£2.25 million in emergency grants made available for music venues in England

Music venues in England can now apply for grants of between £1,000 to £80,000 to help them survive the economic crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grants are part of the £1.57 billion stimulus package the government announced for supporting the culture sector earlier this month. Music venues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be able to apply for separate funding initiatives.

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Nightclubs are able to apply if they host a “significant live music programme focusing on grassroots talent and original material" alongside “DJ- and MC-based events”.

The lack of clarity of what types of venues are eligible led to the creation of the #LetUsDance campaign last week, drawing support from Fatboy Slim, Pete Tong, and more.

Applications are open now and close at midday on August 3 next month, with decisions communicated by 6pm on August 10.

Full details on eligibility and how to apply are on the Arts Council website.

It states: “This funding is available to venues whose main function is to present live music events for a public audience in the grassroots part of this sector.

“It’s open to live music venues across all music genres, and also to multi-arts venues that host other events and entertainment other than music within which music forms a major part of their activity.”

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Venue owners in England can apply here.

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Features Editor, follow him on Twitter

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