Connecting the live music industry
The Featured Artists Coalition announces a UK Artist Touring Fund
February3
The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) has established a UK Artist Touring (UKAT) Fund to ensure reve
The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) has established a UK Artist Touring (UKAT) Fund to ensure revenues allocated for grassroots artists from a new ticket contribution on large-capacity live events can be effectively and transparently distributed.
Founded in 2009, the FAC is the UK’s only representative body specifically focussing on the rights and interests of artists, with an elected board of artist directors.
The announcement follows the recent launch of the LIVE Trust, a new industry-supported charity set up to receive and administer proceeds from a voluntary £1 ticket donation on UK stadium and arena shows over a 5,000 capacity.
Following Government-backed recommendations by MPs on the Culture Media & Sport Committee, this revenue will be used to help mitigate the “cost of touring crisis” in grassroots live music. Since artists are the sector’s biggest employers, with responsibility for paying their wider teams and partners, their financial situation is particularly acute.
In a recent survey of 1,500 independent artists by Ditto Music 84% of UK-based respondents said they could not currently afford to tour.
The UKAT Fund will connect directly to the LIVE Trust, and act as a vehicle to receive and distribute donations to artists. Through a transparent application process, open for artists, DJs and other music performers, the fund will help reconcile and bridge short-falls in touring budgets - stimulating new economic activity that will help develop artist careers and attract new audiences.
The initiative has been developed in partnership with the Musicians’ Union (MU) and the Music Managers Forum (MMF), ensuring that session musicians and managers will also benefit fairly and appropriately from funding.
Additionally, the UKAT Fund will be open to receive one-off donations and commercial support for those who wish to invest directly in UK talent.
David Martin, CEO, Featured Artists Coalition:
“The FAC has established the UKAT Fund in preparation for when the LIVE Trust becomes operational and starts to distribute revenue from the incoming ticket contributions. It will ensure that any funding allocated for grassroots artists can be distributed in the most effective, transparent and efficient way possible. By helping keep shows on the road, our three fundamental aims are to support artist development, boost audience engagement and help sustain the wider live music supply chain.”
Annabella Coldrick, Chief Executive, Music Managers Forum:
"The MMF is very excited to be backing the FAC’s fund to directly support grassroots artist touring. So many artists and their managers work unpaid on loss-making tours for many years in the hope of growing a fanbase, developing their live performance and creating long term careers. They are having to make tough financial decisions to make ends meet, and in many cases artists play many fewer dates than they would like around the UK due to the upfront costs of touring. The FAC`s new UKAT Fund will act as an essential part of the LIVE Trust distribution process so that managers have an open and transparent mechanism in which to apply for touring support on behalf of their artists and ensure everyone is fairly paid for their work on these tours. We look forward to the fund being operational in the coming weeks and months as it is so urgently needed."
With VIP-Booking.com, you can search for anyone in the live music industry — try it yourself!
Search Artists:
Trusted by professionals in the live music industry around the world for 25 years!
