PRS Foundation was founded in 2000 by our major donor, PRS for Music, in recognition that, despite the abundance of talented music creators in the UK, many still needed support to create new music and reach new audiences.

25 years later, PRS Foundation continues to invest in the future of music and its creators, bringing more music to life, whether as EPs, albums, new orchestral pieces, ballets and operas, or helping artists to tour and showcase their works in the UK and internationally.

The Foundation is here to support music creators at every stage of their journey, from grassroots and early days to forging sustainable careers. We do this through direct grants to music creators, support for industry professionals and funding for pioneering organisations working at the frontline of talent development, including venues, festivals, promoters and other music creator development specialists.

Since 2000, PRS Foundation has invested over £50 million in more than 9,000 music projects. Six of the last seven Mercury Prize winners have received PRS Foundation support at pivotal moments early in their careers. We’ve also helped MOBO, RPS, BRIT, Grammy and Ivors award winners and nominees, including Little Simz, Wolf Alice, Dave, Sam Fender, Years & Years, AJ Tracey, Anna Meredith, Glass Animals, Ezra Collective, Ghetts, Shiva Feshareki, Floating Points, Nadine Shah, Lostboy, Imogen Heap, Kae Tempest and Yard Act.

I’m incredibly proud of the PRS Foundation team and expert external advisors, and of the positive impact of our work for the creative community and for the UK music industry. Partnerships are an important, and sometimes less spoken about ingredient in our recipe for success. Without the investment from like-minded individuals and organisations, we simply couldn’t reach and support the thousands of talented music creators out there that rely upon on our support.

Why does investment from across the industry matter?

Over the last 25 years, barriers to developing a career in music have not only increased but become more pronounced and complex. From regional inequities and socio-economic barriers to under-representation and discrimination, several challenges require targeted, sustained intervention. No matter what someone’s gender, ethnicity or background, PRS Foundation has been leading the way on building initiatives that tackle barriers head on.

When we launched POWER UP in 2021, the aim was to address anti-Black racism in the industry, empowering exceptional Black talent to break through glass ceilings and create a network of talented music creators and industry professionals.

“In the last 25 years, barriers to a career in music have become more pronounced and complex.”

The multi-award-winning POWER UP programme is now a 200-person strong community, with some of the most exciting music creators today, including Nova Twins, TAAHLIAH and Abel Selaocoe. And many industry professionals from the programme have gone on to join industry Boards, curate major festivals and win industry awards, while shaping the future of the industry itself.

This ground-breaking initiative, co-founded with Ben Wynter, has only been possible at this scale due to the shared ambition and investment from our partners. YouTube Music, Beggars Group and the Black Music Coalition, as well as the UK’s industry trade bodies, were joined this year by Amazon Music, Warner Music and Universal Music.  Their partnership and financial support will ensure POWER UP can continue to invest in the next generation of Black creators and executives.

All our work has collaboration at its heart. Partnerships with UK and Irish arts councils enable us to deliver our commissioning and touring programmes Beyond Borders and New Music Biennial programmes, as well as the Early Career Promoter Fund which focuses on those at the earliest stage of their career journey. 

PPL supports three PRS Foundation programmes including our pioneering Talent Development Network. This network helps over 70 non-profit organisations across the UK such as FOCUS Wales, Oh Yeah Centre, Wide Days, Saffron, Generator and Brighter Sounds to provide targeted programmes that benefit local creators and music scenes.

How collaboration can have a direct impact

Our open, accessible and targeted approach to funding plays a vital role in many creators’ career trajectories – and sometimes these pathways intersect and dovetail in powerful ways. English Teacher’s story is a great example of this.

They began their journey with early support from our Talent Development Network organisations such as Come Play With Me and Music:Leeds. As their career and platform grew, they became eligible for direct support through our PPL Momentum Accelerator programme, which targets support in specific regions of the UK to boost local talent up to that crucial tipping point.

