Program Description Festival Funding

The funding program “Festival Support Fund” is aimed at music festivals nationwide.

Music festivals provide artists with an important platform for musical presentation and direct contact with the audience. They hold both artistic and economic potential, making them an indispensable part of the music scene and music industry for promoters and booking agencies alike. At the same time, festivals fulfill an important socio-cultural role in our society. Especially in rural areas, festivals are inspiring spaces beyond everyday life and serve as identity-shaping cultural anchor points of democracy.

Moreover, they represent a significant source of income for artists, and play—particularly for emerging talent—an essential role in artistic development. For this reason, the funding program focuses on music festivals that, in addition to artistic quality, also place emphasis on substantive, socio-culturally important aspects such as talent development, diversity, inclusion, sustainability, or the promotion of democracy.

With the third round of the “Festival Support Fund,” the structured support for music festivals at the federal level will be continued in order to strengthen the culturally significant work of festivals, develop their artistic diversity, and at the same time foster important socio-cultural aspects. The Festival Support Fund enables open funding of music festivals on the basis of qualitative and transparent criteria.

The program is primarily directed at music festivals in rural or non-urban areas (counties and small towns with up to 100,000 inhabitants). These festivals are often the only cultural offering in the region and are therefore of great social importance, making them enormously relevant in the fields of cultural education and the development of emerging artists. Festivals from urban areas may also apply in this round of the Festival Support Fund if they distinguish themselves through particular qualitative priorities. In this funding round, at least 70 percent of the selected festivals are to take place in non-urban areas.

Federal states and municipalities are to be encouraged by the Festival Support Fund to expand their support in this area and to initiate new projects as well.

a) The funding comes from the budget of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), based on a resolution of the German Bundestag.

The funding (grants) is awarded on the basis of these funding principles (“Program Description”), as well as in accordance with §§ 23 and 44 of the Federal Budget Code and the administrative regulations issued thereto.

Funding is only provided if corresponding budgetary funds are available. It is furthermore subject to possible fiscal measures or restrictions by the grant provider, BKM. There is no legal entitlement to funding.

b) The administration of the funding—particularly the review, the conclusion of funding agreements (private-law transfer agreements), and the disbursement of funds—is the responsibility of Initiative Musik gGmbH.

Festivals must meet the following formal criteria to be eligible:

a) Eligible applicants include self-employed individuals engaged in business as well as legally recognized entities with their registered office in Germany.

b) Eligible applicants are organizers of music festivals in Germany.

c) An organizer is defined as the party holding primary artistic, organizational, and financial responsibility for the festival.

d) Organizers who stage a festival at their own venue are also eligible, provided the festival is clearly distinct from the venue’s regular program and all other eligibility requirements are met (see FAQ for details).

e) The festival may be genre-specific or cross-genre, and may be held with or without admission fees. Festivals whose programming consists exclusively of classical music are not eligible for funding.

f) The festival must already have been held at least once under the main responsibility of the applicant, and another edition must be planned for 2026. The relevant reference year for eligibility is the year of the most recent festival edition, but no earlier than 2022. Newly established festivals are also eligible. In such cases, applicants must provide proof of substantial prior activity in organizing live music events (e.g. a concert series) (see FAQ for details).

g) For the reference year, the festival must demonstrate a coherent, curated program under a single name, comprising at least five live music events (artists with their own repertoire and/or artistic DJs) (see FAQ for details).

h) The festival must have been open to the public in the reference year and must also be publicly accessible in the funding year.

i) The planned festival must take place within a maximum time frame of three months.

j) Only one application per applicant company or festival may be submitted in each funding round.

k) The festival must not be primarily financed with public funds. Specifically, the organizing company or organization must not have received more than 40 percent of its total basic funding for the reference year from public sources. Non-profit organizations are exempt from this restriction (see FAQ for details).

l) Legal entities under public law, as well as legal entities and partnerships in which legal entities under public law hold a majority interest, are not eligible to apply.

m) Organizations and ensembles from the amateur music sector that receive funding from, or are eligible to apply to, the Amateur Music Fund are not eligible to apply.

n) Events whose focus lies primarily on folk festivals or demonstrations rather than live music are excluded. At festivals, the number of stalls selling food, drinks, and other goods (except merchandising) must remain proportionate to the live music program (see FAQ for details).

o) Events that disseminate unconstitutional, unlawful, or criminal content, or whose programming emphasizes content harmful to minors, are excluded from funding.

p) As a funding platform committed to equality, diversity, and cultural participation in music, Initiative Musik also reserves the right to question the funding eligibility of music festivals that disseminate or provide a platform for inhumane content or ideologies of inequality, and to withdraw a funding commitment (see Guidelines of Initiative Musik).

a) The object of funding is the implementation of the 2026 festival edition.
A key component of the festival project, and the main basis for jury evaluation, is the festival’s thematic focus. In the project description of the application, special attention should therefore be given to one to three of the following focus areas through which the festival defines its profile:

• Special support for emerging artists;
• Strong commitment to including underrepresented groups in the music industry in program planning;
• Efforts to promote inclusion, participation, and accessibility;
• Concepts and implementation of strategies for ecological sustainability and climate protection;
• Civic engagement and the strengthening of democratic structures;
• Innovative approaches to staff development;
• Support for cultural infrastructures in the region;
• Originality in musical programming, e.g. serving as a platform for musical niches and innovative/experimental formats.

