HOWARTH OF LONDON INVITES UK MUSICIANS TO ‘TAKE IT AWAY’

‘Take it away’ is an Arts Council England initiative designed to help more people get involved in learning and playing musical instruments. Since 21st October 2011 it has been extended to include instruments bought for under-18s.

Howarth of London has joined the Arts Council’s Take it away initiative that aims to make musical instruments and music lessons more easily affordable.

Retailers around the country passed rigorous checks in order to be involved, demonstrating high levels of customer care in helping customers choose the right instrument for their needs.

The new extension of the scheme allows two groups of people to apply for a 'Take it away' loan of up to £2,000 for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument, and pay it back in nine monthly instalments, completely interest free:

• EITHER an individual over 18 buying an instrument for a child under the age of 18. This will need to be declared on the application form. Applications for under-18s can be for those still in education or those in employment.
• OR an individual aged 18-25 years using the scheme to buy an instrument for themselves (or someone else, e.g. as a gift)

Please note in all cases in order to be eligible applicants need to be

• over 18
• a UK resident and working at least 16 hours per week
• hold a bank or building society account capable of handling direct debit payments.

Approval will be subject to a credit check. Applicants need to apply in our London store, Take it away ‘Under 18s’ loans are not available via mail order.

Nigel Clark, Howarth of London sales director says: "This is a great opportunity for players who didn’t think they could afford it to choose the instrument they really want and ‘Take it away’."

Hilary Boulding, Director, Music Strategy, Arts Council says "Learning a musical instrument is good fun and can also have great social benefits. We want to encourage as many people as possible to take part in the arts and Take it away is another way to help us achieve that.

The support of our nationwide network of skilled retailers is key to the success of this project and with their help we hope many more people in the UK will now enjoy the benefits of musicianship."

All instruments are included in the scheme and are encouraged by Arts Council England. To help musical development and manage costs, equipment and services such as music stands, sheet music and tuition can also be included within the loan.

For further information on Take it away, visit the Take it away website.