About New Music Inc  

New Music Inc is a regional incubator program that helps small-budget, artist-led new music groups and organizations generate new ideas, strategies and collaborations at pivotal stages in the group or collective’s development. The program provides each participating organization with financial support coupled with hands-on skill-building in a cohort environment intended to foster collective learning and collaboration. For the 2025 cycle, we are accepting applications from eligible organizations in Los Angeles County. Prior regional cohorts included Baltimore, Chicago, and New York City.

Click here to learn more about all the organizations we have supported through this program.

(Pictured above: Pleiades, New Music Inc Chicago awardee. Photo by Ricardo Adame)

Questions about the application? 

Please join us for the following webinar and Q&A events. Both sessions will be recorded and uploaded to this page.

• Application Webinar: July 9, 2025, view the slides and the Q&A 
• Q&A session from July 23, 2025, view the slides and the Q&A 

New Music Inc Los Angeles: Overview and Guidelines 

Funding, mentorship, and cohort learning for small-budget, artist-led music groups and organizations

Our Definition of New Music 
At New Music USA we support and champion new music in all its forms; every sound is welcome. Anyone who is influencing the future of music creation and sound is creating new music! 

About the Program

New Music Inc is an incubator program that helps small- budget, artist-led new music groups and organizations in Los Angeles County generate new ideas, strategies and collaborations at pivotal stages in their development. The program provides each participating organization with financial support coupled with 17 months of hands-on skill-building in a cohort environment intended to foster collective learning and collaboration.  A locally based Program Coordinator will facilitate the program, working closely with participants to help them reach their goals. The Program Coordinator for New Music Inc LA is Los Angeles Performance Practice (LAPP), a non-profit organization devoted to the production and presentation of contemporary performance by artists whose work advances and challenges multi-disciplinary artistic practices.

New Music Inc is open to organizations, collectives, or groups working in any music style. The cohort will consist of a broad array of organizations reflective of the breadth of creators and artists who are contributing to Los Angeles’s unique music community. A 501(c)3 status tax status is not required.

The program will explore themes and challenges identified by participating organizations in collaboration with our Program Coordinator and New Music USA staff. We anticipate that this may include audience development, fundraising, marketing, board development, and other areas of strategic planning.   

Originally launched in New York City as the New Music Capacity Building Program in 2020, the program was re-named New Music Inc in 2023, when it expanded to Baltimore and Chicago and offered a second iteration in New York. 

Our overall goal is to support and strengthen the new music ecosystem in Los Angeles by addressing its internal challenges and promoting the long-term sustainability of the new music sector, which includes performance groups, ensembles, collectives, record labels, festivals, presenters, venues, and more. 

If you would prefer to read the guidelines in PDF form, click here. 

Who can apply?

We welcome applications from small- budget, artist-led music organizations with an average operating budget of between $10,000 to $500,000 over the last 3 years. We recognize that this encompasses a large budget range. Given the diversity of the Los Angeles music community, this larger budget range will allow for more cross- collaboration and peer-to-peer learning across organizations of different sizes and types. We strongly encourage applications from organizations whose budget falls below $250,000. 

Applicant organizations must be based in Los Angeles County.  All applicants must confirm their ability to fully commit to program activities, during the proposed timeframe of the program (see Summary of Program Activities below). 

Successful applicants will: 

• Have the ability to track and articulate outcomes and contribute strongly to the cohort  
• Be self-motivated and enthusiastic to work with others   
• Demonstrate artistic merit and performance history 
• Have worked with any music creators who are influencing the future of music and sound 
• Demonstrate commitment to relationship building and collaboration with artists, other organizations, and the community 
• Show that they would benefit from hands-on assistance with strategic/ goal planning and networking 
• Have the ability to fully participate in the New Music Inc program (i.e. commit time for participation across 17 months, have key person(s) that can represent the organization, etc.) 
• Be actively in the pursuit of moving their organization to the next level (i.e. funding to pay themselves, solidify organizational structures, build donor/fundraising base, increase reach, etc.).

Deadline/Timelines

The deadline will be July 31, 2025, 11:59 pm PST. Our application portal will open on June 25, 2025. 

Awards will be announced in early September. The program’s convenings will begin in September 2025 and occur roughly every other month through December 2026. Attendance at every session will be required.    

Questions about the application? 

Please register for the following webinar and Q&A events.

• Application webinar: July 9, 2025, view the slides, the Q&A, and the video below. 

• Q&A session from July 23, 2025, view the slides and the Q&A

Summary of Program Activities

With the support from The Music Man Foundation and the Perenchio Foundation, this first Los Angeles iteration of New Music Inc will combine flexible financial support with professional development opportunities for ten Los Angeles-based organizations, who must commit to the program’s activities for the duration of 17 months.  Selected groups will receive: 

• A $10,000 grant for general support aimed to help offset participation in the program (two installments over 17 months) 
• Assistance in developing a strategic plan. You will be guided by the Program Coordinator to set clear goals and objectives.
• Eight cohort learning sessions (3 in-person,5 virtual): a mixture of learning and collaborative sessions to gain knowledge and skills around pertinent topics, to share progress and ideas, and to hear from guest speakers and experts in response to needs expressed by members of the cohort. Cohort learning sessions will begin in September 2025 with one 2-hour meeting running approximately every other month through December 2026. 
• Four 1:1 check ins between participant organizations and the Program Coordinator  
• Dedicated mentorship sessions (4 to 6 sessions) with a Los Angeles-based arts professional  
• Up to $4,000 to be used as a travel exchange to collaborate with peer organizations from alumni New Music Inc cohorts in either Baltimore, Chicago, or New York (this is in addition to the $10,000 grant) 
• Additional opportunities to collaborate and exchange with alumni cohort members based in New York, Chicago, and Baltimore.