(See FAQ for more information on the focus areas and the scope of the application.)

b) Funding is provided as a one-time, project-specific fixed-sum grant (see FAQ for details).

c) The maximum possible funding share ranges between 50 and 75 percent of the eligible project expenses and is calculated on a sliding scale. This means that as the overall project expenses increase, the percentage of funding decreases, while the applicant’s own contribution increases accordingly:

• Project expenses may total up to €100,000. The maximum funding amount is €50,000, which corresponds to a maximum funding share of 50 percent of the eligible project expenses. In this case, the required own contribution is at least €50,000 or 50 percent of the eligible expenses.
• Project expenses must total at least €10,000. In this case, the maximum funding share is up to 75 percent of the eligible project expenses. The required own contribution is therefore at least 25 percent.

An example calculation can be made using the funding calculator available on our website.

d) The own contribution may be provided through earmarked third-party funds (e.g. public grants, sponsorships, donations), income (e.g. ticket or merchandise sales), own resources (e.g. association capital, reserves), or (non-cash) in-kind contributions.

Income from ticket sales as well as grants from other public bodies must be proportionately included in the project financing, if available. Further information can be found in the FAQ and in the “Financing Plan” template.

Securing additional funding—for example, from federal states or municipalities—is explicitly encouraged. Funding from institutions that also distribute funds from the budget of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) is excluded (e.g. Kulturstiftung des Bundes).

In-kind contributions also include voluntary civic engagement in the form of unpaid work. These can be entered as notional expenses in the financing plan and in the calculation of the funding amount. Each hour of voluntary work is valued at €15. The total notional value of voluntary work may not exceed 20 percent of the overall project expenses.

e) Project-related overhead costs (general administration) may account for no more than 5 percent of total expenses.

f) It is possible to request funding for project-related investments, provided their necessity is clearly linked to the project. Such investments are subject to applicable inventory and binding-use periods (see FAQ for details).

g) Projects funded with a share of 50 percent or more under this program must meet the following requirement:
For services provided by professional freelance artists or creatives on a fee basis, fees must be set at a level that at least corresponds to a relevant, up-to-date nationwide recommendation on minimum fees issued by professional associations, trade groups, or interest groups of artists and creatives (see FAQ for details).

h) Funding of expenses for alcohol is excluded.

i) Institutional funding cannot be provided under this program. Institutional funding refers to financing the infrastructure or ongoing operations of existing or newly planned institutions (e.g. venues, ensembles, associations, federations, foundations). Construction measures are likewise excluded.

a) Funding is granted only upon proper application.

b) Applications must be completed and submitted online via the Initiative Musik funding portal. The documents specified in the application form must be uploaded. Detailed rules for the application process are described in the FAQ.

c) The application period runs from October 13, 2025 (1:00 p.m.) to November 3, 2025 (1:00 p.m.).

d) Applications and the entire process are handled online and not by post. If this presents a barrier for individual applicants, applications may be submitted by post within the above deadline following prior consultation (see FAQ for details).

e) Only complete and formally correct applications will be considered. If documents are missing, applicants will be given a one-time opportunity to correct them. Applications are considered complete only once all required documents for reviewing and evaluating the project have been submitted.

f) Complete applications that successfully pass the formal pre-check will be forwarded to a panel of experts for evaluation.

a) Applications are evaluated solely on the basis of the submitted documents by an independent and diverse jury of experts, which recommends projects for funding. Evaluation is based on a scoring matrix completed by each jury member. The assessment considers the festival’s profile, the artistic and financial implementation of the project along with the chosen focus areas, and the festival’s long-term significance for the cultural offering in the region. Particular attention is given to the program’s focus on non-urban areas: at least 70% of funded projects must fall into this category. In addition, to ensure a fair and balanced distribution of funds, the jury will consider to what extent applications from festivals funded in the previous year are again convincing with their current project. Finally, the jury will ensure that at least 90% of the selected projects are small and medium-sized festivals with a maximum of 15,000 visitors. Jury decisions are not accompanied by a statement of reasons.

b) Funding decisions are made by the Supervisory Board of Initiative Musik gGmbH on the recommendation of the expert jury. The decision of Initiative Musik gGmbH is final. Legal recourse is excluded.

c) Applicants will be notified in writing of the decision, and a funding commitment will be issued accordingly. Selected projects may then be adjusted during the review of the financing plan, and the funding agreement will be prepared.

a) Funding becomes legally binding upon conclusion of a funding agreement with Initiative Musik.

b) From the time the agreement is signed, funds for the approved project may be drawn down.

Funding may be used either for prior expenditures already incurred or for upcoming payments within six weeks of drawdown.

c) Within three months after the end of the project, but no later than March 31, 2027, the recipient must submit proof of use for the project to Initiative Musik. The project is considered completed only after successful review of the proof of use. If proof of use is not submitted on time or is incomplete, the funding commitment may be withdrawn. In this case, the full amount of funding will lapse, and repayment may be required.

The conditions of this funding program take effect on the day of publication and remain valid until December 31, 2027.