Striking the right note: Fund awards over £700,000 for Welsh music businesses

21 music venues, recording studios, rehearsal spaces and arts centres from across Wales have been awarded up to £40,000 each to boost their work and sustainability for their long-term success.

Now in its third round, Creative Wales’ Music Capital Fund (MCF), offers grants of between £10,000 and £40,000 - totalling over £700,000 in this round - to small and medium music businesses, enabling them to identify areas of their work that would benefit from investment.

Successful applicants will use the funding to improve and increase their commercial outlook and sustainability, benefiting the wider music industry in Wales.

Notable recipients include Steffan Pringle Music in Rhondda Cynon Taf, which plans to create a top-of-the-line recording studio alongside a mixing and mastering room, and Musicbox Studios in Cardiff who will undertake refurbishment and environmental improvements as part of modernisation plans.

The funding also extends to venues and studios across the country, including Sain recording studio in Gwynedd, ROC2 Studios in Wrexham, CWRW in Carmarthenshire, and The Lost ARC in Powys.

Memo Arts Centre in the Vale of Glamorgan is one of those 21 awarded funding in this round. The Centre’s CEO, Kate Long, said:

“We’re extremely grateful to Creative Wales for awarding our venue support with a grant to cover the installation of a new high-quality PA system. This upgrade will significantly strengthen our capacity to innovate and increase the scale and diversity of our live music programme.

“The funding will also help further our in-house delivery of grassroots original music performances and enhance our partnerships with music promoters, touring artists, and emerging creatives, youth-led showcases and co-productions.”

The MCF forms part of the Welsh Government's broader commitment to supporting the creative industries across Wales. Music venues, recording studios, and related businesses play a vital role in the cultural and economic landscape of Wales, providing opportunities for emerging talent while contributing to local economies.

Minister for Culture, Jack Sargeant, said:

"The live music industry in Wales is crucial to developing musicians and audiences across our country. Music businesses provide an important platform from which talent can be developed, nurtured and grown. This latest round of the Music Capital Fund demonstrates our continued commitment to supporting the infrastructure that makes Wales' music scene so vibrant.

“By investing in these 21 businesses, we're not just supporting individual enterprises - we're strengthening the communities they are part of and the entire Welsh music ecosystem for artists and audiences alike."

Applications for future rounds of the Music Capital Fund will be announced in due course.