The Music Venue Trust and PRS Foundation have announced a new partnership with the goal of encouraging more young women & gender minorities to break into the world of live music promotion. This scheme builds upon the successful Fightback: Grassroots Promoter project last year, and offers training, mentoring and a practical support network for aspiring independent promoters. Each participant will work towards organising gigs in grassroots music venues across the UK in Spring 2020. Of the initiative, the Trust says:
“In the past couple of years there has been a lot of discussion of the need to offer more opportunities for women, trans and non-binary artists. Alongside this, a change in the make-up of the bookers and promoters of live music events is needed to ensure that the rich diversity of music in the UK is represented and shared with audiences.
Grassroots Music Venues are always looking for new young promoters with energy and ideas, but women and gender minorities do not always feel empowered to put themselves forward. Young people who want to promote a show are often put off by the financial risk or the lack of information about who to speak to, how to get the best deal, or what connections they need. FB:GP will equip new and early career promoters with that knowledge and give them the skills they need to embark on a career in promoting. The project will also underwrite any shows that make a loss, removing the financial stress to ensure the promoters can focus on putting on the best show they can.”
Applications are now open here for those aged 18-25 who are interested in promoting but haven’t yet taken the first step, or still feel inexperienced.
