This article was originally published in our Autumn 2023 issue. Click here to subscribe to our quarterly print magazine and be the first to read our January 2025 issue features.

When Arts Council England (ACE) announced its new round of National Portfolio Organisation funding in November 2022, some of its decisions rocked the classical music world. Organisations that had previously received long-term, large-scale ACE funding suddenly found themselves with significant gaps in their budget. Psappha Ensemble recently announced its closure as a result of the insurmountable challenge of having 100 per cent of its regular funding cut, while Glyndebourne was unable to run its usual national tour in 2023 because of the withdrawal of ACE funding.

But it’s not just the Arts Council that has had to tighten its belt. The industry has been facing dwindling budgets for some time, with funding pulled from companies, sponsors, foundations and individual givers – particularly in the wake of the pandemic, and, more recently, with the cost-of-living crisis. This has been against the backdrop of many timely conversations around the ethics of accepting donations and sponsorship from certain organisations or individuals. The Ukraine invasion put pressure on orchestras and opera houses to cut ties with certain Russian donors, while questions around corporate sponsorship by companies with links to fossil fuels or the tobacco industry continue to be raised. The Royal Opera House announced in January that it would be severing ties with BP following a 33-year sponsorship from the oil and gas multinational. This came after the organisation had already received a nine per cent cut in its core grant funding from ACE.

With funding pots growing smaller and smaller, arts organisations are having to turn to their audiences for help. When Leeds Lieder had 100 per cent of its ACE funding cut, it was immediately forced to rely on its reserves, which posed a threat to future festivals and outreach projects. In June 2023, it launched the ‘Leeds Lieder Angels Appeal’, with some of its famous regulars – Roderick Williams, Imogen Cooper, Carolyn Sampson, Alice Coote and Sarah Connolly among them – asking audiences for support. With a target of £60,000 to bring Leeds Lieder into the next season, by the beginning of August it had ticked over to £25,000.

Britten Sinfonia was another organisation impacted by the withdrawal of ACE funding. In March 2023, it launched a £1m appeal to enable it to ‘play on’. The campaign was supported by composers including Steve Reich, Judith Weir, James MacMillan, Thomas Adès and Nico Muhly, as well as many associated artists. ‘Whether you are able to contribute £20 or £20,000, please help us replace the £1m we are losing, so that Britten Sinfonia can continue to light up the East of England and beyond,’ the ‘Play On’ appeal asked. In addition, the ensemble launched a major gift appeal for those able to give a larger donation of over £5,000. The campaign laid out exactly what the donations could be used for: ‘£10 pays for the hire of one musical instrument for a day in one of our participation projects,’ while ‘£1,000 pays for Britten Sinfonia musicians to work with patients for a week-long residency at CUH Addenbrooke’s Hospital.’ Two months after it launched, Britten Sinfonia announced that its urgent fundraising appeal had passed the £250,000 milestone.

Alexandra Whittingham and Eloise MacDonald; Fatma Said and Harry Baker © Jack Bazalgette

The crowdfunding model might have gathered pace recently, but it has long been a staple of the arts industry. Opportunities to meet artists or have unique experiences in exchange for donations had previously been restricted to higher-level giving. In recent years, organisations have tested different fundraising models and appeals to engage new givers. In 2017, the Dutch National Ballet launched its first crowdfunding drive for new work. In exchange for a €75 donation, individuals were offered access to a Q&A session with the choreographer of a new production. For €350, you could sit in on a brainstorming session with the creative team, and for €750 you could enter the rehearsal studio and share your opinions with the choreographer. This range of support provides a bedrock for creating new work, and can be used to substitute or support existing funding from government grants or organisations or bodies like ACE. Plus, you can access younger funders, who may continue to offer their support throughout their lifetimes.

The crowdfunding model is clearly effective, and is now even being used to launch entire new programmes and seasons. ‘Through the noise’ is the first crowdfunding platform designed specifically for live classical music. What started out as a way of connecting audiences with live musicians during the first Covid lockdown has fast become a sustainable long-term business model, highlighting classical music events around London through its guide and hosting its own noisenights series. In 2021, it announced its first concert, which was made possible through the pledges of hundreds of backers. By supporting the concert in advance, these backers were guaranteed tickets to the event if it reached its funding target – but if it didn’t, the event would be cancelled and all backers refunded, so there was no element of risk. Concert listings on its website now show the user how close the event is to being fully funded – and those that have been fully funded may have a few additional seats remaining.

They are all informal events featuring top soloists and ensembles, taking place in bars, converted warehouses and nightclubs around the UK. In its third season this autumn, venues include Camden’s KOKO club, a Tyneside warehouse and a wind turbine factory in Liverpool’s dockside. Usually, there will be an early and a late set; an opening classical recital followed by live music – including jazz, Latin, afrobeat, swing and funk acts – for the rest of the night. Through the noise recently launched a new partnership with Warner Classics, which will see artists from the label perform at 25 new noisenights across nine cities this autumn.

While most concerts take place in traditional halls or venues, there’s perhaps something about a concert in a wind turbine factory that appeals to individuals wanting to ‘back’ a concert series and have a stake in its success. That model has also seemed to work for YolanDa Brown, whose new restaurant and music venue in Islington broke global fundraising records on Kickstarter in 2023. The campaign drew funds of £248,000 in eight weeks from supporters, the largest sum for any restaurant anywhere in the world on the crowdfunding platform. Soul Mama is set to open this autumn, with food from the Caribbean, Africa and South America accompanied by jazz, soul, reggae and gospel music.

Crowdfunding offers an innovative new model to the existing fundraising and development ecosystem. Not only does it open up more opportunities for younger or lower-level supporters, it gives audience members a stake in the project. They are able to tangibly see the results of their donation, rather than their money just entering a large, nebulous pot. By running concerts or recording albums only when a fundraising goal has been reached, it means that organisations are having to put the musical interests of the audiences at the centre of their programming, which is no small thing. Away from the financial wins, a crowdfunding campaign also provides additional marketing and a more structured process through which to develop audiences, promote events and share behind-the-scenes stories about how a project is shaping up. If there’s one thing the financial challenges of the last few years have brought us, it’s a new-found openness in the discussions around how arts organisations are run – and why audiences can’t simply rely on their ticket fees to support their long-term success. We need to do more.

Playing on: Britten Sinfonia is using crowd-funding as a way to cope with the sudden removal of ACE support ©Mark Allen