The €5 million pilot scheme for supporting live performance last year was hugely significant. The first such State support for the entertainment sector, it came in the wake of the devastation caused when Covid-19 restrictions shut down music, comedy, theatre and other events across Ireland.
It offered grants so that commercial venues, promoters and producers could employ artists, musicians, technicians and support staff, supporting the creation of entertainment for the public. While the State has long supported the "funded sector", mainly through the Arts Council, the national agency for developing the arts, State funding of €50 million for commercial events, as announced in the budget back in October, is unprecedented. Following the pilot, and nearly six months after it was announced, applications are open this week for the Live Performance Support Scheme.
There is still no clarity on when live entertainment will return: 2021’s summer of music, festivals and other events has a giant question mark over its head.
The department envisages the scheme will provide significant work for thousands of musicians, performers, crew and support staff, and support high-quality output
The Event Production Industry Covid-19 Working Group has estimated that the non-funded event industry supports more than 35,000 jobs, contributes more than €3.5 billion to the economy and generates more than three million bed nights for the tourism industry each year. The significant State funding was in response to calls from the sector for measures to support the industry until it is able to safely return.
Last autumn’s pilot included venues from music pubs to the Inec in Killarney, Co Kerry, and from large rock promoters running festivals and stadium gigs to smaller independent music, theatre and comedy producers. The pilot’s grants, which ranged from €10,000 to €400,000, aimed to create employment and performances. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media reported exceptional demand; 58 of the 109 applications for funding received grants, generating thousands of days of work for hundreds otherwise unemployed. All but two events were successfully produced.
This time the department envisages it will provide significant work for thousands of musicians, performers, crew and support staff, as well as continuing to support “high-quality artistic output”.
The pilot generated an impressive range of events, small and large, all over the country, both live and streamed. It’s worth pointing out streaming is an expensive business, with huge additional filming and production costs , aside from the event itself.
To give a notion of the range, the pilot granted €76,000 for live performances at Mitchelstown Caves; €38,760 for live music in Coughlan's Bar in Cork; €20,000 towards community pantomime at the Civic in Tallaght; €140,000 for music performances in Doolin; €100,000 for Body & Soul Events' music, spoken word and dance performances; €34,305 for live performances at Dublin's Laughter Lounge; €140,000 for live performances at Whelan's; €400,000 towards Aiken Promotions' live performances at Vicar Street; €400,000 for performances at the Inec; €57,760 for live gigs at Galway's Róisín Dubh pub; €141,140 to Verdant Production's panto at Draíocht Theatre; €400,000 to the panto at the University of Limerick's Concert Hall; €48,640 for live music at the Spirit Store in Dundalk. It spells out quite a variety, and came in at a total of €5.2 million.
These are the sort of projects now about to pitch for €25 million from the budget allocation for live entertainment. The other €25 million is going towards business overheads and capital supports, and to local authorities for outdoor performance spaces.
The scheme is also a significant task for the department, not usually in the business of assessing and processing applications on this scale. It’s an acknowledgment of the sector’s fight for survival. For comparison, the entire Arts Council budget for the subsidised arts sector is at a high of €130 million this year, but not many years ago it was about €50 million.
While the sector is appreciative, there were some issues with the pilot. Some promoters found it difficult to manage and fit the criteria. Funding decisions were not announced until early November – for performances before the end of December. The timeframe of this enlarged scheme could also be tight for producing work, with applications closing mid-April but without a commitment yet on when grant decisions will be communicated, while performances have to be completed by the end of September. This may effectively mean a four-month window for all the events to take place. It will also be interesting to note how the grants are divided between music, comedy and theatre.
On the face of it, the stipulation that “only one application will be considered, initially”, from promoters could be a challenge for larger companies, which might normally expect to present several events between April and September. Here the word “initially” may be significant, as well as the fact that several pilot grants were for “a number of live performances”.
The scheme involves paying grants in arrears, with recipients claiming costs back after they have staged their events, which may be difficult for cash-strapped promoters and venues.
It sounds like a busy time ahead for promoters and venues hoping to access this funding, and for the department managing it. But, above all, everyone must be hoping that the summer at least allows some live performance in person.
