As the dust settles on festival season, now is a great time to refocus on how to make the most of the remainder of the year. For songwriters, this could entail expanding your network, honing your craft or even taking the plunge with an exciting new opportunity.
From PRS Foundation funding grants and the newly launched Mahogany Music Fund through to the National Youth Choir’s Young Composer programme, here’s four opportunities that songwriters should look out for in September and October 2024.
Apply for Women Make Music funding
Given its talented list of past recipients, which includes the likes of Anna Meredith, Phoebe Green and Poppy Ajudha, it’s not hard to see why Women Make Music has become a vital fixture in PRS Foundation’s funding calendar.
Championing the development of women, trans and non-binary songwriters, the fund is open to music creators of all genres and backgrounds at different stages of their career. Aiming to 'break down assumptions and stereotypes within the music industry by encouraging role models for future generations', the Women Make Music fund also intends to 'raise awareness of the gender gap and to ensure that women are aware that support for new music is available to them'.
The latest funding application window is open until 9 September, and you can read testimonials from past recipients of the fund here.
Apply for the Mahogany Music Fund
Multi-platform music brand Mahogany recently established a new fund for music creators who are in the early stages of their career. Aimed particularly at independent artists who are operating in a challenging financial climate, the Mahogany Music Fund is offering grants of up to £2500 each for songwriters are currently distributing through their platform.
Funding can be used to support everything from recording and touring through to content creation and digital marketing. In addition to this crucial financial support, recipients of the fund will also benefit from one-on-one mentorship from the Mahogany team, helping them shape elements such as campaign strategy and social media under their expert supervision.
Submissions are open now until 27 September, when applications will be reviewed by an independent panel.
Join the National Youth Choir’s Young Composers programme
The National Youth Choir (NYC) is on the hunt for young composers who are in the very early stages of their career, specifically those who are passionate about writing for vocal ensembles and are excited about working with young voices.
NYC's Young Composer programme has four spots currently available. Successful applicants will get the opportunity to work with an array of professional composer-mentors and write new works for the National Youth Choirs. The scheme has a focus on supporting composers from a broad range of musical backgrounds and genres, with the NYC specifically encouraging applications 'from those who work in ways which are not "traditionally choral" or acoustic music'.
All applicants must be based in the UK as the programme, which will run for 12 months from February 2025, will include regular in-person as well as online sessions. Applications are open now until 16 September.
Explore PRS Foundation’s Open Fund for Music Creators
With the clue very much in the name, the Open Fund for Music Creators supports songwriters of all genres and backgrounds — meaning this is an opportunity to consider no matter where you currently are in your songwriting journey.
Seeking to help UK music creators realise their potential, grants of up to £5000 are on offer to successful applicants. Applicants must fulfil all three of PRS Foundation’s funding priorities — 'to support the creation, performance and promotion of outstanding new music in any genre' — when applying for support on a particular project.
The Open Fund has supported over 100 songwriters to date, with previous recipients including Working Men’s Club, Ruth Lyon and former Mercury Prize winners Young Fathers. Applications are open now until 30 September and you can find the full guidelines here.
