Public Funding Tour Support

The money comes from an export growth scheme set up by UK Trade and Investment and the British Phonographic Industries. It’ll be handed out to some of the UK’s small independent music labels, which will use the funding to promote their acts overseas.

BBC Radio 5 raised the question of whether public money should be spent on tour support for largely unknown acts, although the counter argument is that PRS For Music and other collection agencies received £350 million ($585 million) in overseas earnings for British acts in 2013.

The station’s “Breakfast Show” presenters mused over who selected which acts would get the government money, conjuring up an image of an “X Factor”-style audition judged by civil servants wearing bowler hats.

The indie companies will receive a little over £250,000 ($420,000) in the latest round of funding, having received around £500,000 ($840,000) in February and May.

The £2.5 million government funding is scheduled to cover a 2.5-year period. The deadline for applications for the next round of funding is Sept. 15.

Award-winning multi-instrumentalist Imogen Heap and AC/DC support band The Answer are among the acts benefitting from the publicly funded tour support.