Arts Council England confirms 2015 support for the Momentum Music Fund

The UK's Momentum Music Fund is being extended for another year beyond its original two year pilot, so that's groovy. the Fund was the first Arts Council England initiative that directly funded artists outside of the jazz, classical and folk genres, and it offers grants to enable artists and their business partners to pursue career-enhancing projects that may include live or recording-based work, seeking to complement investment made in new talent by existing music industry players such as labels and publishers. Confirming that a third year of funding was now assured, outgoing Arts Council boss Alan Davey told reporters: "I'm proud of what Momentum has achieved and excited about what it can do."

First Momentum Music Funding announced

The Wytches

The PRS For Music Foundation has announced the first ten artists to benefit from the Momentum Music Fund, the new Arts Council-funded initiative providing grants to bands looking for help getting to the next level. They are: Brolin, Dutch Uncles, Esco Williams, Floating Points, Hacktivist, Hannah Peel, Kindness, Teleman, Thumpers and The Wytches. They were selected by an industry panel from around 500 submitted applications. There are eight more Momentum funding rounds between now and October 2014 and each band can receive up to £15,000.