Submissions open for Early Career Promoter Fund (UK)

The new fund aims to help emerging promoters to do what they do best – book and promote shows to develop scenes, support artists and DJs and to reach and engage audiences locally, regionally, and nationally, and build sustainable careers in the grassroots music sector. Those receiving support will be able to step up to book and promote talent at a scale beyond their current level, and build their capacity, skills and networks.

Managed by PRS Foundation and supported by Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Early Career Promoter Fund will also help to address underrepresentation, ensuring support reaches a diverse range of promoters, and proactively encouraging grantees to support a diverse range of artists and music genres nationwide.

Funding Information

• You can apply for up to £3,500 but they expect the average grant to be for £2,250, this means they will be able to give out about 220 grants.

What can be funded?

• The booking, programming and promotion of events including:
  • Gigs
  • Concerts
  • Club nights
  • Showcases
  • Tours
  • Festivals and stages at festivals
  • Multi-venue events
  • Other performances
• Costs associated with music activities including, but not limited to:
  • Venue hire
  • Artist fees
  • DJ fees
  • Crew fees
  • Production (including A V costs, production freelancer staff fees and other production costs)
  • A fee or contribution towards promoter time to deliver the related activities
  • Administration costs relating to booking, production, and promotion of events (this might include specific events insurance, public liability insurance, utilities, etc.)
  • PRS for music related costs to ensure songwriters and publisher are paid
  • Other related costs
• Promotion costs including, but not limited to:
  • Design costs
  • Print costs (e.g. posters, flyers)
  • Distribution costs
  • Advertising
  • Digital marketing costs
• Capacity building including, but not limited to:
  • Mentoring
  • Coaching
  • Shadowing and partnering with other promoters, festivals or venues
  • Attending workshops, masterclasses and/or conferences (they recommend attending at least one industry event and using the grant to cover costs if needed) access to other support to build skills and connections
  • Membership fees (i.e. To join relevant music trade bodies or sector specialist organizations such as the association of independent promoters (AIP), Jazz Promoters Network (JPN) or the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF))
• Other expenditure which helps grantees to programme a diverse range of artists, develop new audiences, take environmental responsibility and build their skills:
  • This might include using funds to hire different venues, to improve sound lighting or other production for events and or being more ambitious with the level or type of acts being booked
  • Promoters want to improve accessibility or add accessible features to their events (e.g. additional costs associated with wheelchair access or accessible facilities, paying for BSL services, setting up and advertising ‘calm’ zones for neurodivergent artists or audience members, or reducing the cost of tickets for some audiences)
  • Support for environmentally sustainable costs e.g. green riders, limit use of plastics, encouraging use of public transport’

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible applicants must be based in England and funding will be available to early career independent music promoters.
• They define music promoters as those responsible for booking music acts to perform at a venue, festival, club night, showcase, concert, nightclub, on tour or at other music events (in any genre), who are also responsible for publicising and promoting the show.
• There must be a clear funding need and applicants will be asked why they require support and how support will enable them to carry out activities and build their capacity. For the purposes of the activity you are applying for, you must submit a balanced budget i.e. no profit or loss. However, the ECPF is about advancing Promoter’s careers and making them sustainable so they would very much hope that if you are successful this will help you to raise your earnings. In the scenario you do make more income than projected, they would discuss with you their preferences, and would expect that you spread the reward fairly among all parties, pay yourself fairly for your time and or reinvest into supporting future activities to ensure the continuing development of the grassroots music scene in the UK.

For more information, visit PRS Foundation.