News

Three incredible Liverpool City Region artists are set to take their music careers to the next level after being awarded the next round of PPL Momentum Accelerator Liverpool City Region grants.

PRS Foundation’s PPL Momentum Accelerator offers grants of up to £5,000 to talented artists with a growing fanbase, currently working to establish a music industry team and based in targeted regions of the UK.

The Liverpool City Region-based music creators receiving PPL Momentum Accelerator support which is in partnership with MusicFutures are:

• Niki Kand – Recording and release third EP
• Bethane – Creating, recording, releasing and marketing debut EP
• Jazmine Johnson – Working with producer, recording, releasing and marketing new tracks

Additionally, PPL Momentum Accelerator support of up to £1,000, which can include micro-grants, mentoring or other holistic support, is offered to future music industry professionals to develop their skills and careers. The 2 Liverpool City Region industry professionals receiving support this round are:

• Carrick Moran (Liverpool City Region) – Accessing UK conferences and meetings as well as creating capacity for new marketing strategies
• Tobi Osekita (Liverpool City Region) – Professional recording of a live set, a dedicated AUDIOFEATHER card release, and a series of pop-up activations

Since PPL Momentum Accelerator’s launch, 5 artists have progressed their career to a tipping point and become eligible to apply for and receive the PPL Momentum Music Fund after initially receiving PPL Momentum Accelerator support. Lucas Alexander and fellow Wales-based LEMFRECK and Luke RV as well as the two Yorkshire-based Downtown Kayoto and Chiedu Oraka all first picked up PPL Momentum Accelerator support early in their careers before successfully receiving PPL Momentum Music Fund support. Further recent Accelerator successes include English Teacher winning 2024’s Mercury Prize and BRITs Critic’s Choice 2026 winner Jacob Alon including Liverpool industry professional Abby Meysenburg in their management team.

PPL became headline sponsors of the Momentum Music Fund in February 2020. Since then, 265 talented music creators at tipping points in their careers have received this vital support to break through to the next level.

The first 50 rounds of the PPL Momentum Music Fund have supported:

• The creation of 329 albums (including dozens of top twenty chart placements)
• Support for over 300 UK tours and over 1,600 live dates
• Artist who have received PPL Momentum Music Fund have gone on to receive 7 Mercury Prizes, 13 MOBO Awards and 6 Brit Awards

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 the UK-wide PPL Momentum Music Fund support and also for PPL Momentum Accelerator Sbardun support for those based in Wales is 10^th August 2026 at 6:00pm.

The next deadline to apply for PPL Momentum Accelerator support for those based in Liverpool City Region or Tees Valley is 26^th October at 6:00pm.