Cooler Clinics Online: Income Routes

Each month, Improvised Music Company hosts Cooler Clinic CPD events, offering artists practical insight and honest conversations around sustaining creative practice.

For April, this session looks at how income moves through a musician’s work — both within and beyond the most familiar routes of gigging and teaching.

We’ll begin with a brief, practical overview of upcoming funding opportunities, including the Arts Council’s Agility Award, Bursary Award and Project Awards — outlining what they support, how to approach them, and some common pitfalls.

From there, we widen the lens to explore less obvious and more self-directed income routes for improvised musicians in 2026.

We’ll look at questions such as:

• Where does income currently enter your practice — and where could it?
• What role should funding play within a wider mix?
• How can audiences support your work more directly?
• What existing material or knowledge could be developed further?

The session will touch on practical approaches including crowdfunding, Substack, Patreon, merchandise and alternative performance formats — and how these can sit alongside touring, commissions and funded work.

This is not about doing everything, but about recognising what is already in your practice and identifying new routes that feel aligned, realistic and sustainable over time.

As always, there will be space for questions and discussion, and the option to book a one-to-one conversation with a member of the IMC team on any aspect of your professional development.

Attendance is free, but registration is required. Shortly before the event, a Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants.