Discover the ultimate guide to applying for grants and funding for musicians and independent artists in the UK. Learn how to put your best foot forward in securing financial support, allowing you to focus on your creative process and achieve your artistic dreams.

An independent artist’s job is an uphill battle. You are your own label, manager, producer and importantly, accountant. You’re the first person to believe in your dreams and push yourself to chase them. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming, which is why it’s always reassuring to have another avenue of funding available to support your goals. Applying for grants and funding for projects like EPs or initiatives can help relieve the burdens of independent musicians, allowing you to focus on your art, and enjoy your creative process.

Luckily, independent artists now have a plethora of resources they can utilise to help them take their first steps in crowd-sourcing, applications for government grants and seeking out funding from unions and bodies of musical preservation.

Below, we’ll explore some of the options an independent artist can look into for funding their latest creative project, as well as the best way to approach submitting a grant application and maximising their chances of success.

Applications

The difficult thing about seeking out funding is the competitiveness that surrounds it. There are a lot of independent artists, musicians and producers who, like you, are looking for additional support. The key to successful applicants is finding the right fund or grant for you.

Let’s look at the Arts Council England (ACE), who offer a variety of grants to support independent artists. On their website, we can find their National Lottery Project Grants, which offer up to £30,000 to applicants on some projects, and £100,000 for others.

It’s important to look into what they’re offering. On their Applicant Guidebook, you can see that they’re currently prioritising supporting Grassroot Music, Museum Unlocking Collections and Universal Library Offers.

If you’re working on a musical project that fits their description, then you can begin to tailor your application carefully around their specifications. But it’s important not to apply to every opportunity you come across without targeting your approach, especially if you want to stand out from the crowd.

Find a grant that suits your project, and then take the time to work on making your application as specific to their description as possible. Be accurate, honest and as descriptive as you can be. Sell them your dream.

If you’re looking to stand out, check out Clare Wichbold MBE’s guide on the Independent Society of Music’s website on how to write a successful funding application.

We’ve listed below a selection of bodies that provide funding and grants to musical projects, so take your time exploring all the possible avenues until you find something that works for you.

Government Funding 

If you’re an independent artist based in the United Kingdom, you have access to a large source of funds:

• Arts Council England

ACE provides funding opportunities for artists and arts organisations:

• Open Funds are open to organisations, artists, events, initiatives and others people who use the arts in their work.
• National Lottery Project Grants is their open access programme for arts projects

Other organisations include:

• Arts Council of Northern Ireland
• Arts Council of Wales
• Creative Scotland

Foundations, Music Trusts and Charities 

Another fantastic avenue for artists is to dive into the brilliant foundations and charities supporting musicians and arts/culture. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best companies, cultural organisations and nonprofits that offer grants and funds for creative musical projects.

PRS Foundation

PRS is a music copyright collective that supports musicians in collecting mechanical (physical sales like CDs, streaming etc.) and performing rights (live performances) for their music. They started a brilliant foundation to support young artists achieve their goals through financial support.

Since 2000, it has funded over 7,300 new music initiatives and projects, investing over £30 million into artists and their musical ventures.

You can find out more about their open grant schemes which are open for applications four times a year.

Help Musicians

Help Musicians is an independent UK charity with a focus on supporting young musicians to create, release and perform new music. They specifically assist musicians creating hip hop, grime, R&B, soul, music of African origin, reggae, jazz and gospel through the MOBO Help Musicians Fund.

You can apply for their grants of up to £10,000 on their website.

Sentric Academy Fund

This fund specifically supports independent emerging artists looking to fund music creation and projects. Each year they support 24 artists, offering up to £1000 for specific projects. Their applications re-open every year in September, so check out their specifications here.

Other Resources:

If you’re still struggling with sourcing funding avenues, The Directory of Grant Making Trusts 22nd Edition 2012/13 has a comprehensive list of all trusts and foundations that provide financial support to emerging artists. A few of these include:

• Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation
• The Hervey Benham Charitable Trust
• BBC Performing Arts Fund
• The Britten-Pears Foundation

… And the list goes on. You can purchase the comprehensive list here.

There is also a fantastic book that can help you master the craft of sourcing financial support, called “Easy Money: The Definitive UK Guide to Funding Music Projects”, which we highly recommend.

Start applying!

Everyone needs help sometimes, and luckily, there are people who care about your music and have created support systems to help bring it to life. Investigate the best options, create an application that reflects your music and passion, and start applying!

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