Cooperation of Small Music Venues – Music Moves Europe Preparatory Action 2019

Music Moves Europe (MME) is the overarching framework for the European Commission’s initiatives and actions in support of the European music sector. It provides financial support to a number of projects that corresponds to the themes and field of actions of their Preparatory Actions.

This year’s preparatory actions consist in 4 project calls and 2 tenders.


Cooperation of Small Music Venues

[update January 2021] The results for this call are out, access them here.

After Live DMA participated in the structured dialogue to prepare the Music Moves Europe Preparatory Actions 2019, a call specific to small music venues was released. The deadline to apply to this call is 16th of December 2019, 13:00 (Brussels Time). (extended deadline)

Official Guidelines call Cooperation of Small Music Venues

What is it about?

The call will support innovative and sustainable co-operation projects between small music venues, as well as between small music venues and public authorities with the aim to stimulate innovative collaboration models and to enhance venues’ role and identity in the local community.

Innovative: No need to reinvent the wheel here, it means that the project responds to the current challenges of the live music sector; use this funding to go out of your confort zone and implement activities that you could not do without this money and support. Cooperating with partners abroad is an innovative collaboration!

Sustainable: It means that the impact of the project is long-term; the project may benefit to others.

Small Music Venue: audience capacity up to 400 people.

The proposals should contribute to the general objective by covering at least one of the two following specific objectives:
1. Cooperation between small music venues to increase their capacity to address social or economic challenges they face.
2. Engaging in partnerships with the relevant local, regional or national authorities for the creation of an enabling environment for small music venues to maximise their social-economic contribution to the local communities.

The timetable for the Call Cooperation of Small Music Venues. Careful: deadline to apply was extended to 16/12/2019!

Between 13 and 15 projects will be selected. – Results expected by the end of February 2020. – Projects must not start before the signature of the Grant Agreement! Start of projects: March 2020.

Budget

  • European Union co-finances 90%;
  • 10% to provide on your own (income from other activities, national or regional grant about the same project…)

EUR 70 000 for projects comprising of at least 4 project partners having their legal seats in at least 3 different countries.

EUR 50 000 for projects comprising of at least 3 project partners having their legal seats in at least 2 different countries.

EUR 30 000 for projects comprising 2 project partners.

EUR 30 000 for projects, regardless the number of partners, where the project partners have their legal seats in the same country.

How to apply?

Follow this link: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/SmallMusicVenues 

You have to fill in the cells and attach all the documentation. The most important one is the grant agreement. 

Eligibility

  • You must have a legal status (you cannot apply on your own personal name)
  • The partners can be public or private entities (non-profit or profitable)
  • You must have a consortium: 

be a consortium of single entities from at least two different eligible countries, operating small music venue (up to 400 capacity), or a consortium made up of public or private entities, not necessarily from different eligible countries, of which at least one operates a music venue with a capacity up to 400.

List of eligible countries 

  • EU member states
  • Non-EU member state but with a Creative Europe agreement (Iceland, Norway, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Republic of Serbia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Tunisia, Armenia, Kosovo)

About the United Kingdom: as long as the UK is part of the EU, projects with partners from the UK will be eligible.

If/when the UK leaves the EU, without negotiating a Creative Europe agreement (which might take time), projects with partners from the UK will not be eligible anymore, even if the project has already started.

10 Good Reasons to Apply

  • It is a financial support.
  • The more applications the European Commission receives, the more they will understand that there is a strong need for such fundings for the live music sector, and might dedicate more fundings for the sector in the future.
  • The call is restricted to small and medium sized music venues. The competition is lower than for other calls.
  • The objectives of the call were designed to match with your challenges. You do not have to reinvent the wheel here!
  • It is an opportunity to initiate a solid cooperation with music venues from different countries.
  • It is an opportunity to improve the relationship between music venues and public authorities.
  • Preparatory actions do not represent an administrative burden. It is a good first step into European funding that might encourage you to apply to greater funding in the future.
  • The results of your project can be useful for tens and hundreds of other music venues.
  • Being a beneficiary of a preparatory action might involve you (if you agree) in the future dialogue between the music sector and the European Commission. It gives you a political role.
  • You deserve it! 

Need Help?

If you have technical questions on the call and the application, send a mail to: EAC-MME-Venues@ec.europa.eu

Your national Creative Europe Desk may help you in applying to this call!

Looking for partners?

Live DMA is a network representing over 3000 live music venues, clubs and festivals in Europe. We can help you find a partner to apply to this call!

Send the type of your organisation (public, private, local authority, other), the name of your organisation, the country/city/region of your organisation, and the type of project you want to work on to contact@live-dma.eu

We will send every week a list of potential partners to you!