PRS Foundation provides £1.5million for new British music
23 April 2004
The PRS Foundation (PRSF) is continuing its drive to stimulate creative music ventures in the UK , by pledging another £1.5million to support new music activity this year.
The Foundation is the UK 's largest independent funder purely for new music of any genre. Since its launch in March 2000, it has been a significant force in supporting creatively adventurous and pioneering musical activity.
In 2003, it committed to 355 awards for new music totalling £1.4million. To date, the Foundation has distributed around £5million specifically to support the creation and performance of new music in the UK . Earlier this year it successfully funded its 1000th new music venture.
The organisation, which receives its generous support from the membership of the Performing Right Society, has a unique remit to support all genres of music throughout the whole of the UK . The range of activities supported by the Foundation has been amazingly diverse - encompassing everything from unsigned band showcases to education projects, from commissions to the live performance of electronic music.
Its recent support of the visionary Ether festival at the Royal Festival Hall saw the London Sinfonietta, Squarepusher and Jamie Liddell earning a rapturous reaction from the audience. The Fuse festival in Leeds featured world premieres of new commissions by Django Bates and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, while Glasgow 's Instal festival showcased experimental work by the Paragon Ensemble and the Vibracathedra Orchestra .
A spokesman for digital arts consortium Bathysphere, the organisation behind Leicester 's Deep Water label says
"Funding from the PRS Foundation has made it possible for us to work with a much wider range of artists and ultimately to reach larger audiences. Their support has really helped us to develop the scope of our work and deliver more new music in the process"
In 2003, the PRS Foundation initiated 'Distil', a scheme which provides a 'real-time musical incubator' for musicians from the traditional music sector to meet, explore and develop new music in collaboration with their equivalents from other genres. Further to the success of 'Distil', the Foundation aims to launch a similar venture for contemporary jazz.
The Foundation's diverse partnership activities alone have swelled the support available for new UK music by over £200,000. In the past 4 months, it has initiated partnerships with Fopp and Clear Sound and Vision to support Unsigned bands, and Classic FM and West Yorkshire Playhouse, to install the first ever composers in residence at those organisations.
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See page 2 for more information about the PRS Foundation.
ABOUT THE PRS FOUNDATION
The PRS Foundation is a forward-looking, artistically driven organisation which primarily aims to promote and support the creation and performance of all genres of music and to help people enjoy and understand the new music they experience.
It delivers its remit via a wide range of funding schemes which each have their own application forms and deadlines spread throughout the year, all available from www.prsfoundation.co.uk/apply . The PRS Foundation is widely regarded as a refreshingly approachable funder, with simple application forms, fast decision-making and a free expert advice service for applicants.
Its schemes include the only national commissioning scheme for new music and Live Connections, the UK's only funding scheme specifically aimed at live performances of new electronic music of any genre.
For more information, please visit www.prsfoundation.co.uk or contact Simi Obra on 020 7306 4741 simi.obra@prsfoundation.co.uk
Please note: Although the PRS Foundation currently receives very generous support from the Performing Right Society Ltd, the Foundation is a registered charity and a separate entity in terms of its remit, governance and administration. We would therefore appreciate it if you would credit any support for funding to The PRS Foundation and not the Performing Right Society Ltd.