UK Touring Fund Swells to £300K as Harry Styles Pledges £1 Per Ticket Sold

A single pound skimmed off a Harry Styles ticket at Wembley could end up in the hands of an indie band that couldn't otherwise afford a three-date, 75-cap tour — that's the funding loop the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) is trying to prove works.

FAC's UKAT fund launched its first phase back in March with a pot of £125,000, drawn from voluntary "ticket donations" collected via the LIVE Trust. Contributors included massive shows from Harry Styles, Radiohead, Lorde, Kasabian and Wolf Alice. Run in partnership with the Music Managers Forum (MMF) and Musicians' Union (MU), phase one ultimately backed 26 artists across 211 shows, reaching 60,000 fans. Combined with a separate scheme run with Music Venue Trust, LIVE Trust has now paid out over £500,000 in total.

Phase two brings the total fund to £300,000, with applications closing at 11:59pm on Sunday, September 14. Artists can apply for up to £8,000, or 40% of total touring costs — whichever is lower — to cover shortfalls for headline slots, support gigs or festival dates. Even unconfirmed bookings can be included in an application, as long as they're locked in before funds are released.

FAC CEO David Martin told NME that phase one proved demand was massive "going in completely blind," and showed just how far £125,000 could stretch. He pointed to what the fund means specifically for working-class musicians: "For people who can't afford to lose two grand, they can now book the tour, see if they get the funding, and then decide whether to actually go ahead."

To qualify, tours must include at least three UK headline dates at venues with capacities between 75 and 2,000, and must be completed by April 30, 2027. All artists, musicians, agents and crew involved must be paid "fair and reasonable" rates covering show days, travel days and rehearsal time.

Harry Styles has already pledged to donate a further £1 from every ticket sold for his 2027 London shows to this fund and other charitable initiatives. Martin described the money trail as "a really tangible demonstration" of how a stadium superstar's donation can end up being the reason some indie artist gets to go on tour.

There's ongoing pressure within the industry for the government to legislate a mandatory £1-per-ticket levy on all arena-scale shows and above, to support grassroots musicians and venues. But Martin favors getting big businesses to opt in voluntarily rather than relying on government intervention: "Now that we've got real results to show, we're hearing a much more positive response across the industry. I think it's too early to call for government intervention right now — it could disrupt the progress we're making."

UK artists interested in applying can submit proposals via FAC's official application page before the deadline.