Take it away
About the Take it away Scheme
Take it away is an Arts Council England initiative designed to help children and young people get involved in learning and playing music by providing interest free loans of up to £2,000 to qualifying individuals for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument. The aims of the scheme are:
- To increase access to owning musical instruments for children and young people
- To encourage participation in music making across a wide cross section of society
- To support children and young people to develop their involvement and interest in music during and post-education
- To engage and work with a network of specialist musical instrument retailers across the country who provide a range of support services to customers including information and access to tuition and opportunities for developing musicians
Customer eligibility
To be eligible to apply for a Take it away loan, customers must be:
- EITHER an individual over 18 using the scheme to buy an instrument for a child under the age of 18
- OR an individual aged 18-25 years using the scheme to buy an instrument for themselves (or someone else, e.g. as a gift)
All applicants are subject to a credit check and must also:
- Be a permanent UK resident
- Be working at least 16 hours per week
- Hold a bank or building society account capable of handling direct debit payments
Applicants using the scheme to buy an instrument for an ‘under 18’ will be required to complete a customer declaration confirming that the recipient of the instrument is a child.
Unfortunately we are not able to support applicants aged 26 or over who are not using the scheme to purchase a musical instrument for an under 18. However, please ask your local retailer about alternative finance options that are available from Moneyway and can help you spread the cost of buying a musical instrument.
How does it work?
Successful applicants are required to pay a 10% deposit at the point of purchase, followed by 9 monthly loan repayments at 0% APR.
Take it away can be used to finance an instrument that costs over £2,000, however, the amount lent cannot be more than £2,000. For example, a customer buys a guitar for £3,500, but instead of 10% deposit they pay £1,500. Then a Take it away loan can be used to finance the remaining £2,000.
Please note that multiple Take it away loans cannot be used to finance the same instrument e.g. a guitar for £3,500 with £350 deposit with remainder split over 2 agreements 1 for £2,000 and one for £1,150.
Contact details
If you have any queries regarding Take it away, or alternative finance options that may be open to you, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the Arts Council directly on 0207 973 6452 or Moneyway Music Finance 0845 111 7087.
The Take it away scheme is only available through retailers that have been approved by Arts Council England. To register your interest in becoming a member of the scheme please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 0207 973 6452
Take it away is operated by ArtCo Trading Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary company of Arts Council England) in partnership with Moneyway.
