San Francisco, Jul 29 (IANS): Popular social media platform Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, has announced a new creator fund that will award independent musicians up to $100,000 per month.

The company said that the new grant programme is designed to recognise emerging, independent artists for their critical role in driving video creations, inspiring Internet trends and defining cultural moments.

"We want to support the independent and emerging artists that are driving creation on Snapchat," Ted Suh, Global Head of Music Partnerships at Snap, said in a statement.

"By providing meaningful funding and creative support, our goal is for artists to feel empowered to continue creating and pursue a career in music," Suh added.

Snap said that starting in August, it will provide monthly grants of up to $100,000 to top Sounds creators that are distributing music on Snapchat via DistroKid, and driving the creation of content across the platform.

Popular Sounds will also have the opportunity to be included in our Sounds product, in a Snapchat Lens or Spotlight.

The company mentioned that artists must be based in the US and must be over 16 where applicable, and have parental consent.