JOINING MUSIC PATRON AS A COMPOSER
Eligibility and Selection Criteria
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply to join Music Patron you must:
- be over 18 years old
- not be in full-time education (in any subject)
- have been based in the UK for the last two years
- plan for the UK to be your main location of activity for the next two years
- have a proven professional practice in creating new music (can be non-continuous i.e. including career breaks or time away from creating new music)
Who is Music Patron for?
Music Patron is a curated platform and composers at any point in their career may apply, as long as they are over the age of 18 and not in full-time education, and able to evidence a demonstrable degree of success in their field.
- enthusiastic about sharing aspects of themselves and/or their creative practice, and can identify how this would be of value to them, and an audience
- curious to experiment with new and different ways to engage digitally with an audience
- motivated and confident to explore new ways to fund their creativity through building a community of patrons
- able to commit to a regular timetable/pattern of communication with patrons (minimum once per quarter)
Criteria
- Fluent and enthusiastic communication
- Proven digital engagement
- Track record / Evidence of success as a composer
- Motivation to help shape the future for new music for all composers
- Pledged support from at least 1 Patron Champion
1. Fluent and enthusiastic communication
You must be:
• Enthusiastic about sharing aspects of yourself and/or your creative practice with patrons
• Able to commit to a regular timetable/pattern of communication with patrons (minimum once per quarter)
• Confident to communicate using a range of digital tools and formats such as videos, audio recordings, interactive blogs and virtual hangouts
You will be asked to:
• Create an example digital update to patrons. This can be in any format e.g. written, audio or video.
2. Proven digital engagement
Music Patron is a primarily digital platform.
You must be:
• Able to demonstrate how you engage digitally with your current audience such as on social media platforms, regular emails/newsletters, crowdfunding events, or video, sales and promotion platforms
• Curious to explore and experiment with new and different ways to interact with and increase your patrons on Music Patron
You will be asked to:
• Tell us how you communicate with your existing audience
3. Track record / Evidence of success as a composer
Music Patron is a curated platform. Composers of any age or point in their career may apply but must be able to evidence a demonstrable degree of success in their field.
Exactly what that success looks like will be very different depending on many factors.
You will be asked to:
• Tell us about your career as a composer
• Share examples of your music
This may include:
– Commissions
– Performances
– Recordings
– Awards
– Education / Community Engagement work
– Strong audience following
– Peer and/or organisational endorsements
– Any other examples of where your work has had an impact
4. Motivation to help shape the future for new music for all composers
We are looking for composers who want to help us improve the financial ecosystem for all composers and the landscape of new music more generally with a fresh approach to building an audience, and funding creativity.
You will be asked to:
• Explain how documenting and communicating aspects of your creative practice would be of value to you, and to your audience
• Reflect on why this is the right time for you to join Music Patron
• Illustrate what impact a regular dependable unrestricted income would have on your career as a composer
• Consider how you would stay motivated to create content and build your patron community
5. Pledged support from at least 1 Patron Champion.
Before joining Music Patron we ask that you secure the backing of at least 1 Patron Champion from your existing networks.
We don’t expect composers to find Patron Champions at the application stage. Shortlisted composers will be given support and advice in how to approach this.
Why we ask for this
Composer-patron relationships can take time to develop, and asking people to fund you and your creative practice can be complex.
Successfully engaging your existing audience to back you financially is a productive step towards being able to build a broad community of patrons.
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