Guidance

We hear from groups about how they have managed to put on risk-assessed, COVID-secure performances for their audiences.

The role of the librarian is important for the smooth running of your group and doing it well can make a big difference.  You need systems to keep track of all the music whilst being flexible enough to cope with unexpected schedule changes, and the more disorganised members of your group who may forget or lose their music.  

The main responsibilities and challenges are: 

Sourcing music is vital to the efficient running of a music group. It normally falls to the librarian to do this and can involving obtaining music from a variety of sources.

In this resource, we’ll look at how and where you can find the music you need, and the things you need to think about when dealing with publishers and music libraries. 

Obtaining music from publishers is vital for leisure-time music groups. Whilst it can be a big and sometimes difficult task, it doesn’t have to be. We have worked with various publishers and the Music Publishers Association (MPA) on this guidance to ensure our groups can access the music they want and receive the best possible service in doing so.

Since 2019, Making Music has worked with corporate member Printed Music Licence Limited (PMLL) - part of the Music Publishers Association - and Making Music members to create an amateur choir licence, launching this April. This licence allows leisure-time choirs to photocopy sheet music.

In response to queries from members about what to do about putting on events in support of Ukraine and about performing Russian music and engaging Russian performers, we have put together some guidance.

Showing support for Ukraine

Raise money to support aid efforts in Ukraine

This is something lots of groups are doing at their events. There are a few things to be aware of to make sure you are raising money so that you aren't moving away from your charity objectives, and that donations are used in the best way.

In this recording of our webinar (original event 18 March 2022), a panel of guest speakers discussed the challenges of recruiting and retaining volunteers, particularly in the context of the pandemic.

Volunteers are difficult to come by – increasing regulation, rising retirement ages, less regular working hours and less stable working lives have probably contributed to fewer people volunteering.

Gift Aid is a government tax relief that allows charities to claim an extra 25p for every £1 that an individual donates. There are rules within the Gift Aid legislation that also allow charities to claim Gift Aid on membership subscriptions, even though they are not donations. This guidance is about claiming Gift Aid on membership subscriptions.

These days, in most cases all it takes is a quick swipe of plastic to pay for something. With people increasingly expecting to pay by card, it can be extremely worthwhile for a leisure-time music group to take card payments. 

Whether payments are being made for member subscriptions, on the door ticket sales, donations or for merchandise such as CDs, a card reader and Point of Sale (POS) system can be very handy.

This guidance describes the current situation with regard to Gift Aid and the voluntary music sector. Please note that Gift Aid is available to UK recognised charities, regardless of whether or not they are also registered charities.