Join a game-changing community
Creating new music requires innovation and risk-taking
Not all composers have this freedom. With Music Patron, you can change that.
Join a community of music lovers and help support the work of one or more composers.
Enjoy the feeling of making music happen.
What is music patron
Music Patron brings together the traditional concept of patronage with the impact of grassroots collective giving
So much of the great music of the past was sponsored by patronage, with wealthy patrons supporting composers by ensuring them an income and allowing them to devote themselves to composition.
Music Patron reimagines this idea for the 21st century and makes it accessible to any music lover, with options for one-off or regular monthly donations starting from £3.
Which composer should I support?
If you love music and are curious about the people who create it, take our quiz and discover which Music Patron composer is the best match for you.
Music Patron is a new way of supporting UK composers. It allows you to connect with composers, give them the freedom and security to create new music, and truly support their art.
Hear it from our honorary patrons
“I believe in supporting the music of tomorrow. Music Patron is a new and important way to do this. It gives ordinary people the chance to directly support a composer, provide that composer with game-changing income and help bring new music to life.”
Conductor
Choose how
to support
You can support an individual composer, or support Music Patron's overall vision.
Donate
You can give monthly or one-off, with options starting from £3.
Connect
Join a community of music lovers. Get a unique window into a composer’s world. Experience the feeling of making new music happen.
“Spending time with my composer is interesting and calming. It’s exposure to something new, a different take on the world, a few snippets of enjoyable music.”
Imagine a world with no music
The pandemic, the unstable economy, and cuts in public funding have led to less music being produced and fewer opportunities for composers to take risks and innovate.
You can have a game-changing impact on the creation of new music.
Make a meaningful connection with composers, get an insider’s view of their creative process and receive exclusive content.
Hear it from our honorary patrons
“Music Patron is a timely and generous initiative to provide for British composers the lifeline of sustainable income. It is also an intriguing and unusual way for individuals to involve themselves in something with lasting creative value.”
Composer, broadcaster
Our solution to a global problem
of composers have considered abandoning their career during the pandemic.
monthly Spotify streams are required for an artist to make minimum wage.
of composers earn less than £10,000 per year from composition work.
* Sources: Ivors Academy and The Trichordist.
Featured composer
Alice Beckwith
Alice Beckwith is a versatile composer of concert music, working on commission throughout the UK. Her lyrical melodic sound is firmly rooted in the British Isles – with an emphasis above all upon story-telling.
Rapidly emerging as a contemporary composer, Alice was commissioned by the 2024 St Endellion Easter Festival, where her new setting of Paul Fiddes’ The Phoenix – for tenor and harp – was premiered by Mark Padmore and Alis Huws. A new song-cycle commissioned by the 2024 AndPiano Music Festival in Huddersfield marked a welcome return to West Yorkshire – setting texts by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage.
“The creative process never stops. Whether consciously or subconsciously, you tune in (literally) to everything around you – space, colour, sound, energy, words… all seemingly unrelated. My job as a composer is to sift through to find the gem of an idea, often a time-consuming process! But just sometimes, suddenly when least expected, the outline of a sketch effortlessly appears..”
Patrons are invited to join Alice “behind-the-scenes” through regular updates, engaging with her creative process as she collaborates with ensembles and artists on a variety of commissions.
Patrons can expect curated playlists, sneak previews of new works, and advance notice of future projects; as well as opportunities to connect digitally through live streaming, and, most importantly, over a cup of tea when in Manchester.
- Listen: Nightingale | Allice Beckwith
