Ireland has secured €34.4m in its 2027 budget for its Basic Income for the Arts scheme, supporting 2,000 artists. Each selected artist gets €325 a week, paid monthly at €1,413.21, for three years.

Over 10,000 people applied, and places are allocated by anonymised random sampling among eligible applicants. However, arts groups like First Music Contact warn that the wider arts budget still represents an effective cut in current funding.

For independent musicians, a steady income can be the difference between squeezing music around a day job and having proper time to write, record and tour. Nothing comparable exists in the UK yet, making Ireland now the clearest example of a government backing artists directly, and it’s well worth keeping an eye on. Read more here.

If you sell merch, the festive season is one of the best times to reach fans. The catch is that people start shopping for gifts much earlier than many artists start promoting. Pinterest users start saving and comparing gift ideas well before Black Friday, so more artist teams are now adding the platform to their plans. If you’re thinking about it, now is the time to get set up.

Focus on giftable products such as vinyl variants, signed copies, tour merch and bundles. Repurpose album artwork, tour photos and behind-the-scenes content you already have. Then make your boards easy to find: name your boards the way fans search, pairing your artist or album name with terms like ‘gift’ or ‘merch’. Present products as part of your wider aesthetic rather than relying on plain product shots. Artists like Zara Larsson, Conan Gray and KATSEYE already do this well.

Whichever platforms you use, the principle is the same: plan early, lead with your most giftable products and make your merch feel like part of your world. Read more here.

Music Ally’s three strategies for boosting festive revenue, including checking that your Meta ad tracking is properly set up before you spend, are also worth a read.

This month's Artist of the Month is Sletta ✨

Sletta is a rising singer-songwriter whose intimate songwriting, lush neo-soul production and jazz-tinged sound come together with an effortless ease.

Her recent single ‘Feel’ caught our attention straight away. Warm and hypnotic, it feels like late-night magic in song form, with soulful vocals, rich jazzy chords and a slow-burning groove that draws you in. It’s the perfect soundtrack for darker October evenings, and we’ve had it on repeat ever since. Sletta is definitely one to watch! 🎧

Listen to Sletta on Spotify and follow her journey on Instagram. Let’s celebrate rising talent and support the artists shaping the future of independent music! 🎶

It’s been a busy month for UK music! Industry body UK Music has launched ‘Our BBC, Our Music’, calling on the government to commit to BBC funding ahead of its Charter renewal. Meanwhile, Apple Corps is set to open a 100,000 sq ft Beatles experience in Liverpool in 2028, with ticket sales supporting a new trust for emerging local artists and cultural projects.

New figures from Luminate show that UK artists account for 4% of global on-demand audio streams in 2026, while UK listeners stream about 10% more music each week than last year, with Gen Z and Millennials leading the way. Music Venue Trust’s ‘Everywhere At Once’ festival brought more good news, raising £100k for four music and youth charities through events at over 400 grassroots venues.

Together, these stories show the importance of supporting music at every level, from BBC Introducing to the grassroots venues where many careers begin. If you attended an Everywhere At Once show this summer, you helped make that happen! Read more here.

Networking doesn’t have to mean handing out business cards or forcing awkward conversations. The best connections come from being genuine, consistent and interested in the people around you.

Your local music scene is still the best place to start. Show up regularly at open mics, jam nights and gigs, and people will begin to recognise you. That familiarity is often where opportunities begin. Focus on a few meaningful conversations, collaborate where you can and stay engaged online by supporting other artists and connecting with fans.

What matters most is how you approach it. Be curious, build rapport before pitching, always follow up and keep showing up. Strong relationships grow through shared experiences, reliability and being easy to work with.

👉 Read the full post on our Instagram here. If any of this resonates with you, get in touch! We’d love to chat about your project 💛

Streams are a great way to reach new listeners, but they don’t sell tickets on their own. A sustainable music career is built on an audience that shows up, buys merch and sticks around for the next release. Helping artists build that kind of audience is a big part of what we do. ⭐️

Through targeted digital ad campaigns, we connect your music with the right people and turn casual listeners into loyal fans. The goal is a quality audience of ticket buyers, merch customers and lifelong supporters. Every plan can be tailored to your project, whether you’re promoting a single, EP or headline show.

After working with us on her debut single, Jo Hill said: “Laid Bare has been transformative in helping with the release of my single.”

👉 Read more about our social marketing packages here. If you’d like to find out what a bespoke social media marketing plan could look like for your project, get in touch! We’d love to chat 💛