Submit your Music Tour Funding Application to Concerts SA today!
Planning a music tour but unsure how to fund it? Apply to Concerts SA’s Music Mobility Fund which will select new projects to support in July
Applications Deadline: Sunday 23rd July 2017
This tour funding mechanism offers opportunities for professional South African musicians to undertake live music tours in South Africa as well as other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. The fund provides support toward live music performances, collaborations and performance-based workshops.
Following the success of the six previous rounds of funding, applications are now open for the second iteration of Music Mobility Fund disbursements this year. The deadline for submissions is Sunday 23rd July 2017, and tours should take place between mid-August 2017 and 25th February 2018.
The Fund is administered by Concerts SA, a joint South African/Norwegian project housed within the SAMRO Foundation. Working with musicians, promoters, venue owners and music sector stakeholders, the project aims to build a vibrant and viable live music circuit in southern Africa. It also seeks to develop an interest in and appreciation of live music by showcasing music performances and conducting workshops at schools.
Since it was initiated in 2013, the Music Mobility Fund has received over 700 applications and supported more than 130 tours with artists like Madala Kunene, Tu Nokwe, Andre Petersen, Wendy Oldfield, Mark Fransman and Msaki.
Msaki says: “Having Concerts SA as a partner, collaborator and advisor through the Mobility Fund has been powerful and freeing. Every independent musician knows that hitting the road is a challenge but when you have a 10-piece band, challenge might not be the most accurate word. Concerts SA gave me the power of logistical problem solving. And since performing at Bushfire in Swaziland as part of our tour, other festivals have booked us after seeing us there. A watershed career changing opportunity, made possible by the Music Mobility Fund.”
More than 600 musicians have successfully toured across the 9 South African provinces as well as 10 countries in southern Africa (Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia and Madagascar), playing over 700 shows to around 50 000 people, spanning genres from jazz to indigenous music, from folk to hip-hop to kwaito.
Designed to help musicians, music industry professionals and organisations build on already established domestic success and develop connections, markets and audiences for their work, the fund provides support towards travel and transportation, as well as per diems, material costs (hiring of backline and sound equipment), accommodation, artwork design, travel insurance and visas.
Musician, composer and UCT researcher Cara Stacey, leader of the Afrikan Freedom Principle project, says: “The Concerts SA Mobility Fund allowed for a wild and creative idea to be realised. It helped myself, Mandla Mlangeni, and Matchume Zango (three musicians in three cities) to come together to create new music and then helped us to share this with transnational audiences. It is a priceless opportunity and so important in facilitating the development of creative work but also the creative minds of both musicians and audience members.”
Among the projects that may be financed are tours and concerts, including regional, national or provincial tours, as well as performances at festivals and showcases. The Music Mobility Fund also funds artistic collaborations with merit among musicians based in different provinces of South Africa or SADC countries. Each project must be between four days and three months in duration.
Qhawekazi Giyose and Gugulethu Duma, who workshopped with legendary Madosini as part of their live performance project, comment: “The Mobility Fund helped us actualize a project we have been conceptualizing for four years. It opened up doors for collaborations with artists and spaces we have been wanting to work with, and also motivated us to keep momentum going in our musical endeavours.”
National Projects
Artists from all provinces are invited to apply for national projects taking place in any South African province(s). The bulk of the activities must take place outside the province where the artist is based. The tour schedule must include one activity in either Gauteng, the Western Cape or KwaZulu-Natal. Applicants may request up to R30,000.
Regional Projects
Regional projects must take place in one or more of the following SADC countries: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. While activities in South Africa may be included as part of regional projects, the bulk of the activities must take place outside of South Africa. Applicants will need to conduct their own research and have identified and communicated with a potential partner or host. The partner may be an individual or organisation and must be an established musician or music professional, and must be based in the SADC country (or countries) where the project will take place. Applicants may request up to R45,000.
Application process
Applicants should read the Call for Proposals and complete the Application Form in English, and submit it by Sunday 23rd July 2017, including the following mandatory documents: legal documentation of the applicant (ID/passport copy for individuals and organisation representatives; company registration documents); track record (media coverage, website links, evidence of recognition awards, public appearances or residencies, CV, biography, etc.); budget of the project (including projected income and expenditure); and a calendar of activities with tour schedule. SADC regional projects must include a letter from the local host confirming their support and involvement.
Enquiries and applications should be submitted online by our contact form, by email to concertssa@samro.org.za, by fax to 086 500 7028 or by post to Concerts SA, c/o The SAMRO Foundation, 20 De Korte Street, 4th Floor SAMRO Place, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001.
For more information, navigate our website, follow @ConcertsSA on Twitter, or like Concerts SA on Facebook.
