Program Description (72nd funding round)

The program aims to support popular music in Germany.

In particular, it aims to promote emerging artists and the ongoing professionalisation of musicians working exclusively as such.

Further objectives of the programme are to promote German music abroad and to encourage the integration of people with a migrant background.

The program contributes to location promotion, the promotion of culture, and the music industry in Germany.

Funding is available for expenditure on:

• Work creation, pre-production, and rehearsal times
• Production of audio and audiovisual recordings
• Production of sound and image carriers
• Digitalization
• Promotion and marketing measures
• Concert performances by artists as part of concert and other event tours

always including personnel costs, insofar as they are directly related to the aforementioned content. The project can consist of one or more of the above points.

The performances or recordings of the applying artists should predominantly involve newly created original music works.

Projects involving companies of the public sector and/or radio and television companies, whether directly or indirectly, are not eligible for funding.

Eligible applicants are musicians, performers, and artist ensembles (hereinafter referred to as ‘artists’):

a) individually, if they are freelancing as artists

or

b) together with one of the following companies in the music industry, with which a valid contract as listed below exists at the time of application:

• Record companies (recording or artist-exclusive contract) or digital distribution (distribution agreement with remuneration via licence fees/commission)
• Artist management (management contract)
• Artist agencies (booking/agency contract)
• Music publishers (publishing contract)

The artists submitting applications must provide evidence that they have their main residence in Germany. In the case of bands and ensembles, this must apply to at least half of their members.

Those who have received funding three times within eight funding rounds are no longer eligible to apply for the following eight funding rounds, but for a minimum of two years. This rule does not apply to individual ensemble/band members if they are active in other bands/ensembles.

The co-applying company must have a demonstrably registered business address in the European Economic Area. Applying companies should have been active in the music market for at least three years and must, if they are a commercial enterprise, be duly registered (business/trade register registration).

The contract between the applicant artists and co-applicant companies should be characterised by economic risk sharing, in particular profit-based remuneration for the company via licence fees or equivalent arrangements.

For the purposes of our funding programme, we consider “up-and-coming artists” to be performing musicians who are already working professionally in the music industry, have achieved their first commercial success with their music and already earn part of their income from music. We measure this in particular against the following criteria:

• Existing repertoire with at least one release (album/EP/at least three singles) and a total of at least 100,000 streams or 500 records sold
• Regular concert activity with at least 20 performances nationwide in the past year
• Existing contractual cooperation with remuneration via licence fees with a booking agency, artist management, label, publisher, music distributor or online service
• Accompanying: regular activity on social media platforms with at least 1,000 subscribers/followers each
• Anyone who meets at least two of these criteria is considered an “up-and-coming artist” when applying.

We no longer consider musicians to be “up-and-coming artists” within the context of the programme once their first release was five years ago or once they earn most of their income from their music.

The funding focus of this programme is on up-and-coming artists. Those who are not yet or no longer up-and-coming artists within the meaning of the programme (e.g. musically outstanding talents) are not excluded from funding. In these cases, a project must be reasonably justified within the meaning of the programme and its financial and artistic eligibility for funding must be apparent.

The funding is provided as a project grant in the form of a non-repayable subsidy through deficit financing.

The funding share is degressive and depends on the total expenditure. As the total expenditure increases, the funding share decreases.

For total expenditures of 10,000 EUR, the maximum possible funding share is up to 60 percent of the total expenditure. The proven own contribution (including any third-party funding) in this case is at least 40 percent.

For total expenditure of EUR 75,000 or more, the maximum possible funding share is up to 40 percent of the total expenditure. The proven own contribution (including any third-party funding) in this case is at least 60 percent.

The funding limit per project is 30,000 EUR per year.

No applicant or co-applicant, including legally independent subsidiaries or affiliated companies within the meaning of § 15 of the German Stock Corporation Act, should be a beneficiary of funding amounts from Initiative Musik of more than 100,000 EUR per year.

Projects with a requested funding amount of less than EUR 6,000 are generally not considered, i.e., the total expenditure required for artist funding is at least EUR 10,000.

The funding application must be submitted in digital form to Initiative Musik. The prescribed application form has to be completed in the online application portal and submitted exclusively online. The form and scope can be found in the form.

In addition to the documents named in the funding application, the following must also be attached to the application:

• Description of the funding project as part of a coherent overall concept for the professional development of artists

Artist:

• Bio and short profile
• At least one current, possibly suitable and approved photo for press release
• Three music samples
• Video recordings (optional)
• In the case of an application without a company in the music industry, proof of professional activity by fulfilling at least three of the following criteria with at least one document each:
  • Proof of freelance work as a singer, instrumentalist, music author, composer, or artistic DJ or producer (document from the tax office with tax number and description of the activity)
  • Proof of membership in the Künstlersozialkasse (KSK)
  • Proof of membership in GEMA
  • Proof of a currently valid rights agreement with GVL
  • Proof of a currently valid band acquisition or artist exclusive contract with a label, publishing contract, management contract, booking contract with a booking agency (not a guest performance contract) or distribution agreement with remuneration via licence fees/commission
  • Proof of state-recognized professional or university education in a specific artistic-musical field

Documents for companies in the music industry in the case of co-application:

• Brief description of the company
• Currently valid contractual agreement with the artist according to No. II ‘Eligibility’ – validity must exist at the time of application and must be unconditional.
• Proof of the official registration of the company (commercial register extract, business registration, certificate from the tax office about registration as a freelancer with tax number and description of the activity) – registration must clearly prove the type of entrepreneurial activity as defined in No. II ‘Eligibility’

For concert tours:

• Tour plan

For promotion and marketing measures:

• Marketing- and promotion plan (optional)

Detailed binding requirements for individual documents will be named, if necessary, in the application form in the online application portal.

Funding applications will be assessed and recommended for funding by an independent jury of experts based solely on the documents submitted. The Supervisory Board of Initiative Musik gGmbH will decide on the allocation of funds based on the jury’s recommendation, subject to the determination of eligible expenses during the application review process by Initiative Musik. The decision of Initiative Musik gGmbH is final. Legal recourse is excluded. Applications will be assessed solely on the basis of the documents submitted.

Criteria include, among others:

• Expected effects on the music location Germany
• Artistic quality
• Market opportunities for the repertoire and the artist
• Plausibility of the funding project within a coherent overall concept for the professional development of artists
• Live performance of the artists
• Scope and quality of the tour project

The funding decisions will be communicated to applicants in digital form by the Initiative Musik office. No reasons will be given for the selection decision.

Funding is granted through the digital conclusion of a private-law funding agreement exclusively for the individual case. It is a one-time grant and does not entitle the recipient to further funding and/or an increase in the amount of funding. The funding period for a project is generally up to 12 months. Further details are set out in the General Funding Conditions and the Funding Principles of Initiative Musik.

After completion of the project, Initiative Musik will check, on the basis of a statement of expenditure to be submitted, whether the project was carried out and the funds used in accordance with the application and the contract.

The conditions of the funding programme described here shall enter into force on 19 November 2025 (72nd funding round) and shall remain in force until 31 December 2029.