PRS Foundation announces the fourth round of promoters supported through the Early Career Promoters Fund
- Since Round 1 almost £179k in support has been issued to nearly 70 early career promoters.
- 53.3% grantees are based outside of London
- Deadlines to apply are rolling each month with the next couple of deadlines on 12th November 2024 & 12th December 2024 at 6:00pm
We’re excited to announce the fourth round of promoters receiving the targeted Early Career Promoter Fund, supported by Arts Council England using strategic funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The 15 early career promoters, selected for support by a network of specialist music industry advisors, are:
Anna Hazarika – 4 shows out of London, showcasing Asian diaspora artist irrespective of genre. To extend reach and opportunity out of London for the Asian music community
Jordan Davies – A series of events to promote local grass roots emerging talent
Heather Tomlinson – A monthly choir competition called Pitch Slam UK, held in various UK cities, with themed performances, audience prizes, and an interactive fun filled night out
Jack Brooks – Monthly original live music events with an interesting and diverse range of bands and artists from across the UK to help build a musical community
Ken Richman – A jazz and blues festival based in Teddington
Lynsey Shaw – Monthly Midlands Coffee House Acoustic series and annual Midlands Americana, roots music fest, ‘Countryside Crossroads,’ with 50% of artists over 35 and female
Oliver Jackson – Hosting a large-scale event at one of Leeds most renowned clubs, showcasing well known headliner(s) alongside local talent
Michael Oduegwu – Hosting larger events, offering networking opportunities, and promoting emerging artists through innovative, genre-spanning music projects
Jen Roberts – Grow the capacity of events with an initial move into 2 new larger venues in London (3 events) and Liverpool (2 events)
Jamie Adams – Promoting multiple events in a combination of local, grassroots venues and dedicated club spaces across London with a blend of local, up-and-coming, and established artists
Luke Done – Hosting a stylistically diverse number of events at a local venue to support grassroots artists
Maria Winter – Interactive live music events to empower emerging talent and local audiences, generate influential safety campaigns, and create equal opportunities for creatives
Rianne Lewis – A hybrid event celebrating the UK’s rising stars and underground music culture
Cicely Grace – Hosting events, across the UK in under represented areas, showcasing upcoming talent, alongside established artists, creating fairness and inclusion
Carla Modica – Expand Glitchtopia’s inclusive techno events by booking larger venues across London and the UK, fostering queer artist development and community projects
The Early Career Promoter Fund recognises the vital role independent promoters play in supporting the talent pipeline across England and within the nighttime economy, and offers grant funding and capacity building support for individual promoters, with the aim of bolstering the grassroots music ecosystems.
Grants of up to £3,500 are available to support a range of activity, including:
- 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
The 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 funded by Arts Council England using Supporting Grassroots Music funding from DCMS, the Early Career Promoter Fund also aims to help 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. The fund will run until March 2025 with rolling monthly deadlines and an expectation to support more than 200 promoters with grants of up to £3,500.
Promoters can find out more information and apply for Early Career Promoter Fund support from PRS Foundation’s website.
This announcement of supported promoters is from applicants to the 17th September, 2024 deadline. Successful grantees from subsequent deadlines will be announced over PRS Foundation’s social media over the coming months.
The next deadline to submit an application will be Tuesday 12th November 2024 at 6:00pm. Deadlines for the Early Career Promoter Fund are monthly and are listed on PRS Foundation’s website.
