Mumbai, Nov 8 (IANS): Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, on Tuesday said it will provide monthly grants of up to $50,000, beginning mid-November, to top sound creators in India that are distributing music on Snapchat.

Snap has partnered with DistroKid, an independent digital music distribution service, to facilitate and distribute payments for up to 20 artists per month at $2,500.

Snap in India launched the 'Snapchat Sounds Creator Fund' -- a new grant programme designed to recognise emerging artists in the country in driving video creations and defining cultural moments on Snapchat and Spotlight alike.

The monthly grants will be for artists based in India and age 16 and above and where applicable, have parental consent, the company said in a statement.

"We are excited to support independent and emerging artists in India who are driving creations on Snapchat. By providing meaningful funding and creative support, our goal is for artists to feel empowered to continue creating and pursue a career in music," said Lakshya Malu, Interim Market Development Lead, Snap.

Sounds, a feature that allows users to add licensed music to their Snaps as well as their own creations, is widely used in India where users enhance their Snaps with music and are able to communicate in a fun way.

Since launching Sounds, videos created with music from Sounds on Snapchat have collectively resulted in over 2.7 billion videos created and over 183 billion views globally.

Snap' said that whenever a licensed song is popular and resonating with its audience, it will have the opportunity to be included in relevant playlists in its Sounds creative tool, in a Snapchat Lens or in Spotlight.