Blanco, Halina Rice, TAAHLIAH, Local and aimei among the 10 talented artists receiving the latest round of PPL Momentum Music Fund support

29 November 2024 - Press release

PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, together with PPL, Creative Wales and Arts Council of Northern Ireland, reveal the latest artists that will receive support from the pioneering PPL Momentum Music Fund. 

 

The artists who have been selected by a network of industry experts, are:

• aimei 媚 – Production costs (visuals, promotion, and advertising) of second EP and shows
• Blanco – UK tour incorporating live instrumentation
• Delilah Bon – Release of second studio album and UK tour
• Ellur – Recording, mixing and mastering of 8 tracks for debut album
• Halina Rice – An innovative audiovisual tour of the UK across 2024 and 2025
• Jianbo – Marketing, merchandise, visuals identity, content shoots and team costs, (project managers, radio plugger, publicist) for debut full length mixtape project entitled ‘Everything For The Family’
• Local – Debut album marketing and recording with Grammy nominated Eddie Jenkins, production, mixing and mastering and UK tour
• PROJECTOR – Recording with producer Ben Hampson, promotion and live tour of sophomore album
• Ragz Originale – Marketing, PR, and tour support for the release of deluxe album 'Sweet Nothings', featuring Bambii, Karen Nyame KG, Miso Extra and Erika De Casier
• TAAHLIAH – Developing and building a new live audio-visual show for full UK tour in early 2025 to promote debut album, ‘Gramarye’

 

PPL Momentum Music supported Halina Rice said, “I'm thrilled to have this PPL Momentum Music Fund support from the PRS Foundation to reach the next level in my touring career and to perform the show at major venues across the UK.”

PPL Momentum Music Fund is the ground-breaking support for artists who have reached a crucial tipping point, have a team already in place and ready to take the next step in their careers. Managed by PRS Foundation, the PPL Momentum Music Fund awards grants of £5,000-£15,000 using funds from PRS Foundation, PPL, Creative Wales and Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

This latest round of grantees from the August 2024 deadline are already hitting the ground running on their supported projects with TAALIAH picking up strong support from Resident Advisor, Ragz Originale being interviewed in Wonderland Magazine, aimei 媚 receiving coverage in The Line of Best Fit and Dork and Halina Rice’s tour kicking off on 29^th November.

 

Successful artists selected from 4^th November deadline will be announced in early 2025.

John Hendrickse, Grants & Programmes Manager at PRS Foundation said: “We’re delighted to support these 10 incredibly talented artists in this latest round of PPL Momentum Music Fund and the exciting projects that will help push their careers forward. I’m also pleased to see this round featured two exceptional artists of East and South East Asian heritage and looking forward to seeing more applications from this underrepresented community in the future.”

Kate Reilly, Chief Membership & People Officer at PPL said, “The breadth of emerging music talent and creative ideas shared with us to record, tour and market music in this latest cohort is very strong. We’re happy we can help support these artists develop their work and creative vision in some small part through the PPL Momentum Music Fund.”

Joedi Langley, Interim Head of Creative Wales, said: “The PPL Momentum fund is an essential tool for artists looking to break through, and with such a broad range of diverse talent in Wales it’s important for Creative Wales continue to support this project. LOCAL, a Cardiff-based rapper, is at an exciting point in his career. With the expertise of a grammy-nominated producer behind his debut album, this funding will give his project a vital boost. Congratulations to all the recipients in this round!

 

PPL Momentum Music Fund is crucial for both music creators’ careers and the wider industry as the 10 Years of Momentum Report (2013-23) found. To date, the fund has been transformational with over £5.2 million awarded to artists across the whole of the UK, resulting in:

• Helping to generate £22 million for the UK music industry
• Over 500 artists awarded PPL Momentum Music Fund support
• Creation of 275 albums (including Mercury Prize nominated albums and dozens of top twenty chart placements)
• Support for over 300 UK tours and over 1,600 live dates
• Over 7,300 applications received over 40 funding rounds with a 7% success rate of funds being granted

 

Following the report’s release last year, recent PPL Momentum Music artists continue to make waves and progress their careers. Ezra Collective picked up the 2023 Mercury Prize, Jordan Adetunji released one of the most viral tracks of the last 12-months ‘Kehlani’, and Lusaint whose debut EP ‘Self Sabotage’, (Perfect Havoc/Heavenly Fire in partnership with The Orchard) has so far generated more than 10 million streams globally and has signed with PPL for the collection of her international neighbouring rights royalties.

In a 2018 evaluation of the PPL Momentum Music Fund, evidence from thousands of applications PRS Foundation receives each year identified talent pipeline gaps across the UK. Many music creators show strong musical potential but are unable to capitalise upon this due to financial barriers, gaps in regional infrastructure, knowledge, advice, and access to industry platforms.

PPL Momentum Accelerator was subsequently launched as a targeted scheme to support the development of outstanding artists and bands who are writing their own music, and early career Industry Professionals, outside London and who face additional barriers in reaching a crucial career tipping point based on their location. Launched as a pilot in Liverpool in 2019, PPL Momentum Accelerator, currently runs in Liverpool City Region, Wales and Yorkshire.

PPL became headline sponsors of the Momentum Music Fund in February 2020. Since then, 200 talented music creators at tipping points in their careers have received this vital supportto break through to the next level.

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. 

 

Next deadline to submit an application for PPL Momentum Music Fund support will be in early 2025.  Check PRS Foundation’s website and sign up to the PRS Foundation newsletterfor the latest deadlines.