Music Patron is the ambitious new online platform connecting composers with patrons.
So much of the great music of the past was sponsored by patronage. Usually, wealthy patrons sponsored 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 a regular monthly donation, anyone can join the community of music patrons and directly support composers across the UK.
Hear it from our honorary patrons
“Music Patron ensures composers can continue to create by inviting music lovers to connect with and truly support them.”
Judith Weir CBE Composer
Master of the King’s Music
Music Patron wants to change this status quo.
Patrons support composers with a small monthly donation, giving them a more sustainable income.
100% of the monthly patron donation will go directly to the composer.
With this modern form of patronage, composers regain freedom to create new music.
Patrons become active participants in the music-making process: they receive exclusive updates, and access a unique window into the composer’s world. A rewarding and motivating experience for patrons and composers.
Get involved in the future of music
Hear it from our patrons
“It’s wonderful to be welcomed into a composer’s world. Supporting an artist on Music Patron feels like being invited into their studio after hours. Exploring the world through a composer’s outlook is like nothing else.”
Patron
There are no hidden costs: 100% of donations go directly to the composers.
A trusting relationship with transparent funding
There are no hidden costs: 100% of donations go directly to the composers. You can cancel or switch your support at any time, just get in touch.
Music Patron’s operating costs are covered in two ways:
- Gift Aid donations;
- Optional donations that patrons can choose to add to their monthly contribution.
Music Patron is a start-up project incubated within Sound and Music, the UK’s national organisation for new music, and a charity (registered charity no. 1124609).
FOR COMPANIES, INVESTORS, AND VISIONARY MINDS
Become a Visionary Patron: invest in the future of music
Music Patron is driven by a clear vision: the entire music ecosystem can change for the better, and we are part of this evolution.
If you recognise yourself in this vision, you could become one of our Visionary Patrons and help us realise Music Patron’s potential.
We welcome all creative minds, companies and organisations who want to invest in the future new music with larger donations, sponsorships or partnerships. We have lots of investment options and partnerships ideas, but we are equally open to new suggestions.
Interested? Let’s talk!
Anthony Bolton
The man behind the idea
Music Patron is the brainchild of composer, financier and philanthropist Anthony Bolton.
“Music Patron facilitates the collection of smaller amounts from a much larger number of people, which, together, can add up to a meaningful income for a composer.
Additionally, Music Patron creates direct relationships between patrons and composers in a way that has yet to be possible to date.
With a direct connection, the patron will experience the rewards of being much more involved in the creative process.”
The people who make it possible
Meet the team
Sonia Stevenson
Head of Music Patron
My role is to bring Music Patron to life!
The work combines my deep love of new music (I’ve worked as agent to many composers, Promotion Manager at Faber Music, and PA to the composer/conductor Esa Pekka Salonen), my entrepreneurial spirit (I founded my own festival, St Andrews Voices) and my passion to bring unique cultural experiences to a wider audience (as Artistic Director of Lichfield Festival and Chair of the British Arts Festivals Association).
The team have nicknamed me The Devil’s Advocate of Music Patron as I’m always asking ‘Is there a better way to do this?’
Matthew Harvey
Digital Engagement Manager
I always describe my job as getting people as excited about the Music Patron composers as we all are.
My role at Music Patron brings together a lot of various skills I’ve picked up over a long career of freelancing. The thing I love most about working at Music Patron is the constant opportunity to be creative, whether it’s designing something for us to share or coming up with a creative solution to a tech problem, no two days are the same.
I have a bit of a reputation for saying “Yeah I can do that!”, which is why I’m known as The Swiss Army Knife of Music Patron.
Nathalie Meghriche
Composer Liaison Manager
I have the best role at Music Patron, working closely with our amazing cohort of composers. My role involves supporting composers to connect and interact with their audiences through the platform, and developing ideas to transport patrons into a composer’s unique world.
Before joining Music Patron, I worked in a mixture of creative settings within the arts and charity sectors. I may have the dubious honour of being the only team member not to play a musical instrument, but I bring many decades of music-listening experience to the party.
join as a composer
Are you a composer?
Recruitment for new composers to join the Music Patron cohort is currently closed.
We are improving our website and empowering the work of the fantastic composers already part of our network. But we hope to open applications later in 2023.
If you are a composer and are interested in knowing when we will open applications to expand our cohort, please register your interest, and we’ll notify you.
