Help Musicians UK and MOBO Trust have joined forces to launch the second round of the MOBO Help Musicians Fund.
After the success of last year’s pilot, the total pot has been increased to £40,000, creating more funding opportunities for grassroots talent at the start of their careers.
To be eligible for help, you must be aged 18 or over, based in the UK and eligible to work here and in financial need without significant backing.
You can be a solo artist, producer, group or songwriter, and MOBO would like to encourage creators operating in the RnB, soul, hip-hop, grime, jazz, gospel, garage, reggae and African music scenes.
Support will be granted for those wishing to develop their skills and undertake training, work on their live act, record music, create promotional materials, attend industry networking events, tour and more.
The closing date for applications is 8 October at 9am.
Lucy Bampton, Help Musicians UK’s head of creative programme, said: ‘We’re thrilled to announce we have doubled our investment in the MOBO Help Musicians Fund following such a successful pilot year.
‘This additional investment and working with the fantastic MOBO Trust will enable us to support even more exciting and innovative artists from genres beyond the existing commercial heartland. We’re particularly excited to expand our criteria to enable larger groups, such as gospel choirs, to realise their career ambitions.’
MOBO founder and chief executive Kanya King CBE added: ‘MOBO has a long history of championing and supporting the next generation of talent in Urban music. Yet with each new generation of artists comes new challenges to develop one’s art and get to the next level, so financial backing early on is critical to the long-term growth of a fledgling artist.
‘After last year’s successful pilot and witnessing the progress of last year’s recipients, it was only natural to continue this partnership with Help Musicians UK and we are therefore proud to be able to offer even more exceptional musicians, songwriters and producers invaluable funding and support in achieving their career ambitions. We look forward to seeing more of the wide range of grass roots talent the UK has to offer.’
In 2017, the fund supported 11 up-and-coming acts, such as AGAMA, Estée Blu, Signkid and Cat Delphi. Here, they share their tips on how to make your application stand out from the rest:
After the success of last year’s pilot, the total pot has been increased to £40,000, creating more funding opportunities for grassroots talent at the start of their careers.
To be eligible for help, you must be aged 18 or over, based in the UK and eligible to work here and in financial need without significant backing.
You can be a solo artist, producer, group or songwriter, and MOBO would like to encourage creators operating in the RnB, soul, hip-hop, grime, jazz, gospel, garage, reggae and African music scenes.
Support will be granted for those wishing to develop their skills and undertake training, work on their live act, record music, create promotional materials, attend industry networking events, tour and more.
The closing date for applications is 8 October at 9am.
Lucy Bampton, Help Musicians UK’s head of creative programme, said: ‘We’re thrilled to announce we have doubled our investment in the MOBO Help Musicians Fund following such a successful pilot year.
‘This additional investment and working with the fantastic MOBO Trust will enable us to support even more exciting and innovative artists from genres beyond the existing commercial heartland. We’re particularly excited to expand our criteria to enable larger groups, such as gospel choirs, to realise their career ambitions.’
MOBO founder and chief executive Kanya King CBE added: ‘MOBO has a long history of championing and supporting the next generation of talent in Urban music. Yet with each new generation of artists comes new challenges to develop one’s art and get to the next level, so financial backing early on is critical to the long-term growth of a fledgling artist.
‘After last year’s successful pilot and witnessing the progress of last year’s recipients, it was only natural to continue this partnership with Help Musicians UK and we are therefore proud to be able to offer even more exceptional musicians, songwriters and producers invaluable funding and support in achieving their career ambitions. We look forward to seeing more of the wide range of grass roots talent the UK has to offer.’
In 2017, the fund supported 11 up-and-coming acts, such as AGAMA, Estée Blu, Signkid and Cat Delphi. Here, they share their tips on how to make your application stand out from the rest:
