Music Gateway Breakout returns offering £20K funding

For the second year in a row, Music Gateway has opened its doors for independent artists across the UK & Ireland to apply for their Breakout Artist Programme.

The programme, which is in its inaugural year, is designed to give one independent artist the funding, tools and guidance they need to have their biggest year to date. The £20,000 funding pool is available for the winning artist to use throughout 2027 and can be spent across PR, influencer marketing, playlisting, social advertising and YouTube.

Alongside the funding, the in house team at Music Gateway will also provide expert guidance for the artist, guiding their release strategy and activations throughout the year.

Helping Music Gateway decide the winning artist is a judging panel of pros from across the industry, with the first panellist to be announced as Something Something CEO & Founder Liam James Ward.

"With increasing access to resources and knowledge comes a terrifying increase in noise for artists - both to be heard and to hear the right advice. Music Gateway's Breakout has proven year on year that cutting through that to find and support genuine talent still exists, even in today's landscape. I'm excited to be involved in something so important." - Liam James Ward

More judges will be announced over the coming weeks along with additional prizes for the winning artist. The Breakout Artist Programme launched in 2025 and had over 600 artists apply, which were narrowed down to 15 Artists To Watch which included Chanel Yates, Southy, Duchess, Cristina Hart, simon a, 5 Degrees North, Superlative, GIYA, Kané, Altara, Same, Emilia Tarrant, ROOUE and Darcey Hope.

Ultimately, the judging panel crowned Niki Kini the Breakout Artist for 2026. Since winning, Niki has had industry mentoring sessions across releasing & branding, a print Q&A in DIY magazine, released her debut EP, a headline show and landed a support tour as well as ran campaigns across TikTok, Spotify, Youtube & socials.

Applications are open now for the Music Gateway Breakout Artist Programme to artists in the UK & Ireland, who can apply here.

Related Links

Apply for Music Gateway Breakout Artist Programme