Knowing how the music industry works can make a real difference to your career, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been at it for years. We’ve gathered the best free guides and toolkits for musicians and music professionals in Northern Ireland, covering everything from getting paid and protecting your rights to applying for funding and touring abroad.
Each section includes a note on anything that works differently here. We check these links regularly, and this page was last updated in October 2026.
If you have a guide you’d like us to feature, email news@musicconnections.com
GETTING PAID
If you’re writing in Northern Ireland, you can join PRS for Music or IMRO for your songwriting royalties, wherever you live. Pick one, as you can’t hold both at once.
The Get Paid Guide
Built by PRS for Music, PPL, the Ivors Academy, the Music Publishers Association and the UK Intellectual Property Office, this is the best place to start if you want to be sure your music is registered properly. Since 2024 it’s covered recording artists and session players as well as songwriters.
Short videos and a data checklist walk you through the codes that make sure money reaches you, such as ISWCs for songs and ISRCs for recordings, along with co-writer splits and covers. There’s a quick quiz at the end to test yourself.
IMRO: joining as a music creator
The Irish Music Rights Organisation collects performance royalties for songwriters, composers and publishers, and it’s free to join. Writers based in Northern Ireland can choose IMRO instead of PRS for Music, and plenty do, particularly those whose music gets a lot of play in the Republic.
This page explains who can join and how to apply online. One thing worth knowing before you decide: PRS Foundation funding isn’t open to members of another performing rights society, IMRO included.
Getting Paid As A Creator: Knowing Your Options
Your Music Your Future International is an education campaign from CISAC, the global body for authors’ societies. It’s especially useful for composers writing for film, TV, games and advertising, where buyout deals are common.
It sets out the difference between earning ongoing royalties and taking a one-off fee for your rights, and what you give up when you sign a buyout.
Working for yourself
Most musicians are self-employed for at least part of their work, and HMRC’s guidance on GOV.UK covers the basics. That includes registering for Self Assessment, the deadlines you’ll need to meet and the expenses you can claim against tax, from instruments to travel. The rules are the same in Northern Ireland as in the rest of the UK.
Sound Royalties: 50 Income Streams Guide
A wide-ranging map of where music income can come from, broken down by role, from songwriting and recording to sync, YouTube, live work and merch. It was published in December 2025.
Please note this is a commercial resource. Sound Royalties is a US company that offers royalty advances, which are repaid from your future earnings, and the guide is written mainly with the US system in mind. Take independent advice before signing any financing agreement.
RIGHTS, COPYRIGHT AND AI
UK copyright law applies in Northern Ireland. The guides below explain how it works and where the debate on AI has got to.
Music Copyright Explained
Written by CMU for the UK Intellectual Property Office, this free guide explains how copyright gives music makers control over the songs and recordings they create. It also shows how those rights earn money once music is streamed or played on air.
It’s the clearest plain-English introduction going, and it suits anyone from a first-time songwriter to a manager brushing up.
CLIP: Creators Learn Intellectual Property
CLIP is a free learning platform from WIPO for Creators, a consortium led by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Short videos and mini-quizzes take you through creators’ rights and how the music business is put together, with a global outlook that’s handy if your music travels.
It started with music and added visual arts in 2026, with more creative fields to follow. It’s also available as an app.
Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
Published by the UK government in March 2026, this report follows the consultation on whether AI companies should be allowed to train on copyrighted music unless rights holders opt out. More than 11,500 responses came in, and only 3% backed that opt-out model.
The government now says a broad exception with an opt-out is no longer its preferred way forward, and it’s made no immediate change to copyright law. It’s worth reading if you want to understand where things stand, as this is still moving and we’ll keep this entry updated.
FAC Kitemark: The Artist-Promoter Relationship
The Featured Artists Coalition launched its kitemark in 2021 with the Association of Independent Promoters, setting out what grassroots artists should be able to expect from a promoter. It covers communication, fees, hospitality and accessibility, along with zero tolerance of discrimination and harassment.
Every AIP member has to meet it, and it’s a useful benchmark for artists and promoters here when agreeing a show.
FUNDING AND APPLICATIONS
For funds that are open right now, see our Live Funding for NI Artists page.
How to… navigate a music funding application
Andrea Caswell’s guide for PRS for Music’s M Magazine, last updated in August 2024, goes through the whole process of applying for music funding. It shows you how to check you’re eligible, build a realistic budget and match your project to what a funder wants to support.
It’s a good read before any application, whether it’s for recording or touring.
PRS Foundation: Guidance and FAQs
PRS Foundation’s own advice on applying, and it’s packed with practical detail. Your music examples count for around half your score on most schemes, so link straight to your strongest tracks. Budgets need to balance, and confirmed dates or partners make a real difference.
You don’t have to be a PRS for Music member to apply, but you can’t be a member of another performing rights society. If you’re with IMRO, check this before you start.
Arts Council of Northern Ireland: Project Funding for Individuals
The Arts Council’s main grant for individual artists here, part of its National Lottery Support for Individual Artists Programme. It funds new work, research and development, residencies, mentoring and professional development, and emerging artists are especially welcome.
The 2026/27 round closed in July, but the guidance notes and budget template are still on this page and well worth reading ahead of the next round. Arts Council officers are happy to answer eligibility questions, as long as you contact them at least two weeks before the deadline.
