CoSTAR National Lab Call: Grass Roots Music Venue Innovation

Technology interventions for grass roots music venues that connect artists, audiences and venues in new ways.

Outcomes should be portable, scalable and support the development of new business models in the pursuit of a more equitable live ecosystem. 

Timeline

Opening date for applications:
Tuesday 15 July 2025, 10.00 GMT

Closing date for applications:
Tuesday 26 August 2025, 12.00 GMT

Application outcome: You will be informed in writing of the outcome within 8 weeks of the closing date unless notified otherwise. In the event of very high application volumes, this timeframe may be extended. 

Project start and duration: Projects must start no later than 1 October 2025 and end no later than 27 February 2026

Summary

Grass Roots Music Venues have intrinsic cultural value. They provide shared social experiences. They offer emerging artists their first opportunities, and they stimulate local economies.

The Music Venue Trust’s 2024 Annual Report acknowledges a significant decline in the number of grass roots venues, with two closing every month in the UK. It also emphasizes the need for practical interventions and action to address the challenges facing the grass roots sector.

The UKRI-AHRC CoSTAR National Lab (CNSL) and the UKRI-AHRC MusicFutures Creative Cluster (Liverpool City Region) are now inviting UK-based companies to develop and pilot creative and technologically innovative ideas that will start to address some of these challenges. We are seeking ideas that can extend the reach of grass roots venues, that can connect artists and audiences in new ways inside grass roots venues, and that point toward new portable and scalable business models and solutions.

This is an opportunity for companies to develop, test and own IP that they can then go onto commercialise. Selected companies will be provided with extensive research conducted by CoSTAR National Lab across the UK’s live music sector and dedicated access to our technical infrastructure and research teams to deliver their ideas.

In addition, applicants can apply for cash funding of up to £40,000 per project. We are seeking to award up to 3 projects, one of which will take place inside the MusicFutures Creative Cluster, in the Liverpool City Region.

Awarded projects will have access to the COSTAR National Lab Futures Studio in Egham Surrey for prototyping and rehearsing in October/ November/December 2025, as well as access to MusicFutures facilities in Liverpool. Pilots will then be tested on location in front of audiences at grass roots venues across the UK. Pilots will have to complete location testing by 27 February 2026.

What we are looking for

We are seeking proposals from applicants that will use new and emerging technologies and research expertise to tackle some of the grass root sector’s unique challenges from a venue and artist perspective. Proposals should explore and innovate in the context of shared live experience and the role that technologies can play in shifting and extending its boundaries for grass roots venues.

We are asking that each project application includes at least one grass roots venue as a consortia partner (as defined by the Music Venue Trust) and at least one live performer. You will need to supply letters of support evidencing both as part of your application.

Project proposals should also include plans to test pilots on location in front of audiences in January and February 2026.  In order to capture sufficient data we are asking that each pilot is tested at least twice with different audiences at each event. Venue sizes will differ, but we are prioritizing a shared live experience and anticipating ideas that will need to reach at least 50-200 people at the same time physically and, where relevant, many more virtually. 

Drawing on the findings from the CoSTAR National Lab research on the UK’s live music sector we are seeking projects that will explore the connection and engagement between performers, audience and venue. These could include (but are not limited to) the following areas:  

• Technology interventions that are easy to access and that are portable and scalable within grass roots venues.

• The opportunity for audiences to play a more active role and generate and contribute towards a shared experience through a mix of virtual and in-person elements.

• The benefits and opportunities afforded by digital twins of venues – e.g., via hybrid and spatial performance.

• Distributed co-operation and exchange between performers and audiences that support and incentivize the development of new business models.

The ethical use of AI in support of performance that acknowledges the provenance of data, supports human creativity, and rewards participation.

Social impact

Environmental Sustainability and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) are central to our work at CoSTAR and all our Industry Access Programmes. All projects, regardless of their main R&D focus, are expected to have a demonstrable engagement with either EDI, sustainability or both. This will be supported by training and mentorship in areas that include; equitable design, developing environmental sustainability principles and working with diverse user groups.  

For more detail on this and guidance on what to include in your proposal, download the Full Call Brief document.

