Lagos, Nigeria – May 8th, 2025 – Studio Monkey Shoulder, the global grassroots music initiative by renowned blended malt-whisky brand Monkey Shoulder, returns to Nigeria for a second consecutive year. This year the competition in continued partnership with the legendary DJ and broadcaster, Gilles Peterson, once again invites Nigeria’s most ambitious, homegrown grassroots music communities to apply for a £10,000 grant (?20 million Naira) to bring their big, original music project to life, spotlighting their scene on a global scale.
This fund supports independent record stores to DIY music venues, online radio stations, and collectives who are pushing sonic boundaries while fostering real-world connection — all focused on protecting the spaces where people connect, create and discover music to encourage a thriving music ecosystem in Nigeria. Alongside the funding, the winner will tell their story through a series of films and radio broadcasts produced by Worldwide FM.
Broadcaster, DJ and founder of Worldwide FM, Gilles Peterson, said “I am thrilled to see Studio Monkey Shoulder grow in its second year in partnership with Worldwide FM. It’s been a privilege to work with the communities we supported in 2024, seeing their projects thrive and come to life. I am excited to uncover more amazing community-driven projects in Nigeria and witness the talent that comes with it as the project evolves in year two.”
The impact of the initiative is already being felt. In 2024, Lagos-based cultural institution Jazzhole received the Nigerian grant to digitally remaster rare archival recordings and preserve Nigeria’s sonic heritage.
Expressing gratitude for the initiative, Jazzhole, recipient of last year’s Nigeria’s grant, stated, “The Jazzhole team’s experience last year was unforgettable. We collaborated with Monkey Shoulder, Gilles Peterson and the Worldwide FM crew for an exclusive session. It gave us not just a platform, but a legacy project. Thank you for making this dream a reality.”
Nigeria joins four other global territories — the United Kingdom, India, Taiwan, and Germany — where similar creative collectives will be selected per country to receive the Studio Monkey Shoulder grant, along with global visibility through a dedicated Worldwide FM broadcast and documentary feature.
Each selected project becomes part of an international creative network curated by Worldwide FM, designed to elevate community voices and bring their stories to a global stage. Applications for Nigeria’s Studio Monkey Shoulder Fund open on April 28th, and close on June 1st.
For full details and to apply, visit this website
– ENDS-
ABOUT MONKEY SHOULDER?
In 2005, Monkey Shoulder, the world’s first made-for-mixing blended malt whisky, burst into the world of whisky, and it has been breaking the conventions of the category ever since. Developed as the ultimate whisky for cocktails, Monkey Shoulder Original Blended Malt Whisky is blended in small batches of Speyside’s finest single malt whiskies and then married together. Rich, smooth, and fruity, the original blend is bold enough to be mixed, yet balanced enough to enjoy neat. Most recently, Monkey Shoulder has been voted as the second best-selling and third Top Trending Scotch Whisky Brand in Drink International’s 2022 Brands Report. This unique blend gets its name from the Scottish slang for a muscular strain suffered by malt men during the days when whisky was still made by hand.
ABOUT WORLDWIDE FM
Worldwide FM is an award-winning community and platform where marginalized voices, alternative perspectives and shared progressive values are brought to the forefront through music and culture. The radio station, founded by DJ Gilles Peterson, combines world-class broadcasting talent, cutting-edge technology, and a highly experienced team of producers and curators that reflect the diversity of an international music hub. Wherever the programming comes from, Worldwide FM tries to give voice to progressive artists and cultural figures who fight inequality in all its forms. Now working at the intersection of audio, video, editorial, film, and photography, Worldwide FM works with like-minded brands to deliver solutions and activations with huge global impact, listenership, and engagement.
ABOUT WILLIAM GRANT & SONS?
William Grant & Sons Ltd. is an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded by William Grant in 1887. Today, the luxury spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distills some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including Monkey Shoulder, the world’s favorite single malt Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single malts and the world’s third largest blended Scotch, Grant’s®, as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick’s® Gin, Sailor Jerry® and Tullamore D.E.W® Irish Whiskey.
