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To further strengthen the visibility of our Member Cities, what it means to be a music city, and how actively our Members are shaping the current now and the upcoming future, we have established this section on our website, dedicated to the tangible measures taken by the cities to respond to the various impacts the Covid-19-Pandemic has on the respective music ecosystem.
Get an insight at funding schemes, conducted studies, or policy measures taken by the MCN Member Cities to foster the exchange and learn from each other. This will help to create an environment of inspiration for the steps the lie ahead to further support our music scenes and the corresponding projects that need to be developed. Let’s shape the future together.
Name of Action | Kind | Fokus | City | Short Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Artist work scholarship | Funding | national | Bergen | Goverment funded scholarship initiated to stimulate economical stability and workflow during the pandemic. 70 m NOK is divided between theatre, translators, architecture and the music field. |
Association for Independent Musicians | Funding | national | Manchester | Hardship fund. Applications open to AIM Member businesses and developing artists signed to those businesses. |
Audience Outlook Monitor - The Patternmakers | Reports/Studies | national | Sydney | The audience outlook monitor is extensive national research on the confidence and comfort that arts and cultural audiences have with returning to events and arts spaces through and beyond covid19. Funded by the Australian federal government, state governments and the City of Sydney, the research delivers bi-monthly updates on audience sentiment. |
Co-financing for the national scheme for additional support for the cultural and creative sector | Funding | national | Groningen | We propose to deploy a support package for the cultural sector: support for the vital regional infrastructure (SPOT, Forum Groningen, Groninger Museum, Vera, Simplon and Grand Theater). The national scheme for vital regional infrastructure offers us the possibility of realizing financial support from the government, which otherwise we as a municipality would almost fully pay for. The required co-financing amounts to 1.425 million euros. |
Community Recovery Plan - City of Sydney | Policy | regional | Sydney | The Community Recovery Plan is an 18 month plan to support Sydney's economic, social and cultural recovery from the pandemic. The plan gives direction as to how the City's services and resources will be directed towards recovery, and how the City will work with community, businesses, state and other local government authorities in responding, rebuilding and transforming through the pandemic. |
Covid Relief Grants - City of Sydney | Funding | regional | Sydney | The Sydney City Council released $3.5 million in funding for the arts and cultural sector to help combat the impacts of Covid19. Grants were offered to organisations who had to cancel events, programs or services, to help meet their costs, keep their staff and pay their artists. Fellowships were offered to individual artists to create new work during the lockdown period. Donations were provided to industry support services who provide emergency funds and mental health support to the Australian arts sector. These cash grants are in addition to millions of dollars worth of rent waivers for cultural tenants in City owned property, subsidised use of City spaces and the waiving of fees and charges related to the City's regulatory functions. |
Cultural loans | Funding | regional | Bergen | Bergen Munincipality gave 10 mil NOK to BUZZ and Zefyr, investment funds targeting the music, gaming, and movie industry. The money was further invested in businesses and projects with a very low interest and long downpayment plans. |
Culture Bail-out Package Relief | Funding | regional | Hamburg | 35 mil. € fund to support music clubs and theaters. |
Customized measures | Funding | regional | Groningen | Reducing rent for cultural organisations. Prepayment of subsidy |
Den kulturelle skolesekken (Cultural School Bag) | Funding | national | Bergen | The cultural school bag (DKS) is a national scheme that ensures that all school students in Norway get to experience professional art and culture every year. All county municipalities have agreed to pay fees to practitioners in the "Den kulturelle skolesekken" who have had their assignments canceled due to the corona pandemic. |
FFUK | Funding | national | Bergen | The aim of the regulations is to establish a temporary scheme to maintain activity and counteract long-term inactivity among performing artists who have lost assignments or income as a result of orders or advice given by the authorities in connection with the covid-19 outbreak. |
Fund for adepting to 1,5 meter society | Funding | regional | Groningen | With a grant, the province of Groningen supports small entrepreneurs, cultural and social institutions that have adapted their business to work in the one and a half metre economy. |
Hamburg Corona Emergency Relief | Funding | regional | Hamburg | Nonrefundable Emergency Relief Fund for freelancers and SMEs from Hamburg |
Hamburg Music Business Support | Funding | regional | Hamburg | 5 mil. € fund to support Hamburg music companies as well as solo self-employed people working in the music industry in overcoming the corona crisis and to enable music industry projects. |
Help Musicians UK | Funding | national | Manchester | Help Musicians Financial Hardship Funding |
Innovative projects | Funding | regional | Bergen | Bergen Munincipality created three new funds for new, innovative projects during the pandemic. Total of 4 millions NOK. 0,5 mill NOK targeted directly at culture for hospitals and homes for the elderly. Two week response time. |
Kulturrom | Funding | regional | Bergen | Kulturrom is the national subsidy scheme for technical equipment, acoustics and premises. They allocated NOK 7 million fortrial schemes and temporary schemes in connection with the corona crisis. |