Accessible Funding Guide
A podcast series from Attitude is Everything, hosted by Joy Addo, for Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists and music professionals applying for funding. Each episode shares advice from people who’ve been through it, including how to cover access costs and how Access to Work can help.
RELEASING AND PUBLISHING
BBC Introducing Uploader
The way to get your music in front of BBC Introducing. You upload tracks to a single account and they go to the show for your area, which for artists here means BBC Introducing in Northern Ireland on Radio Ulster, with the chance of being picked up by national shows on Radio 1, 6 Music and beyond.
Music Publishing Webinars
A library of free webinars from Songtrust, covering everything from the basics of music publishing to collecting royalties from around the world and making money from your lyrics. Songtrust is a commercial publishing administrator, so the webinars sit alongside its paid service, but they’re useful whether or not you sign up.
TOURING AND WORKING ABROAD
As of October 2026, there’s still no UK–EU touring agreement or youth mobility scheme in force. If you hold an Irish or other EU passport, you can work in the EU without a visa or work permit, but your gear and merch still face post-Brexit customs rules.
Working, performing and touring in Europe
The UK government’s checklist for musicians and crew working in the EU. It covers visas and work permits, carnets for equipment, CITES certificates for instruments made with protected materials, merch, van rules and National Insurance, with links to the rules country by country.
It includes a section on moving goods to and from Northern Ireland. The page was last updated in November 2022, so check each country’s own guidance before you travel.
A flowchart for musicians working in the EU
The Musicians’ Union’s interactive flowchart helps you work out which documents you need before gigging in the EU, whether you’re travelling solo or with a band. Answer a few questions and it points you to the right paperwork, with links to useful resources along the way.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HARASSMENT
Harassment law in Northern Ireland differs from Great Britain. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the Labour Relations Agency are the bodies to go to here.
Harassment and bullying at work
A joint guide from the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the Labour Relations Agency, for employers, managers, unions and staff. It explains the legal duties here and how to deal with problems early.
It comes with policy and procedure templates you can adapt, which makes it particularly useful for venues and promoters who don’t have an HR team.
Sexual Harassment Guidance
Published by the Labour Relations Agency in March 2024 with the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, this guide aims to eliminate sexual harassment from workplaces here. It sets out the law in Northern Ireland, including employers’ responsibility for harassment by customers and clients, and gives practical steps along with a sample policy.
Preventing Sexual Harassment at Work: A Toolkit for Orchestras
Published in 2024 by the Independent Society of Musicians and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the toolkit gives managers practical checklists and action plans, including for time on tour. It followed an ISM report that found two-thirds of musicians had experienced discrimination, with many cases involving sexual harassment.
It’s written for orchestras, but the advice suits any music workplace. The legal duty it describes applies in Great Britain only, so employers here should use it alongside the Northern Ireland guidance above.
CIISA: Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority
CIISA is the independent standards body for music, film, TV and theatre in the UK, set up to tackle bullying and harassment across the creative industries. It’s published a set of standards organisations can sign up to, and on 13 October 2026 it opened a confidential service for reporting concerns.
CIISA’s legal whistleblowing status comes from Great Britain’s law, and Northern Ireland has its own whistleblowing legislation, so get advice on which protections apply to you.
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Music Minds Matter
Help Musicians’ mental health service for anyone working in music, anywhere in the UK. Its free support line is open 24 hours a day on 0808 802 8008, and the service can also connect you with counselling and other specialist help.
BAPAM
The British Association for Performing Arts Medicine is a charity that helps performers stay healthy and deal with problems linked to their work. It offers free health assessments, and its fact sheets cover issues such as hearing loss and playing-related injury.
ACCESS AND INCLUSION
Accessible Employment Guide
Attitude is Everything published this guide in 2021 to improve the inclusion of Deaf and disabled people working in music, who remain hugely under-represented at every level of the industry. It’s aimed at music businesses of all sizes, especially smaller ones without HR staff, and covers recruitment, interviews, meetings and adjustments at work.
Venue Access Information Guide
New from Attitude is Everything in September 2026, this guide helps pubs and smaller venues publish clear access information, so disabled customers know what to expect before they arrive. It can be adapted to any space and downloaded as a PDF or Word document.
The charity’s resource hub has plenty more, including a DIY access guide for grassroots events and a template access policy.
University of Atypical
Belfast’s arts organisation for d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists. It offers one-to-one support for artists and partners with Belfast City Council on the Sounds Atypical music grants. It also offers advice sessions for disabled artists applying to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
SUSTAINABILITY
A music sustainability toolkit developed by Belfast City Council with Native Events is due to launch here on Music Connections. We’ll add it to this page as soon as it’s live.
Music Declares Emergency
A group of artists, music professionals and organisations calling for action on the climate crisis. Its Take Action pages give practical ideas on cutting the impact of your gigs and touring, and artists can sign up for updates on how to go greener.
CAREERS AND CRAFT
Mentoring in Music: a DIY Guide
Led by recording artist Frank Hamilton for UK Music’s Futures Group, this 2021 guide covers finding a mentor and making the relationship work, from either side. It’s useful for anyone starting out in the industry, on stage or behind the scenes.
How to beat writer’s block
Even the most prolific songwriters have spells when nothing’s coming. Andrea Stolpe’s tips for PRS for Music’s M Magazine offer practical ways to get writing again, so a block doesn’t come to define your relationship with songwriting.