FAC establishes UK Artist Touring Fund

The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) has established a UK Artist Touring (UKAT) Fund to distribute artist-allocated revenues collected by the recently-launched LIVE Trust.

Developed in partnership with the Music Managers Forum (MMF) and Musicians’ Union (MU), the UKAT Fund will allow acts to apply for financial support for grassroots shows, helping to reconcile and bridge short-falls in touring budgets.

Additionally, it will be open to receive one-off donations and commercial support for those who wish to invest directly in UK talent.

“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,” says FAC CEO David Martin. “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.”

Launched earlier this month, the LIVE Trust charity is designed to channel funds raised via arena and stadium tours to support the grassroots ecosystem. It will initially receive its funding from a voluntary contribution of £1 per ticket from arena and stadium shows with a capacity of over 5,000.

“The FAC’s new UKAT Fund will act as an essential part of the LIVE Trust distribution process”

The UKAT Fund will connect directly to the LIVE Trust, and act as a vehicle to receive and distribute donations to artists, amid a recent survey of 1,500 independent artists by Ditto Music where 84% of UK-based respondents said they could not currently afford to tour.

“The MMF is very excited to be backing the FAC’s fund to directly support grassroots artist touring,” says MMF CEO Annabella Coldrick. “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.”

MU general secretary Naomi Pohl adds: “We are delighted to partner with the FAC to ensure that touring artists, and the backing musicians who perform with them, are funded to do what they do best. The past five years have been extremely difficult for musicians due to Covid and the rising cost of touring, both within the UK and overseas.

“We want to make sure there is clear and transparent access to support, not only for those who book and platform artists, but for artists themselves and the huge teams they employ.”

“Momentum is building behind the LIVE Trust, and we would encourage all who are involved in arena and stadia shows to offer their support”

Jon Collins, CEO of trade body LIVE, has also given his reaction to the plans.

“Addressing the crisis in grassroots music requires all parts of the UK live music industry to play their part in generating funds, identifying solutions, and driving support to those who need it most,” he says. “As LIVE board members, we already work closely with FAC, MMF and the MU and we look forward to learning more about the UKAT Fund as plans are put in place.

“Momentum is building behind the LIVE Trust, and we would encourage all who are involved in arena and stadia shows to offer their support. Funds generated will be passed through to expert programmes such as this to maximise impact and accelerate their excellent work.”

IQ reported last month that the UK live music industry was edging towards a deal which would see more stadium and arena tours agree to include a contribution towards grassroots support after a ministerial roundtable meeting with culture minister Chris Bryant.

The government previously implored the live industry to introduce a voluntary ticket levy to support the grassroots music sector in its response to the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Select Committee’s report.

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