The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) has announced that its UK Artist Touring Fund (UKAT Fund) opens for applications on Wednesday, March 11.
In partnership with the Music Managers Forum (MMF) and the Musicians’ Union (MU), UKAT was established in response to the ongoing “cost of touring crisis” in grassroots live music.
This crisis received wider recognition following publication of a 2024 Parliamentary report by the Culture Media & Sport Committee, which also identified the specific challenges and financial burdens faced by artists and musicians.
The pressures are particularly acute for those playing in small and medium-sized venues, where the costs of performance, travel and accommodation are rarely covered by ticket sales or guarantees.
UKAT aims to help alleviate these challenges by providing strategic “top-up” contributions to reduce genuine shortfalls in artist touring budgets – helping reduce financial risk, build new audiences, develop careers, ensure everyone in the live supply chain is paid and keep more shows on the road.
Initially, UKAT will distribute proceeds of £125,000 collected by the LIVE Trust as part of a voluntary ticket contribution applied on arena and stadium shows for artists including Harry Styles, Radiohead, Lily Allen, Olivia Dean, Wolf Alice, Biffy Clyro, Ed Sheeran, Take That, The Cure, Kojey Radical and Foo Fighters.
This rapid-response phase one of UKAT will be open to UK-based artists performing domestic headline tours in small to mid-sized venues. These shows must take place before October 31, 2026, and the majority must be promoter-booked with guarantees.
David Martin, CEO, Featured Artists Coalition, said: “Live music is the absolute bedrock of the UK’s vibrant music culture. We have some of the world’s greatest venues, clubs and festivals, we have amazing audiences – and yet too many of our artists face debilitating financial losses when they head out on tour.
“By providing strategic top-up support, the UKAT Fund gives us an opportunity to change that narrative – to help artists build for the future and expand their touring activity, to provide breathing space for creative development and to ensure improved working practices.”
By providing strategic top-up support, the UKAT Fund gives us an opportunity to change that narrative – to help artists build for the future and expand their touring activity
David Martin
He added: “Beyond this initial Phase One, our ambition is to create a positive ripple effect across the entire sector and provide a long-term solution for making grassroots live touring more sustainable. I would like to put on record my thanks to all who have helped us get UKAT off the ground, especially the MMF, the MU, the LIVE Trust, LIVE, UK Music, Arts Council England and, most importantly, all the artists and teams who have contributed so generously to the Trust and the fans who've bought tickets to their shows.
"Although we won't have the resources to support every application on this first run, I strongly urge anyone in the artist community who thinks they qualify – whether they’re a solo act, a band or a DJ – to apply and to work with us on developing and evolving this initiative.
David Rowntree, chair, Featured Artists Coalition, said: "Because of the LIVE Trust, we now have a system where revenue can flow from some of the UK's largest shows towards some of the smallest. That's a wonderful thing, and something I think most music fans will support – especially if it means helping a new generation of artists, and reducing some of the insane financial pressures they face when touring. The UK Artist Touring fund provides a vehicle for us to do that, and I'm immensely proud that the FAC is leading at the heart of this process."
Applications for phase one of the UKAT Fund are encouraged from artists of all genres – or their representatives – that meet the following basic criteria:
• Applicants must be 18+, UK residents and have released new original music within the past three years.
• Applicants can apply for up to £7,000 or a maximum of 40% of total eligible tour expenditure – whichever is lower.
• To qualify, tours must have a minimum of 3 UK headline shows in venues of between 75 and 2,000 capacity.
• At least 75% of dates must be promoter-booked with guarantees, with no more than 25% self-promoted or dry-hire.
• Shows must be completed by October 31, 2026.
• Applicants must provide evidence of a financial shortfall between the costs of delivering these shows and the projected income from guarantees and fees.
• All artists, musicians, managers and crew involved must receive fair and reasonable pay - covering show days, travel days and rehearsal time.
• An additional Access Fund is also available to help cover access-related, caring or childcare costs.
Full application criteria for the UKAT Fund can be found here on the FAC website.
Submissions must be received by 23.59pm on Friday, March 20.
Annabella Coldrick, chief executive, Music Managers Forum, said: "I am delighted that the MMF has played a key role with the FAC and MU in developing UKAT. This provides a real opportunity to fix the broken model of grassroots live music, where artists are frequently overburdened by costs and their managers work long uncompensated hours on loss-making tours. By granting targeted tour support, our ambition is to relieve some of those financial pressures – allowing artists to focus on building their audiences, while ensuring everyone supporting this work, including managers, are paid fairly for their expertise and time."
Kelly Wood, national organiser live, theatre & music writers, Musicians’ Union, said: “The tight financial margins of grassroots live touring mean that artists are frequently forced into compromises and cutbacks to ensure that shows take place. Inevitably, this puts a squeeze on the rest of the sector, and especially on the livelihoods of session musicians.
“With UKAT, we have an opportunity to rewrite the rulebook – to ensure more live tours can operate sustainably, to foster greater collaboration, and ensure principles of fair pay are hardwired at every level. Today’s announcement marks an exciting first step in this process, and we look forward to working with the FAC and MMF to ensure the fund can evolve progressively and deliver the maximum possible benefit to everyone involved in grassroots live music.”
Estelle Wilkinson, trustee, LIVE Trust, said: “The LIVE Trust warmly welcomes today's announcement by the FAC, MMF and MU. The whole purpose of collecting a £1 per ticket contribution on shows over a 5,000 capacity is to support the UK's grassroots music ecosystem in its entirety. We believe the UKAT Fund has real potential to deliver on those objectives – ensuring more artists can tour without tipping into debt, more session musicians can be hired, more venues can be booked, and everyone involved in putting on a show can be paid fairly. We look forward to watching the fund evolve and develop beyond this initial launch phase.”
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