Submit Applications 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.

Objectives

• This programme will deliver grants for early career independent promoters in the grassroots music sector, aiming to bolster the local, regional and national talent pipeline with the following intended outcomes:
  • Supporting music events in all genres, across England
  • Helping early career promoters to develop skills and feel more confident in promoting artists, DJs and bands in partnership with music venues and festivals in their area
  • Developing new partnerships and relationships between promoters and regional music venues, nightclubs and festivals
  • Developing new audiences for promoters’ work and for artists, venues, and others in the grassroots music ecosystem
  • Helping promoters to deliver events and work at a scale beyond their current level, and build their capacity, skills and networks
  • Upskilling the sector so that promoters develop grant application skills
  • Addressing underrepresentation within the live music sector, with the aim of ensuring more support is going to a diverse range of promoters alongside proactively encouraging grantees to programme and support a diverse range of artists nationwide
  • Helping and encouraging promoters to programme a more diverse range of artists and music

Funding Information

• Grants of up to £3,500 will be available to support a range of activities.

Eligible Activities

• The booking, programming and promotion of gigs, concerts, club nights, showcases, tours and other performances
• Costs associated with those activities (including venue hire, production, artist and/or DJ fees, crew fees, administration and other related costs)
• Capacity building (including mentoring, coaching, shadowing, workshops, masterclasses, and other skill building and networking opportunities)
• Other expenditure which helps grantees to programme a diverse range of artists, develop new audiences and build their skills

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 publicizing and promoting the show.
• Funding partners will prioritise ‘early career’ promoters whose practice is still developing. Since grant support can cover costs relating to music events and promotion, plus capacity building, they will prioritise those with a clear need to develop their skills and better establish themselves locally, regionally, and nationally.
• Based on discussions with live sector bodies, they will allow promoters to self-identify as ‘early career’ and provide the following guidance to help potential applicants to determine whether or not they will be deemed eligible by PRS Foundation and external advisors:
  • They are highly unlikely to support those who are completely new to booking and promoting shows, and most eligible applicants will have promoted at least two events (or will bring relevant transferable skills from other similar and relevant roles)
  • Likewise, they are unlikely to support those who can be deemed as established promoters regionally or nationally
  • More established promoters should instead apply for support through Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund
  • They do not apply age limits and want to be clear that ‘early career’ eligibility can apply to any age group
  • It is likely eligible grantees will be operating on a small-scale in terms of the capacity of events they have been promoting, and the scale or setup of their business
  • Most eligible promoters will be working part-time as promoters and supplementing income elsewhere
  • Their forms will ask you to describe the scale of activities and level of income in order to establish whether applicants are too established for this fund
• 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 we 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.
• Promoters based outside England cannot apply to this fund.

For more information, visit PRS Foundation.