continue to work with the Momentum Accelerator program to provide transformational support to artists from Yorkshire. We've seen previous supported artists reach huge successes, and we hope the two new recipients will be able to build on their success to date to reach new audiences and develop new industry connections to build their careers further! The commitment for PRS Foundation, PPL and Arts Council England to support this program is massively important to the regional music sector.”

Antwn Owen Hicks, Development Officer at Arts Council of Wales said, “Congratulations to the fantastic Bwncath, L E M F R E C K, Luke RV, Samana and Alexandra Jones on receiving this targeted support for Wales-based artists and industry professionals.  We’re delighted to be continuing this collaboration with PRS Foundation and other partners on PPL Sbardun | Accelerator to address this critical gap in development for artists in Wales, including those working in supporting roles. We look forward to seeing the impact of this support on the careers of each of recipient and the wider Wales music scene.”

In addition to PPL Momentum Accelerator, the UK-wide PPL Momentum Music Fund is available for those artists with a team already in place and at a tipping point, ready to take the next step in their careers.

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, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest 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. Find out more on the PRS Foundation website.

May 2023 saw the launch of a new independent report evaluating the impact of the PPL Momentum Music Fund, since its launch in 2013. The new report highlighted that the fund had given out over £5.2 million in grants supporting 526 artists across the whole of the UK and helped to generate more than £22 million for the UK music industry. Over the last decade the initiative has:

• supported the creation of more than 275 albums (including Mercury Prize nominated albums and dozens of top twenty chart placements)
• supported over 300 UK tours and over 1,600 live dates
• received 7,300 applications received over 40 funding rounds

 

The report surveyed supported music creators and found that:

• the diversity of talent demonstrates the fund’s reach with almost half of grantees of Black, Asian or other ethnically diverse heritage and over half of grantees based outside London

• timely support is working, with long-term impact survey results showing that: 94% said the grant came at the right time for them, 80% said it had helped them develop creatively and 83% said they were more able to sustain a career in music 
• 81% agree the fund was making a real difference in supporting artists from ethnically diverse backgrounds to develop, 87% that the fund was making a real difference in supporting women artists and 67% said the fund supported gender expansive artists
  
  

PPL became headline sponsors of the Momentum Music Fund in February 2020.  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.  

You can read the full PPL Momentum Music Fund 10 year report on the PRS Foundation website

Listen to the latest Momentum supported artists on the Spotify Momentum playlist.