Two £5,000 grants for venues and around ten £1,000 grants for musicians and promoters. Applications close at 9am on 12 October, with decisions on 4 November.

Oxford musicians, promoters and venues can now apply for a share of £20,000 from a new city council grant, and the window is eight weeks.

The Grassroots Music Fund opened at 3pm on Monday 17 August. Applications close at 9am on Monday 12 October 2026, and the council expects to tell applicants the outcome on Wednesday 4 November. The money was secured at Budget Council for the 2026/27 financial year.

The £20,000 splits evenly into two strands:

  • Venues: two grants of £5,000 each. Applicants have to show they run an established venue with the capacity to offer free or significantly subsidised space to musicians and promoters, for rehearsals as well as performances.
  • Musicians and promoters: around ten grants averaging £1,000. The council says the actual figures may vary according to need. Applicants can be a company, a group or an individual, from any musical genre.
How Oxford's £20,000 Grassroots Music Fund is split The fund splits evenly. Ten thousand pounds goes to venues as two grants of five thousand pounds each. Ten thousand pounds goes to musicians and promoters as around ten grants averaging one thousand pounds each. Where the £20,000 goes: two grants one way, about ten the other Source: Oxford City Council, Grassroots Music Fund, August 2026. Musician and promoter figures are the council's expectation, not a fixed split. Venues  ·  £10,000  ·  2 grants of £5,000 £5,000 £5,000 Free or heavily subsidised rehearsal and performance space Musicians and promoters  ·  £10,000  ·  about 10 grants averaging £1,000 Any genre. A company, a group or an individual can apply. Ten blocks, one per expected grant of about £1,000. Applications close 9am, Monday 12 October 2026. Applicants told the outcome on Wednesday 4 November. Graphic by The Oxford Post.
The fund is split evenly, but the two halves buy very different things.

What the council will score you on

The criteria are published, and they are not the same for the two strands.

For musicians and promoters, the council says it will weigh:

  • the quality of the proposal and the work described in it
  • the effect the grant would have on the applicant’s professional development
  • how clearly the application understands its audience and how it will market to it
  • diversity of genre and of people, including applicants at different career stages and those creating new work

For venues, it will weigh:

  • the location and accessibility of the venue within the city
  • how many free or subsidised spaces are being offered, and how much money musicians would save as a result
  • the size and type of the room or stage
  • audience reach
  • extra support offered, such as marketing, equipment or stage props

The reason the council gives

“Oxford’s live music industry is undergoing significant financial strain, and, without council intervention, will continue to shrink,” said Councillor James Taylor, the council’s events, live music and night-time economy champion. He said the fund would help “ensure events actually happen, while supporting the livelihoods of those working in this struggling industry.”

That is a blunter assessment than councils usually put in a grant announcement, and it is worth reading as the reason for the shape of the fund. Both strands target the same problem, the cost of a room to play in: one pays venues to open their space cheaply, the other pays the acts who need it.

What it means for you

If you run a venue, the deciding factor is arithmetic you can show. The scoring asks how many subsidised sessions you would offer and what musicians would save. An application that names the number of slots, the normal hire rate and the saving will score against those criteria; one that describes a commitment in general terms will not.

If you are a musician or promoter, you do not need to be a company or a constituted group. Individuals are eligible, and every genre is in scope. The professional development criterion means the application should say what the money changes for you, not only what it pays for.

Either way, note the time as well as the date. The deadline is 9am on Monday 12 October, not the end of that day. Applications go through the council’s Plinth platform, and questions go to the grants team at grants@oxford.gov.uk.

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