Our Fast Track Award is now open. Here’s what you need to know

Until 5pm on 25 July, musicians can apply for up to £500 to invest in activities, courses, equipment or other short-term opportunities to boost their music career. 

If you’re interested, we recommend that you start by reading our eligibility criteria carefully. If you find that you are eligible, then you can get started! 

Applications must be submitted through our online portal. We know this process can sometimes feel a little unclear — to help, we have put together some advice to inform your application, giving you the best chance of success. 

What do we want from each question? 

Fast Track has several mandatory questions, each designed to help us understand how funding would support you and your career. 

Question 1: Activity Summary – ​‘What are you applying for funding for? 

• In this question, we want to understand the specific activity or equipment that you would use the funding for. Try to be as specific as possible – think about answering who, what, where, when and why. 

• If your activity involves collaborators (for example an engineer, videographer, artist or teacher) make sure you include them in your answer, and justify why you want to work with them. 

• We also want to understand how this activity or equipment fits with your current career. If you are applying for a piece of kit, what specifically are you going to use this for in your career as a musician? 

Question 2: Career goals – ​‘If you receive this funding, what difference will it make to your career in the next 12 months?’ 

• In this question, we want to know what your career goals are for the next 12 months, and how the activity or equipment will help you to achieve these goals. Do not put completing the activity you are applying for as one of your career goals – our funding should help you reach goals, not be a goal itself. 

• Try to be specific and detailed: where are you at with this goal right now, and where specifically do you want to get to. 

• The aim of the Fast Track fund is to help you have a more sustainable career as a musician – try to explain how the goals you have set for yourself will help you build a sustainable career. 

Question 3: Building networks –‘How will this support and the activity you plan to use the grant for enable you to build your networks in music?’ 

• Here, we want to know how the activity or equipment you want funding for will help to expand or develop your professional relationships in the music industry. 

• If your activity involves collaborators, then your answer here will be quite simple. If not, then you will need to emphasise the indirect benefits of the funding. For example, a new piece of equipment may enable you to take on more clients, or a single release may allow you to approach a specific manager you would like to work with. 

• Either way, try to be as specific as possible. If you want to grow your team or take on new clients, or want to work someone with a collaborator, say who specifically and why. 

Question 4: Why is now a critical time – ​‘Why do you need this support now and what would you lose out on if you couldn’t have this support now?’ 

• In this question, we want to understand what your recent career activity has been, any momentum you have built for yourself, and any opportunities that are coming up for you. 

• There isn’t a certain amount of momentum or opportunity that we need to see before you are eligible to receive the Fast Track award. However, we do want to see evidence that you are active in growing your career or have opportunities coming up that this award would help you take advantage of. 

• One useful way of thinking about this question is: why is it more impactful that you receive this funding now, as opposed to in six months time? 

More generally, there are several things that you should keep in mind when submitting a Fast Track application: 

• Be specific – we want to know about your career and what you will do specifically with the funding 

• Be detailed – Fast Track applications are shorter than some of our other awards, but we still want to see detail in your answers – use the word count! 

• Research your costs – we will not fund applications that use guesses in the budget. 

Remember, if you would like more information you can also book a 1−2−1 call with our musicians engagement team here. Alternatively, you can head to the Fast Track page to begin your application today!