Supporting grassroots music
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From our perspective, SGLM has been a great opportunity to build our relationship with some elements of the grassroots of the music sector. It has supported venues and promoters to develop their businesses and to grow their confidence in applying for public funding. Over the four years since we first opened this fund, we’ve invested £9.9 million in over 470 projects and have seen the significant impact of the new opportunities and improvements made possible by it.
While everyone operating in the grassroots of the music sector has long been eligible to apply for Arts Council funding, we know that many more elements of it also have limited experience of success in doing so. So, while we’ve been working with live music venues and some promoters to address this challenge, we recognise that there is a wider ecosystem of grassroots music organisations – many of whom we got to know well through our work delivering the government’s Culture Recovery Fund during the Covid-19 pandemic – who are equally critical to the health and vitality of the UK’s thriving music industry and who may also need our help to develop their work in order to increase their impact and sustainability.
That’s why today we’re announcing that we are relaunching our investment programme targeted at the grassroots music sector, now called the Supporting Grassroots Music (SGM) fund. A part of an additional £5 million support for grassroots music we will deliver across England over the next two years, it is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), as announced in the UK Government’s Creative Industries Sector Vision in June 2023. We’re delighted that DCMS has recognised the impact of our original grassroots music funding programme, and that they want to see us continue and enhance our support for this important work with their investment. This new SGM fund strongly aligns with the Sector Vision’s workforce objective to ‘support, prioritise and realise the vast untapped potential of the UK’s music sector and future-proof the country’s position as leader on the world stage’.
An evaluation of our original SGLM programme showed that our work to date has been very successful in helping venues and promoters achieve a great deal. Funding has helped diversify artists and audiences, improve sound and lighting equipment, update buildings and explore new business models. The evaluation also showed that the fund has helped bring the Arts Council and the grassroots music sector closer together and increased the ability of applicants to access our funds. Alongside this, we heard how much applicants valued support from Arts Council staff, and that those who had accessed their support had a much more positive experience and higher success rate.
With that in mind, we’re delighted that alongside DCMS’ investment in the new Supporting Grassroots Music fund comes additional capacity within the Arts Council. That additional capacity will support those that are less familiar with our funding criteria and processes, so that they can develop the strongest applications possible. Very soon we will also have a new Music Relationship Manager in each of our five areas, dedicated to supporting the delivery of this fund. These Relationship Managers will develop relationships with sector bodies and local partners and ensure their members have all the information and support they need to make the strongest possible applications to Supporting Grassroots Music. We’ve recently recruited this new team, each of whom has strong experience in grassroots music, and – in the new year – we’re looking forward to introducing them through a programme of events that we’re developing with a wide range of partners in the sector.
But applicants don’t need to wait until January. The new Supporting Grassroots Music fund is now open for applications for grants up to £40,000 and will be available until 31 March 2025. The fund is being delivered through National Lottery Project Grants, which means applicants will be able to familiarise themselves with our criteria and processes, but without the usual level of competition.
If you’re a grassroots rehearsal or recording studio, a festival, a music venue or a promoter, read our Information sheet and start thinking about how the fund may be able to support you. If you are confident in applying for funding, the door is now open. If you would like some additional advice and support, we look forward to working with you in the new year.
