UK Based ‘In Real Life’ Events 2020-2021
We recognise the importance of UK-based export events and showcasing organisations in ensuring UK talent is export-ready and can link to international industry professionals in effective ways during the pandemic.
UK-based events such as FOCUS Wales, Wide Days, Output Belfast, Showcase Scotland at Celtic Connections, English Folk Expo and Liverpool Sound City; established international showcase organisers such as Jazz re:freshed and British Underground; and other emerging platforms can play a key role in ensuring artists and creators in the UK are seen on a global scale.
For that reason, ISF grants are on offer to artists, bands and ensembles performing at export-focussed activities here in the UK.
This ISF strand offers grants of up to £2,250 as a contribution to:
- Domestic travel
- Accommodation (if applicable)
- Per diems (daily expenses)
- Music creator time (a fee to create, perform or take time to engage in activities)
Am I eligible for support from the International Showcase Fund?
Which showcase festivals are covered by the fund?
Deadlines and turn-around time
How much can I apply to the International Showcase Fund for?
Can I apply for funding for my manager or crew?
Applicants with access requirements
What will I need to demonstrate in my application?
Guidance on insurance, Risk Assessments and Covid-19
How often can I apply for and/or receive ISF support?
Am I eligible for support from the International Showcase Fund?
- Are you a band/artist/songwriter based in the UK?
- Do you write and/or perform your own music, that is exceptional?
- Have you been invited to play at a UK based event that has a clear export focus and is geared towards music industry professionals.
- Have you got a good profile in the UK (i.e. been featured in the national press/had airplay on national radio/and indie release)?
- Do you have a list of meetings with music industry executives (e.g. publishers, labels, agents, etc.) confirmed for when you are at your chosen showcase?
- Do you have a strong business case for attending this specific event (e.g. are you building upon prior success with the territories that will be in attendance, or following up on significant buzz surrounding your band)?
- Do you have a strong creative case for attending this specific event (i.e. is there a confirmed pool of relevant and potential collaborators also in attendance or based in the relevant city?)
- Are you in need of funding support and not in a situation where other companies can and should cover the relevant costs of your trip?*
* Can signed artists apply?
The International Showcase Fund can and often supports artists and music creators signed to record labels, publishing companies and those working with existing team members. However, you will be asked when applying which companies you are working with and why ISF support is still needed and advisors and partners may feel that support is not required. We expect to see contributions from medium-large companies who will benefit financially from the applicant being supported with public and private funding via the International Showcase Fund.
We encourage applications from DIY/self-releasing artists and from those signed to independent labels when still in need of support. If you are signed to a major label or major affiliated label or publisher in the territory you are travelling to, you are ineligible for ISF support and should not apply. If you are unsure, please contact applications@prsfoundation.com before applying.
If you answer yes to all of the questions below then you are eligible to apply.
If any of the above doesn’t apply to you, you could still be eligible to apply to one of our other funding options.
Which showcase festivals are covered by the fund?
Eligible events are those that have a mostly international music industry audience or delegation. For UK events this means events with an export focus and non-UK based music industry audience.
The fund cannot support artists to play at festivals for the general public, or to attend conferences solely as a delegate. There are over 50 eligible events each year, and for a full list of eligible events and related application deadlines can be found here.
If you have been invited to play an event and are unsure of its suitability, please email Kwame@prsfoundation.com.
How much can I apply for?
This ISF strand offers grants of up to:
- Solo artist £650
- Duo £1100
- Trio £1500
- Four+ £2000
as a contribution to;
- Travel
- Accommodation
- Per diems (daily expenses)
We can contribute a maximum of 90% of your trip’s overall costs and expect at least 10% of costs to be covered by the artist, manager*, label, publisher, etc.
*Because we recognise the importance of management support at the event, you also can apply for up to £250 of support for your manager to attend. This means there is a maximum of £2500 on offer. Applicants will be asked to detail their manager’s plans, roles and likely export outcomes.
We also advise that artists, managers and music creators make use of the contingency proportion of their budget to work through any risks posed by Covid-19.
Can I apply for funding for my manager or crew?
You can also apply for up to £250 towards the cost of a manager to accompany you if you are applying for a UK based Export Event towards the costs of your manager’s time.
We regret that we cannot cover costs for tour managers or members of crew except if an artist’s disability or accessibility requirements warrant additional support (see additional access needs section for more information)
Deadlines
ISF runs on a rolling monthly deadline due to varying event organiser schedules. Specific deadline dates for key events can be found here.
We recommend you apply for funding soon after being invited to showcase in order to give our panel of industry experts and partners enough time to consider your application to turnaround a decision as quickly as possible.
As a rough guide, our experts consider applications 2-3 months before showcase events take place. While the processing of visas is entirely your responsibility, it can take 3 months for some territories. For this reason, we prefer to receive applications 10-12 weeks prior to the event taking place and must receive applications at least 8 weeks prior to the event taking place.
Decisions are made monthly with decisions sent out to applicants on the 3rd Monday of the following month. For example, an application received in January will receive the outcome of their funding application on or by the 3rd Monday of February.
Under certain circumstances (e.g. change of management, a late invite from the event, the artist’s ability to fulfil funding partners’ diversity goals) applicants can submit an Exceptional Circumstances Form for partners to consider time sensitive applications within 8 weeks of an event taking place. To do so, please download and complete this form before emailing exceptionalcircumstances@prsfoundation.com
Please note, new applicants and non-funded artists will be prioritised.
