The UK government has pledged to distribute a £5 million support fund to assist grassroots music venues, promoters, festivals, clubs, recording studios, and others. According to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, grants of up to £40,000 will be awarded across the music industry by the Arts Council England (ACE), with applicants being encouraged to utilise the fund to create revenue streams and enhance facilities. ACE CEO Darren Henley has hailed the government’s investment as a testament to its commitment to supporting the music industry. The National Lottery Project Grants will administer the scheme as part of an £8.5 million boost to the music sector that was announced earlier this summer in the UK Government’s Creative Industries Sector Vision.
Among the beneficiaries of the Supporting Grassroots Music fund are communities who crave the opportunity to express and develop their creativity, says Henley. Arts Council England is distributing the scheme, which is part of the grassroots support fund first launched in 2019. For the past few years, more than £9 million has been apportioned to 450 projects via the fund. Until March 2025, applicants can apply for grants of up to £40,000. Applicants must be part of an organisation rather than individual musicians, DJs, or performers, among other things.
While the move is in line with efforts to support grassroots music in the UK, it should be noted that the Arts Council England’s full support grant for 2024 is £458.5 million – an amount that is still less than 0.05% of all government spending. In a lengthy article about arts funding in the UK for The Guardian, Theatre Director and writer Nicholas Hytner noted that even doubling the funding would make barely a dent in the national finances. However, he admitted that a significant increase would be transformational out of proportion to the relatively modest sums “on the confidence and productivity of artists, the size and enthusiasm of audiences, the well-being of communities, our town and city centres and our international reputation.”
Find out more about the Supporting Grassroots Music fund here. Gemma Ross is the Assistant Editor of Mixmag
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