Recharging the music industry

Youth Music's Recharge Fund is a COVID-recovery programme aimed to recharge the music industry post pandemic, with funding of £1,750,000 announced to improve capacity, capability, and wellbeing.

National music and young people's charity Youth Music launched in November its Recharge Fund, in partnership with People's Postcode Lottery.

The one-off core funding round of £1,750,000 will support up to 40 music organisations nationwide to build their long-term post-Covid recovery, with grants of up to £30,000 a year for three years awarded to successful applicants.

Funding through the National Lottery via Arts Council England, and players of People's Postcode Lottery has enabled Youth Music to increase the number of music organisations it in recent years. Last quarter the charity invested over £3 million in projects nationally, and it is now looking to expand this further.

Youth Music’s Recharge Fund has been designed in direct response to research the charity undertook last year about how the pandemic affected youth music-making, which found that 60% of creative organisations want help with funding and income diversification.

The funding will give music organisations the breathing space needed to develop, grow, and adapt, with specific focus on improving their capacity and capability to reach young people in need, and strengthening the resilience and wellbeing of staff and volunteers.

The funding can be spent on:

• Salaries and freelance fees
• Communications and marketing
• Operations (including rent, legal and governance)
• Digital development and strategy (including IT upgrades)
• Income generation activity
• Training
• Organisational development activity
• Other core and development costs

Matt Griffiths, CEO of Youth Music, said: "The impact of the pandemic on the music industry has been far reaching, and has contributed significantly to the financial challenges many in the arts and culture sector are facing.

"Our research shows unequivocally that opportunities for children and young people decreased during the pandemic, with 63% of music organisations from our national network reporting that they’ve been able to work with fewer resources at the same time as demand for services is increasing.

"We want to support grassroots music projects nationwide to bounce back from the pandemic. And so, I’m thrilled that Youth Music is able to announce this funding, not only to champion the importance of wellbeing, but for it to improve practices and enable organisations to reach, and create sustainable opportunities for, more young people to make, learn and earn in music."

Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: "I’m delighted that thanks to players we are supporting the Recharge Fund. We believe in funding projects that provide access, opportunities, and appreciation of music to people of all abilities and backgrounds, and the Recharge Fund will do exactly that."

Over £7.2 million has been raised for Youth Music thanks to players of People's Postcode Lottery.