Pop Awards

Help Musicians launched the Pop and Scottish Traditional Music Awards to help music students with the costs of postgraduate study.

The History

Intensive postgraduate study is vital if the next generation of musicians are to achieve their potential, but the costs are astronomical. Taking living expenses and tuition fees into account, the cost of a two-year postgraduate degree can easily reach £40,000.

Help Musicians' postgraduate awards offer support to students who wish to complete their studies at the leading UK conservatoires and performing arts colleges. The charity has been making awards to postgraduate music students of between £1,000 and £5,000 since 1921.

In 2019, the average award for a postgraduate musician was £2,780 helping 103 students with their next year of study. In 2020 we hope to award £300,000 through our postgraduate awards.

Who can Apply

This year our Pop and Scottish Traditional Music Awards are open to students who are either hoping to start a postgraduate degree or move in to a second year of postgraduate study in September 2020.  

Our Pop and Scottish Traditional Music Awards are only open to students who wish to study performance at the following conservatoires or performance institutions: 

• Leeds College of Music
• Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
• Royal Northern College of Music

From 24 April 2020 we will accept applications from students who wish to study a performance degree at one of the conservatoires or performing arts colleges above.

To apply for our Pop Awards, students must:

• Be intending to study a postgraduate degree in September 2020 (ie. Mmus, MA, PGDip, Artist Diploma)
• Have lived in the UK for at least 3 consecutive years at the start of the academic year in which they will be supported by the award
• Be in financial need
• Demonstrate that they have the musical potential and ambition to create a successful and sustainable career within the popular music industry

Help Musicians strongly encourages applications from students from underrepresented backgrounds, including those from BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) backgrounds, D/deaf and disabled people; and those from lower socio-economic groups.

Through these Awards, we are unable to fund:

• Non-music performance degrees such as composition, music technology, music education, music therapy, arts administration and music business
• Undergraduate courses
• PhDs, MPhil, DMus, Doctorates
• Study from the previous academic year
• Applications from students not intending on studying at the above institutions

Please contact creative@helpmusicians.org.uk if you are not sure whether you are eligible or if you have any queries regarding our eligibility criteria. 

How to Apply

To apply for our Pop Awards, you must complete our online application form. 

Please read the application guidelines for full details on how to apply. 

Due to the current situation regarding COVID 19, we have suspended all in-person activity this year. If you are shortlisted, your application will then be forwarded to our external panel who will focus on your video submissions. 

Zoom advice Sessions

We are holding funding advice sessions via zoom on the dates below. If you would like to be added to the guest list, please email creative@helpmusicians.org.uk for a link to the meeting. 

Thursday 21 May 11.30am

Friday 22 May 1pm

Do not hesitate to get in touch with the Creative Team should you have any queries. You can email us on creative@helpmusicians.org.uk