Creative Producers Award for Live Music
Creative Producers highlighted in New Award for Live Music
The Arts Foundation and PRS for Music Foundation are teaming up to launch a new £10,000 fellowship aimed at independent producers working behind the scenes in live music. The award is part of a new three-year partnership between the Arts Foundation and PRS for Music Foundation which will support exceptional individuals with imaginative approaches to developing new music in the UK.
The applicants, who have to be resident in the UK, will be nominated by experts working in or across any musical genre including Jazz, Opera, Folk, Pop, Electronica and beyond. The shortlist will be revealed in Autumn with the final winner announced at the Arts Foundation Awards on the 28th January 2016.
Seen by some as akin to curating in the visual arts, the role of independent producing is vital in its support of artist development and, the way new music is offered to an audience. Independent producers contribute to institutions’ programmes creating new platforms, spaces and curatorial frames for new music along with projects that they themselves conceive and make happen.
Composers whose work is multi-media, multi-disciplinary, theatrical or installation based often need to work with a producer if they are going to be able to raise the funds, put the production of their work together and reach their target audiences. Alternatively, some artists are stepping into independent producing, alongside their lives as performers and composers. Although they do not always identify themselves as independent producers they can often bring great creativity to the process.
The £10,000 fellowship is not a commission but to be used to pay for living and working expenses, allowing the producer, who must show a track record in the art form, breathing space in order to further their practice. All shortlisted artists will receive £1,000.
People often say that the best creative producers in live music are invisible – they work behind the scenes, with artists, promoters and venues to find the most imaginative way to present new music in its many different forms. PRS for Music Foundation is supporting this award to raise awareness of these important practitioners whilst giving one winner time and resources to further develop their unique talent. I’m sure that the shortlist for this award will be very strong.
We are delighted that PRS for Music Foundation have committed to supporting artists through our fellowship scheme. Our shared belief of nurturing innovation while easing the financial pressures inherent in our daily lives has been a key factor in the development of many of our fellows’ practices.
This award supported by PRS for Music Foundation joins five other £10,000 Arts Foundation fellowships in Literary Translation, Art in the Urban Space, Jewellery Design, Children’s Theatre and Materials Innovation.
-ENDS-
Additional Information
For further information please contact:
Liam McMahon – PRS for Music Foundation
0203 741 4741 / liam@prsformusicfoundation.com
About The Arts Foundation
The Arts Foundation, was founded in 1993 from an anonymous donation and has since awarded over £1.6m to support artists from all areas of the arts. Past recipients of music related awards have included Nicholas Collon (Conducting 2008), Paul Clark (Opera Composition 1998), Sam Lee (Folk Music 2011), Belcea Quartet (Chamber Music, 2000) and James Wood (Electro Acoustic Composition 1994).
About PRS for Music Foundation
PRS for Music Foundation is the UK's leading charitable funder of new music and talent development across all genres. Since 2000 PRS for Music Foundation has given more than £20 million to over 5,000 new music initiatives by awarding grants and leading partnership programmes that support music sector development. Widely respected as an adventurous and proactive funding body, PRS for Music Foundation supports an exceptional range of new music activity – including composer residencies and commissions, international showcasing and its pioneering Women Make Music scheme.
About PRS for Music
PRS for Music is a world-leading music collective management organisation representing the rights of more than 165,000 talented songwriters, composers and music publishers around the globe. Headquartered in the UK, it works diligently on behalf of its members to grow and protect the value of their rights. With a focus on innovation and integrity, PRS for Music is redefining the global standard for music royalties to ensure creators are paid whenever their musical compositions and songs are streamed, downloaded, broadcast, performed and played in public. In 2022, PRS for Music collected £964m and paid out £836.2m in royalties. prsformusic.com
