Applications are now open for the 2023 The Drake YolanDa Award For Emerging Young Artists
Kevin Whitlock
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
YolanDa Brown, musician, broadcaster and Chair of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and philanthropist James ‘JP’ Drake, today (16 August) announced that applications for the fourth annual Drake YolanDa Awards for emerging young artists, including those working in jazz, are now open.
YolanDa Brown OBE, musician, broadcaster and Chair of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and philanthropist James ‘JP’ Drake, today (16 August) announced that applications for the fourth annual Drake YolanDa Awards for emerging young artists are now open. The Awards are a series of cash prizes presented to up-and-coming musicians aged between 16 and 30, enabling them to showcase their talent and assist them in taking their careers to the next level.
Ten promising artists will be awarded £3,000 each, intended to support each winners’ artistic development in areas including touring, artistic development, recording new music, music videos, marketing, branding and purchasing new equipment.
Since 2019 the Drake YolanDa Award have supported the careers of some 60 emerging artists from all over the UK, including Manchester, Birmingham, London, Glasgow and Newcastle. With over £100,000 of investment, 80% of the grants were awarded to women, 97% of applicants had never received a grant before and 65% of applicants were from outside London.
The Awards welcome applicants from all genres, including jazz, and are specifically looking for independent artists who need support and do not currently have backing from major record labels or publishers. Application deadline is 4 September (at 12 noon), after which a team of leading music industry figures will select 10 shortlisted artists.
Previous recipients of the award include singer and guitarist Rosie Frater Taylor, soulful songstress BEKA, and trumpet master Ife Ogunjobi who is now part of Ezra Collective.
YolanDa Brown commented: “Four years in to this award with over 60 artists as alumni and we continue to be blown away by the impact it has on the careers of these unique, genre bending artists. One of the biggest barriers to most creatives is access to finance and we are pleased to be able to answer that call for these artists and play a part of their evolving journeys at a critical stage… We only wish we had the capacity to support more artists.”
Applications are open now until 4th September. Artists must apply and submit a recent music video or audio recording via: www.drakeyolanda.org