Applicants with access requirements
We recognise that for disabled music creators with access requirements, some proposed activity incurs additional costs, meaning that applicants may require additional grant support.
Music creators with access requirements are advised that:
– When submitting an ISF application, applicants should submit Expenditure and Income breakdowns which do not consider additional access costs.
– At the end of the budget section, you will have the opportunity to detail additional access requirements needs which will be considered by PRS Foundation’s management team.
Funding decisions will not be affected by additional accessibility support requests and if selected, an appropriate offer amount will be pledged.
What will I need to demonstrate in my application?
This is a very competitive scheme, and currently only 45-55% of applicants are awarded funding. You will therefore need to make the strongest possible case as to why you should be supported. Artists need to be export ready, or have a clear plan of how attendance at this UK event will enable them to become export ready.
You will need to have concrete plans of what outcomes you expect from the showcase/export event and how you will achieve these, such as:
- A clear case that you are export ready including your career successes to date, and why this showcase is important to expand your export potential
- Knowing who you intend to meet with (specific names of people are better than just the companies they represent).
- How you are going to promote yourself before and whilst there
- Stipulating any pre-existing relationships you might have with international delegates (i.e. music industry executives that specifically want to see your band at the event)
Budget
You will be expected to finance at least 10% of costs of the trip yourself or from other sources. Please be aware that we are not always able to fund you to the full amount that you have requested. Therefore, when budgeting for your trip, please take into account that you might not receive the full 90% that you have applied for.
When allocating funding we seek out the cost of the cheapest possible trains, accommodation and ground transport options at the time of decision and use these as benchmarks when assessing budgets laid out in applications.
We encourage applicants to make use of the contingency allocation in the budget to cover any unforeseen costs due to Covid-19.
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic PRS Foundation will hold all successful grant payments until we can be confident the event will go ahead. We strongly advice that artists refrain from booking travel and accommodation until they are confident the event will go ahead, and are aware of the specific refund policies of their providers.
We will still be running our exceptional circumstances process for grantees whose events are cancelled so that ISF partners can support grantees and make decisions relating to grant support and potential reclaims.
What is music export?
So, you or your band is well on the way to breaking in the UK. You’ve had some success with your releases, toured the country OR have been involved in successful and meaningful writing and studio sessions in your home country and are now eyeing territories beyond our shores to develop your career. In short, you are ready to export your music and explore international opportunities to learn, network and collaborate.
The UK is one of the biggest exporters of new music in the world. Every year our finest emerging talent is invited to key music industry-focused festivals and showcasing events to perform to interested international labels, promoters, agents and publishers or attend conferences delivered by the same.
Although it is crucial for an act to attract and secure deals in territories outside of the UK, these initial forays overseas can be expensive. The International Showcase Fund exists to help cover the costs of these trips, enabling artists to connect with and showcase to their potential next label, promoter, music supervisor, sync agents or potential future collaborators overseas.
How are decisions made?
All funding decisions are made by International Showcase Fund partners PRS Foundation, Department for International Trade, British Underground, Arts Council England, the Musicians’ Union, PPL, Creative Scotland, Wales Arts International and Arts Council Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest NI. For high-demand showcase events such as SXSW, a panel of independent music industry experts meets to select artists. Decisions are made based on the criteria stated in our Guidance Pages.
If as an unsuccessful applicant you are unhappy with the funding decision and believe correct procedure has not been adhered to, please see our Grievance Procedure document. Funding partner decisions are final.
Insurance, Risk Assessments and Covid-19
In light of the coronavirus pandemic we advise that all applicants must have understood the associated risks with attending domestic events.
You must be confident that the event organiser is taking your health and safety seriously, and you should seek out confirmation and discussion from event organisers on their risk assessment. You should also have a risk assessment in place for yourself and your travelling party. There is good guidance on the Musician’s Union website to support you in developing this.
You should also ensure that you have appropriate insurance in place and have thought through the financial risks of any Covid-19 related cancellations or postponements. You should consider the impact on accommodation, PD’s and/or repatriation and review your insurance cover, and that of the event organisers.
How often can I apply for and/or receive ISF support?
The International Showcase Fund is designed to support an applicant’s first or crucial steps into international territories. As such, we recommend applying for support for the most suitable events and territories for your career level. Because music creators must be invited officially before applying for ISF support, there is no limit on the number of ISF applications you can make per calendar year.
We also accept applications from previous ISF grantees. However, please note that ISF partners may prioritise those not funded previously, and it is less likely that you will be supported for two events in the same territory*. If you have been previously funded to virtually attend an international showcase event, you are able to apply for further in real life activity at the same event in the future. Additionally in light of Covid-19 if you have been awarded an ISF grant to attend an event which was cancelled due to the pandemic you may also reapply to the International Showcase Fund for the same event in future years.
* In exceptional circumstances (i.e. for specialist genre-based events such as Folk Alliance, JazzAhead of Americana Fest), artists may be able to make a strong business case for a second year of ISF support. If you have been invited to return to such an event for a second year in a row, please contact Kwame@prsfoundation.com before a second application can be made.
- You are confident that you are export ready
- You have been invited to showcase at an international showcasing event
- Music industry figures are hungry to see you play
If all of the above points apply to you, then apply now.
If you have already started your application, or if you would like to login to complete your evaluation, please click here.
Please note, new applicants and non-funded artists will be prioritised.