Take It Away is a new Arts council England initiative designed to encourage greater participation in music across all sections of the community by providing interest free loans to individuals for the purchase of musical instruments. The scheme launched in July 2007 and has been available through a network of around 90 musical instrument retailers across England.

The scheme is run and operated by ArtCO Trading Limited, a subsidiary trading company of Arts Council England, in partnership with the Musical Instrument Finance Company (MIFCO) who provide the loan financing.

The key aims of the scheme are:

• To increase access to owning musical instruments for people of all ages, with a specific focus on people with incomes below the national average; people who are learning a musical instrument for the first time; and people who are purchasing an instrument for a young person under 18
• To encourage a participation in music making across a wide cross section of society
• To engage 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