Live Open Air Initiative | Funding | regional | Hamburg | 1.5 mil. € fund to support live open air concerts during Summer 2020 |
Loans, Credit Lines and Forebearances | Funding | regional | Hamburg | Wide range of different loans, credit lines and forebearances for companies in the creative sector |
Manchester Culture Recovery Plan | Policy | regional | Manchester | Manchester Culture Recovery Plan has been developed with a wide range of partners and stakeholders and a COVID-19 Culture Recovery Board has been established to lead the city’s response to the pandemic and aid the sector’s recovery. The recovery plan is a request to provide the support the cultural sector, including specific strands for music, that needed to aid recovery. It includes a stabilisation strategy, a two year stimulus plan for culture in Manchester, Coordination and Marketing Support. |
Manchester Music City Steering Group | Policy | regional | Manchester | in partnership with the Music Venues Trust (http://musicvenuetrust.com/covid-19/) advice and guidance to small - midscale venues across Manchester City. Specific advice given to support applications to the national about the Grass Roots Music venues fund and the Cultural Recovery Funding. Planned Manchester Music Economy research |
Music & health care/Social Care Magistrate/Aarhus | Funding | regional | Aarhus | An initiative from the City/Magistrate for Social & Health Care in Aarhus supporting musicians to perform outdoor concerts and nursery homes and other City institutions in order to comply with the restictions during the Covid-19-lockdown. |
Musical Postcards from Aarhus | Funding | national | Aarhus | The Musical Postcards was an initiative made by the City of Aarhus in cooperation with SPOT Festival & Promus. The project consists of ten musical postcards featuring ten new and upcoming artists presenting themselves together with ten of the cultural institutions of the city (i.e. museums, places, environment etc.). The idea was to support both artists and institutions during the lockdown periode. All participating artists recieved a rather huge payment from the City for their participation. The Postcards are still being presented on a weekly basis through the official SoMe-channels from the City and is also used in a tourist campaign from the Visit Aarhus-office. |
Musicians Union | Funding | national | Manchester | The MU Coronavirus Hardship Fund |
NAV for self-employed workers | Policy | national | Bergen | The government opened up for unemployment benefits to be given to self-employed workers through NAV (Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration). |
NOW | Funding | national | Groningen | The Temporary Emergency Bridge Employment (NOW) measure provides for an allowance in labour costs for companies that, as a result of the corona crisis, have at least 20% less turnover between the beginning of June and the end of September 2020. From 6 July the NOW 2.0, with renewed conditions, can be tendered. |
Performing Rights Society Foundation | Funding | regional | Manchester | |
Re-Opening Blueprint for Music Venues | Reports/Studies | national | Hamburg | Funded by the Ministry of Culture and Media Hamburg, advocacy groups Hamburg Music Business Association (IHM) and Clubkombinat commissioned a re-opening blueprint for venues and promoter. This blueprint helps to implement measures for a safe re-opening. |
Report - crisis and creativity in the music industry | Reports/Studies | regional | Bergen | Study from april 2020 regarding the financial support systems put in place during the pandemic, and how the industry was coping. Analyzed the extent of the closure with 3723 professionals in the music industry, 3057 individuals and 666 companies. The survey is a collaboration with the Music Industry Industry Council, the regional Music Offices (including Brak), the Cultural Council. |
Restart-Fund for Artists | Funding | regional | Hamburg | Nonrefundable support for artists. |
SYLA - Support Your Local Artists | Funding | national | Aarhus | An initiative to help and support musicians working on online-activities, outdoor-concerts etc. due to the overall lockdown. The program secured the minimum tarif for the participating musicians. The project was initiated by Promus in cooperation with local venue, VoxHall. |
TOZO | Funding | national | Groningen | The Temporary Bridging Scheme for Self-Employed Entrepreneurs (Tozo) is one of the measures of the cabinet tosupport entrepreneurs during the corona crisis. The scheme is for self-employed entrepreneurs, including self-employed persons. |
UK Government | Funding | national | Manchester | UK Government announced a £1.57bn support package for the arts on 5th July and featuring a targeted Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund. The funding via grants and loans and extra assistance for capital arts and heritage projects is to stablise the sector to 31 March 2021. |
UK Government | Funding | regional | Manchester | General support for businesses and freelancers from the UK Government during the crisis have included: The Job Retention Fund - enabling staff to be furloughed (ending October 2020) Job Support Scheme - contribution to the wages of staff unable to be brought back to full employment (November -March 2021) Small Grants and business rate relief for small businesses and those operating in the Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Sector (where eligible) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Bounceback loans Coronavirus Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will continue up to the end of April 2021 to provide a assistance to established freelancers |
Venue-report/Aarhus | Reports/Studies | Aarhus | A short research study on the impact of Covid-19 for venues and festivals in the Aarhus-region. The result will be presented in an article in local newspapers and through the nationwide live/concert/festival organizations. | |
Artist Fee Compensation Fund | Funding | regional | Hamburg | 0.5 mil. € fee compensation for artists to get back on (digital) stages. |
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