The PRS For Music Festival Application Guide 2025.

PRS (Performing Right Society) For Music recently launched a useful guide for performing artists to help them make applications for music festival appearances. How does this guidance work and what impact will it have on artists trying to get booked onto a music festival line-up in 2025.

For any up-and-coming artists facing difficulties in getting a music festival booking the PRS For Music organisation in the UK has now provided some useful guidance. The initiative was launched in October 2024 and provides information on how to secure a line-up place from a a good selection of well-known festivals globally plus the potential to obtain additional funding too. 

What is PRS For Music. 
PRS (Performing Right Society) is a not-for-profit organisation who pay royalties to members when their work is performed, broadcast, streamed, downloaded, reproduced, played in public or used in film and TV. The Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) have a service agreement in place with PRS for Music who provide rights management and administrative services to MCPS. Although based in the UK the organisation has global coverage with 150 affiliated societies. 

Guidance Overview. 
The PRS For Music initiative is aimed at performance artists who wish to make an application to appear at a variety of music festivals globally. The service is available free with the exception of some events where a small fee is payable to make an application for consideration. If an application gets accepted artists may be eligible for additional funding from PRS’s International Showcase Fund. PPS For Music also noted that artists may be able to earn royalties from live performances as long as they are registered with PRS For Music and have logged their performance. At the time of publishing PRS For Music listed 51 music festivals that are accepting applications. 

The International Showcase Fund. 
Another great initiative from PRS For Music is their funding scheme for artists who have secured a booking at a music festival. The International Showcase Fund is managed by PRS Foundation in partnership with DBT, British Underground, PPL, British Council, Musicians Union, Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Wales Arts International, Arts Council Northern Ireland. If an artist is based in the UK and has received a formal confirmation in a festival line-up they can apply for grants of up to £5,500. Grants are available for artists, songwriters, bands and producers who have been invited to perform or create new music at international industry facing showcasing festivals, song writing camps or conferences. 

This type of initiative from PRS For Music has come at a time when many artists are struggling with rising costs and falling income. The guidance is good news for any up-and-coming performance artists trying to secure festival bookings for 2025. A number of successful artists have used these schemes and obtained funding when they started out, so it is a proven stepping stone to greater things. For more information visit any PRS social media channel (@PRSForMusic). 

For festival organisers planning their next events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

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