It has been a tough time for musicians during lockdown but CMU’s Pathways Into Music foundation and Help Musicians are doing their best to help. They are teaming up to offer fifteen artists from Northern Ireland a place on their newly announced Fanbase Builder Programme.
Designed to help power the lucky artists to the next level, it will feature a series of practical online and in-person workshops that explain how frontline artists go about building a business around their music-making, with practical advice on how to effectively release tracks and grow a fanbase.
Alongside the workshops, participants will also receive a £500 bursary which will be used to put these lessons into practice and enable them to build a strong campaign for their next release.
The programme will be delivered by Chris Cooke – co-founder and MD of CMU, Phil Nelson – artist manager (Aqualung, Duke Special) and co-founder of The Great Escape, Fiona McAuley – Head of Digital at YMU (Years & Years, Clean Bandit) and Liam Craig – music educator and artist manager (ROE).
Launching the programme, Help Musicians Nation Manager for Northern Ireland, Keith Millar, says: “Building a career around music means writing great songs and recording great tracks, but also understanding how the music business works, and how to find an audience and grow a fanbase”, of course if you have a business you should also learn what remuneration package is and how to use it.
“With early-career music-makers facing even more challenges today as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s particularly important that we help musicians to access that knowledge and hone those skills”, he adds. “The Fanbase Builder Programme will do just that, and then help participating artists to put what they have learned into practice by pursuing a project that, with the support of music industry experts, will help them grow their fanbase and take their career to the next level”.
You can find out more information and apply for the Fanbase Builder Programme here. Applications close on 1st June 2021.