The Yorkshire edition of this initiative, run in partnership with PPL, Music:Leeds/Music Local and Arts Council England, enabled English Teacher to record early singles such as R&B. The band have spoken candidly about how essential that combination of support was in developing their career before securing a deal with Island Records. In 2024, they won a Mercury Prize.

“English Teacher have spoken candidly about how essential that support was in developing their career.”

Stories like this aren’t just anomalies, they are a product of a well-functioning, collaborative pipeline. When properly supported, talent has the freedom to take risks and build commercial and cultural success. However, the challenges music creators face today are real and growing.

Despite the UK’s position as the third largest recorded music market in the world, UK acts are struggling to break through on the global stage. Access to funding is a major obstacle, especially for emerging and mid-tier artists, exacerbated by Brexit-related barriers, soaring touring costs, intensifying global competition and relatively low government investment.

The accelerated investment in music export from the likes of Canada, South Korea and Australia risks the UK being left behind. The UK’s global market share has more than halved in the past decade. Last year, for the first time in 20 years, no UK artists featured in the IFPI Global Chart Top 10. With increasingly complex barriers to building international careers and business, urgent action and sustained investment are critical to stimulate long-term growth of the UK music industry.

That’s why PRS Foundation has led the accelerated calls for more Government investment in music export initiatives, including our International Showcase Fund (which enables artists to showcase in a new overseas territory) and BPI’s Music Export Growth Scheme (which supports international touring). Our open letter received over 600 signatories from organisations across the music industry and made a clear case: collective action is critical. One united cohesive voice is stronger.

For the last eight years, we’re proud to have been the UK partner and co-founder of the Keychange initiative, addressing gender inequities across the industry worldwide. We do this by calling the industry in rather than calling it out, with the global Keychange Pledge evolving since 2018 and celebrating the milestone of 700+ pledge signatories committed to achieving 50%+ representation of women and gender-diverse talent in any area of work. We have worked with dozens of companies and organisations to support over 340 individuals based in 27 countries through several Keychange talent development initiatives.

The support dividend

Every year we receive thousands of high-quality funding applications. The reality is, we simply cannot fund every excellent project, meaning so much potential is at risk of being lost. We firmly believe that collaboration from the industry, government and commercial sector is key to ensuring opportunities are accessible to all and barriers are broken down. As the creator community sustains careers and thrives, it will shape a better music sector more broadly, benefitting the organisations that partner with us, directly and indirectly.

For PRS Foundation’s next 25 years we will be driven by an even greater commitment to collaborate and build new partnerships. The existing pathways from a PRS Foundation grant to commercial sector success are already there, whether it’s Sam Fender signing with Polydor, Lostboy joining Sony Music Publishing or Abel Selaocoe releasing his debut album on Warner Classics. Last year, 29 supported composers, orchestras, ensembles and organisations featured across the BBC Proms and a staggering 80 grantees performed at Glastonbury.

“Every year we receive thousands of high-quality funding applications. The reality is, we simply cannot fund every excellent project, meaning so much potential is at risk of being lost.”

We recognise and applaud the great initiatives by labels and publishers, such as Social Justice Funds, and the recent partnerships to support the music ecosystems outside London including EMI North and Warner Music Group’s partnerships with Generator and The Music Works. These actions show what’s possible. Future PRS Foundation partnerships on such initiatives could bring additional expertise and added value benefiting more organisations and in turn thousands of artists, creators and professionals.

If we want a stronger, fairer and more globally competitive music industry, the answer lies in partnership. And PRS Foundation’s door is wide open for labels, publishers, agents and the commercial sector to partner and work more closely with us. Together we can strengthen the pipeline of talent entering the music industry. Collaborating to break down barriers for exceptional, diverse talent and focusing on and investing more in proven solutions will, in the end, benefit all of us. The next 25 years will be shaped by the decisions we make today – let’s commit now to building a future where the UK’s music sector thrives for generations to come.

This article originally appeared in the Q2 2025 issue of MBW’s premium quarterly publication, Music Business UK, which is out now.

MBUK is available as part of a MBW+ subscription – details through here.

All physical subscribers will receive a complimentary digital edition with each issue.

Music Business Worldwide