Intellectual Property (IP)  

Successful applicants will own any new IP created through their projects, however, some terms and conditions will apply. Please see the section on IP in the Full Call Brief document for more details.

What is on offer 

Successful projects will have the opportunity to access:  

• One-week intensive development sprint at the CoSTAR National Lab Futures Studio. This includes on-boarding and orientation on the required equipment by our technical team. Please see description of the CoSTAR National Lab facilities below. 

• Facilities at Liverpool John Moores University Media Lab, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts Motion Capture Studio and studio workspace at Liverpool ACC Arena.

• Research staff will guide and collaborate with you during your projects development both in the studio R&D phase and during location testing.  Please see the description of the research expertise in the full call brief which is available to download (see section on How to Apply)

• Cash funding of up to £40,000 to contribute towards costs in undertaking the project, such as contracting performers, venue hire, design, consumables, eligible freelance support etc. Please see section on Eligible Costs in the full call brief which is available to download (see section on How to Apply).

• In addition, if a project requires a period of residency (two or more days) and if travel distance is more than two hours from either CoSTAR National Lab or MusicFutures facilities, a company stipend of up to £4,000 is available to support travel and accommodation.

The total value of this support package is valued at over £140,000 per project. Up to three projects will be funded as part of this call.

Who can apply

This competition invites applications from companies and consortia partners across the UK. Consortia may include a variety of UK-based companies, technologists, researchers and creative practitioners, however, the lead applicant must be a UK-based company and demonstrate a high level of ambition to deliver technological advancement and business growth in its application to creative industries challenges.

We are also asking that each project application includes at least one grass roots venue as a consortia partner (as defined by the Music Venue Trust) and at least one live performer. You will need to supply letters of support evidencing both as part of your application.

Interested Venues

UK grass roots venues who have expressed an interest and are happy to be contacted by applicants can be found on the map below with a link to sign up to be sent their contact details.

Browse venues by location by clicking on the map:

How to apply

To apply, please complete the online application form on the Submittable platform by the deadline on 12:00 GMT, Tuesday August 26, 2025 You will be informed in writing of the outcome within 8 weeks of the closing date unless notified otherwise. In the event of very high application volumes, this timeframe may be extended.

The application form contains 11 questions, each with a limit of 500 words. These questions relate to the assessment criteria outlined below.

During the application process you will be asked for a high-level project plan and budget (where necessary). Please note that if you are successful, you may be asked for more detailed documentation as part of the contracting process.

Please make sure you have read all of the information available for this call, found in the following documents:

Essential reading

• Full Call Brief document

• Summary of Key Terms

• Research - Executive Summary

• FAQs

For more information, please join one of our Call Q&A Webinars on either Tuesday 22 July from 12.30-14:00 or Monday 4 August from 12.30-14.00.

Support for applications 

CoSTAR is committed to equity, diversity, inclusion, and reducing barriers to access. Our goal is to ensure that applying and participating in our programmes is easy and accessible for all.

Reasonable adjustments may include: 

• Submitting an application via a form in Microsoft Word format (available upon request) 

• Options made available for video or audio submissions in place of written answers for each section in the application 

All webinars will be accessible with visual/written briefs made available for review during and after the event

Individual requests for access support will be accommodated wherever possible and equitable

CoSTAR also provides Access Support Bursaries, based on a disability, health condition, or access need, to support those making applications to, or participating in, our Industry Access Programmes. Find out more information on our Access Support Bursaries page. For any other queries about access needs or reasonable adjustments, please contact costar.pilots@rhul.ac.uk.

Timeline 

Open Date for Applications: 
Tuesday 15 July 2025, 10:00 GMT

Closing Date for Applications: 
Tuesday 26 August 2025, 12:00 GMT

Application outcome: You will be informed in writing of the outcome within 8 weeks of the closing date unless notified otherwise. In the event of very high application volumes, this timeframe may be extended. 

Project Start and Duration: Projects can be up to 3 months in duration and must begin after 1 October 2025 and end no later than 27 February 2026.

All black and white photos taken by David Maynard Photography