Early Career Promoter Fund recognises the vital role independent promoters play in supporting the talent pipeline across England, and offers grant funding and capacity building support, with the aim of bolstering the local, regional and national ecosystems.

Funding Information

• On top of requests for up to £3,500 in grants support for the above activities, applicants can request additional funding for access-related needs where relevant.

Eligible Costs

• Applicants can request grant support of up to £3,500 to support a range of activity, including:
  • 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 hire 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 (we 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 organisations such as the Association of Independent Promoters (AIP), Jazz Promoters Network (JPN) or the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF))
    • Any other capacity building exercises relevant to your own development needs
  • 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 are expected to consider how they can 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’

Ineligible Costs

• Events or tours which take place outside England
• Capital purchases including van/car purchases, equipment, A/V purchases, building work or building a studio
• Projects requesting funding that will or would be covered without the requirement of funding support
• Activities which take place before funding decisions are communicated (see our guidance relating to decision-making timing)
• Attendance at international events taking place outside the UK
• Promotion of events taking place outside of England
• Events where the proceeds will go to charity instead of re-investment into the grassroots music eco-system
• Applicants who have concurrent or previous funding from the Arts Council Supporting Grassroots Music programme. Note that if you are successful in receiving Early Career Promoter support, you would not be eligible to apply to the Arts Council Supporting Grassroots Music programme for projects that begin before activity funded through the Early Career Promoter Fund has ended
• They cannot fund capacity building exercises for other members of your promoter collective. The fund is for individual development for the named applicant only.

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 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.
• Within online forms we will ask applicants to outline their circumstances and track-record in more depth, and our external advisors will be well placed to understand the fluidity and nuance of early career promoter development needs. PRS Foundation commits to updating guidance as the Fund develops.
• Promoters based outside England cannot apply to this fund. The Early Career Promoter Fund is funded by Arts Council England using Supporting Grassroots Music funding from DCMS which can only be allocated to England based promoters. Promoters based in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales might be able to apply to other PRS Foundation schemes for organisations or industry professionals, or to Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Creative Scotland or Arts Council of Wales for similar support. All other PRS Foundation programmes are available to those based anywhere in the UK.

For more information, visit PRS Foundation.

https://prsfoundation.com/funding-support/funding-for-industry-professionals/early-career-promoter-fund/