The PRS Foundation has announced that the latest producers and songwriters to receive support from the Hitmaker fund are:
- 169
- 3lackondabeat
- Aryan Nasr
- Lei Jennings
- Gold Spectacles (pictured)
- John Foyle
- Josh McClelland
- Ryan Bickley/Kid Ryan
- The Melody Men
Hitmaker support offers songwriters, producers and music creators working behind the scenes in popular music genres to further develop their careers and writing/production credits with grants of up to £10,000. Under the previous guise of the pilot Writer Producer Fund, Hitmaker has supported talent that has worked with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Paramore, Stormzy, Kylie Minogue and more.
Additionally, supported songwriters and producers have developed into a community through Hitmaker events and an online network.
The fund is open to UK based behind-the-scenes songwriters, producers and music creators that have had at least three commercially exploited works, whether performed live, received media coverage, radio play, streams or released via commercial channels.
Hitmaker supported producer and songwriter, Kid Ryan, said: “The Hitmaker Fund has reached me at a point where it was needed most, with several of my songs starting to build traction and many more being put on hold with bigger artists, it's never been more important for me to hit the ground running and keep up with the fast pace of the music industry and the quantity and quality of music it demands. For PRS Foundation to see so much potential in who I am and what I create, I can never truly be thankful enough – this money is going to be responsible for the creation of a lot of good music to come.”
Becci Scotcher, senior grants and programmes manager at PRS Foundation, added: “Huge congratulations to all the talented songwriters and producers being supported in this latest round of our Hitmaker Fund. We know the UK has a huge behind the scenes talent pool and it’s exciting to see more and more songwriters and producers outside of London and from a diversity of backgrounds and communities applying and receiving this unique support. It is so important that funds like Hitmaker remove the barriers to success for these talented music creators to get to that next stage of their careers no matter where they are in the UK or what their background.”
Spotify is the exclusive digital partner for Hitmaker. The partnership has enabled more producers and songwriters to be supported, and a closer working relationship between 2021-2022 supported grantees and the Spotify team for promotional and marketing opportunities.
Tom Connaughton, MD, Spotify UK/IE said: “As we move into the second year of partnering with PRS Foundation on the Hitmaker Fund, we’re looking forward to supporting this next round of songwriters, producers, and music creators and equipping them with tools to help advance their careers. As we reconnect songwriters in person at our studios and sessions, we're empowering songwriters to do what they do best – create fantastic music that connects with listeners around the world.”
The next round of Hitmaker will be open in the coming months with a deadline in autumn 2022.
The fund was launched in 2019, with the aim of connecting "more music creators to fast-track long-term careers".
