Latest round of Power Up participants announced
The Power Up initiative – launched by the PRS Foundation and Ben Wynter back in 2021 – has announced the music-makers and industry professionals that will take part in the third year of its Power Up Participant Programme.That programme, Power Up explains, “elevates pioneering black talent and is a key feature of the long-term initiative launched to address anti-black racism and racial disparities in the music sector”.Participants get access to financial support as well as masterclasses and mentoring, in a bid to support “the development of their careers and practice, to break through glass ceilings and accelerate change across the industry”.The year before the launch of Power Up, many in the music industry made commitments to address ongoing discrimination in the sector following the Black Out Tuesday protest. Staged in response to the murder by US police officers of George Floyd, that protest saw many in the music industry pause their operations for 24 hours, most posting a black square to social media.In the wake of the protest, a number of practical initiatives were launched and supported within the music business, including in the UK, Power Up among them.