LONDON (vip-booking) – The UK Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) will launch a bespoke, free business support program for multi-venue festivals, thanks to funding from Arts Council England.
Launching in October, the program will be open to multi-venue festivals operating in England. AIF has identified more than 70 such festivals in 2024, serving a range of audiences and showcasing a wide variety of genres.
The often grassroots music events targeted by the new program face unique challenges, including the use of shared spaces with private and public ownership, reduced ancillary revenue opportunities, and rising costs affecting the entire festival sector.
The project will offer free, custom online training and support over the next six months, alongside access to a dedicated in-person program at AIF`s Festival Congress in Bristol in February 2025. It will also create a new network with additional resources to help deliver resilient multi-venue festivals for artists and audiences.
It will also provide custom business support and industry skills development for this cohort through online, expert-led webinars, as well as peer-to-peer roundtables and training in key areas of pressure or opportunity based on research conducted during the programme’s design stage.
Topics covered will include preparing for The Protection of Premises Bill (also known as Martyn’s Law), managing multi-venue PRS licensing, identifying accommodation and travel partnership revenue opportunities, addressing environmental and accessibility challenges, and an introduction to funding opportunities for promoters, artists, and industry professionals.
There will also be responsive, bespoke training to meet the specific needs of multi-venue festival promoters, and each festival will be allocated a small fund for one-on-one legal, financial, or licensing health checks or advice, as required for their unique challenges or needs.
Shared resources will be collated and developed following the online expert sessions and Festival Congress and will be made openly available via the AIF website as a legacy resource for any multi-venue festival to access.
AIF CEO John Rostron (pictured) said: “I’m delighted that, with the support of Arts Council England, we can offer free direct support to festivals outside of our membership through this bespoke six-month program. We have never been able to do this before, and it’s thrilling that festivals of all sizes will be able to come together to meet, share and learn, connecting with festival professionals across legal, licensing, revenue generation, funding, sponsorship, and so much more.
“Multi-venue music festivals are significant to me, as they are where I cut my teeth as a music promoter. Working with the built environment, they so often bring a town or city to life – acting as a catalyst for a music scene or celebrating a particular place, genre or music ecology. Working in existing venues, or creating new spaces in and around the area, they regularly change shape as the area develops or as their audience grows or moves, which can be as exciting as it is challenging.”
