350% Increase in Northern Artists Securing UK Touring Support Following Northern Music Export Office and FAC Partnership

Nine artists from across the North of England awarded up to £8,000 each as partnership doubles investment in Northern touring talent.

The Northern Music Export Office (NMEO), in partnership with the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), is delighted to announce that nine artists have been successful in securing support through the UK Artist Touring Fund (UKAT), following the first round of funding awarded as part of the partnership announced in August.

The nine successful artists, representing the North East, Tees Valley and West Yorkshire, will receive co-investment of up to £8,000, alongside dedicated touring support. The artists are: Amelia Coburn, EEVAH, Finn Forster, Irked, Marketplace, Smith & Liddle, The Howling, Tom A. Smith and Venus Grrrls.

The number of Northern artists securing support through the UK Artist Touring Fund (UKAT) has increased by 350%, following a new partnership between the Northern Music Export Office (NMEO) and the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC).

This marks an important milestone for the Northern Music Export Office, demonstrating how targeted investment and national industry partnerships can unlock greater opportunities for Northern talent, helping artists build sustainable careers, reach new audiences and strengthen their potential for international growth.

Established earlier this year by the FAC, in partnership with the Music Managers Forum (MMF) and Musicians' Union (MU), UKAT was created to address the growing cost of touring crisis facing artists across the UK.

The challenge is particularly acute for artists performing in small and medium-sized venues, where rising production, travel, accommodation and staffing costs can often outweigh the income generated through ticket sales and performance guarantees.

These financial pressures threaten artists’ touring careers and the wider live music sector, affecting musicians, managers, booking agents, promoters, venues and other professionals who make live music possible.

By providing direct financial investment alongside dedicated touring support, UKAT is helping artists overcome these barriers, ensuring that touring remains a viable and sustainable route for career development.

For the nine successful Northern artists, this support represents a significant opportunity to grow their live audiences, strengthen their touring operations and continue building careers within an increasingly challenging industry.

Amelia Coburn, Tees Valley: "Being awarded UKAT funding has been a genuine lifeline at this stage in my career. Not only has it allowed me to take session musicians and crew on the road with me, including an indispensable tour manager who keeps everything running smoothly, but I can also pay the whole team (myself included) a proper wage. It’s also meant we can afford a hotel room rather than crashing on a mutual friends’ couch for the night. It’s these seemingly small comforts and additions to the touring party that can make the difference between touring being an exhausting financial strain and something genuinely enjoyable and sustainable."

VENUS GRRRLS, West Yorkshire: "Securing UKAT funding has been incredible; with the rapidly rising costs of touring we would have struggled greatly to make this tour happen without UKAT support. We massively feel the difference in being able to secure safe accommodation, and team members to support us with the demands of touring. With a system that feels like it's set up to make things as difficult as possible for smaller artists, organisations like UKAT give musicians like us a fighting chance"

Mick Ross, CEO, Generator/Northern Music Export Office: “This is a milestone achievement for the Northern Music Export Office and a significant step towards delivering the ambition we set out to achieve when establishing the office.

“Seeing nine artists from the North East, Tees Valley and West Yorkshire benefit from UKAT funding through this co-investment is hugely positive. Through this initiative, we have been able to double the level of investment available through the Northern Music Export Office, alongside a substantial increase in the number of Northern artists successfully securing touring funding. This is a significant step forward in ensuring more Northern artists can access the support they need to develop and grow their careers.

“This support will help more Northern artists reach national audiences, build their live careers and gain the experience, confidence and opportunities they need to become export-ready.”

“Crucially, it will also help artists develop their careers in a way that supports more sustainable touring, ensuring they can grow and succeed without compromising the financial viability or conditions of their tours."

David Martin, CEO, Featured Artists Coalition: “The FAC's partnership with NMEO has been a fantastic example of what can be achieved when regional and national organisations work together. By combining our networks and expertise, we've seen a significant increase in applications to the UK Artist Touring Fund from artists across the North East, Tees Valley and West Yorkshire, resulting in nine artists receiving vital support to tour across the UK.

"With devolution high on the Government's agenda, this partnership demonstrates the potential of combining local knowledge and experience with national expertise to reach more artists, direct support where it's needed, and create opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.

"It's been a tremendous success, and offers an exciting blueprint for how we can develop and expand UKAT in the future.”

The partnership between the Northern Music Export Office and the FAC reflects a shared commitment to building a stronger, more sustainable music industry, ensuring talented artists from across the North of England have access to the investment, industry connections and opportunities needed to succeed.

As the Northern Music Export Office continues to develop its programme of national and international activity, this latest investment demonstrates the impact of bringing together regional ambition and national industry expertise to create meaningful opportunities for Northern talent.