Music Tank’s Easy Money?

Music Tank, the music industry development network that’s published it, says it’s “the definitive guide to funding music projects.” “Easy Money?” was written by Remi Harris, a former general manager at the Association of Independent Music (AIM), an indie label trade group.

She was also director of operations at umbrella group UK Music, which represents musicians and record labels in the UK. “I had in mind the artists that used to phone up AIM looking for funding,” she says. “I always felt that I never had the answers they were looking for, that they always went away disappointed.”

The six main ways to get some cash are listed as grants, friends and family, crowdfunding, sponsorship, incur debt or attract investment.

Harris says that during her 15 years in the music industry, it has “moved from an internal funding model to having to go to external sources” for cash to kick-start projects.

Normally, she says, musicians are looking for about £5,000 to £10,000 to fund a specific project, such as a record or live appearances.

“There is money out there,” she says, but “you have to go to the right person with the right proposal for the right funding.”