Eligibility

New Music Inc does not aim to provide long-term financial support. Instead, this program aims to serve as a catalyst, by supporting collaboration and new ways of working to assist organizations with long term planning and sustainability.   

Eligibility requirements: 

• Must be based and doing work in Los Angeles County 
• Must be an organization and NOT an individual artist 
• Have a minimum of three years of performing, programming, and budget activity at the time of the application
• Have an average annual budget between $10,000 to $500,000 over the past three years. We aim to build a cohort with a diverse range of budget sizes. As such, we strongly encourage applications from organizations whose budget falls below $250,000. 
• Have a dedicated organizational bank account (if awarded)
• Have a commitment to producing, performing, and/or commissioning the work of living, US/territories-based music creators on a regular basis in Los Angeles 
• Have the capacity to participate in the program fully including a dedicated staff, volunteer, and/or Board liaison.

Other considerations: 

• You do not need have a 501(c)3 status
   

Review Criteria

• Artistry 
  • As demonstrated by the quality of the submitted music examples;  
  • Quality and breadth of the organization’s programming, including creators and/or musicians involved
• Impact  
  • History of performing or programming new music in Los Angeles County 
  • Commitment to performing or programming music by living music creators 
  • Role in the applicant’s community/borough/neighborhood 
• Need 
  • The importance of participating in this program at this stage of the organization’s development: why now?  
• Capacity 
  • The applicant’s position to move to the next level through track record of gradually building audiences, growing their profile, and developing their organization 
  • Demonstrated ability to fully participate in the program for the 17 month duration  

Application Materials

Information about your organization  

• Provide a brief history of the organization (organization bio). (Suggested range is between 100 to 500 words).   
• Please provide your organization mission and/or vision statements  and describe the beneficiaries of your work, including creators, artists, audiences, participants, partners, and the broader community. (Suggested range is between 100 and 250 words)

Narrative 

• Written/video/audio narrative outlining the following points (written narrative or up to 5-minute video)  
• Provide highlights of your upcoming programming (virtual and/or in-person) displaying your commitment to new music, the new music program planned, and any artist development opportunities. (Suggested range is between 100 to 400 words or brief video/audio) 
• Describe the three biggest challenges for your organization at this time and explain why. (Suggested range is between 100 to 400 words or brief video/audio) 
• This program includes a grant to be used to build the capacity of your collective/ organization. Please summarize where the organization currently is in development and what you see as the next stage of, or area for growth. (Suggested range is between 100 to 400 words or brief video/audio) 
• What do you hope to accomplish through the program? How will this grant meet the challenges listed above? (Suggested range is between 100 to 400 words or brief video/audio) 
• Why is participation in the program important at this stage in your organization’s development? Why do you need a program like this? (elements include peer cohort learning sessions, collaboration, mentorship opportunities, travel grant, etc.) (Suggested range is between 100 to 400 or brief video/audio) 

Work samples 

• 2 to 3 work samples; demonstrating the work of living creators 
  • Ensembles/collectives: please provide examples of recent performances that feature the work of different music creators 
  • Presenters/venues/other: please provide examples of recent performances of different artists featuring the work of music creators  

Past programming  

• Programming list from your most recent season, highlighting music by living creators. You can provide additional information about past seasons at your discretion (text, file upload, or link). 
• Please feel free to upload any programs, brochures, documents, etc. that represent past programming (past three years only). 

Finances 

• A budget/financial statement for your current financial year 
• A budget/financial statement or audit for your last financial year. This can be an audited statement, a QuickBooks report, 990, or an Excel sheet. 
• When does your fiscal year start and end? 
• Your organization’s budget totals over the last three years. This section requires you to provide a brief numerical response, the income total, and expenses total for each year. 

Organization structure 

• What year did your organization or collective begin? 
• Is your organization a 501c3? 
• If applicable, how many board members does your organization have? 
• How many staff members does your organization have? 
• How many staff members are paid? 
• Briefly describe how your organization makes decisions and divides the organization’s work. (Suggested range is 10 to 250 words)
• If awarded, please describe who will be the primary person responsible for participating in the program activities (as described in Summary of Program Activities in the guidelines) and their role in the organization. (Suggested range is between 3 to 50 words)

Support from the New Music USA Team

For help with your application the following services will be available: 

• Application Webinar: July 9, 2025, view the slides and the Q&A 
• Q&A session from July 23, 2025, view the slides and the Q&A
• If you have a technical issue with the application site, email [email protected] with “Technical Issue” in the subject line.  

Due to the high volume of applications, New Music USA is not able to: 

• Accept applications after the stated deadline of July 31, 2025, at 11:59pm PT. 
• Consider or inform applicants of incomplete or improperly submitted applications. 
• Provide feedback on grant applications. 

Notifications and any communications about your application will be made via email from our application site in early September. Please add [email protected] to your contacts to ensure you receive these communications. 

2023 New Music Inc Program Recipients: Baltimore, Chicago, and NYC

Discover the music and artists previously supported by this program on the 2023 New Music Inc Spotify Playlist  and  YouTube Playlist. Read the full announcement on the 2023 New Music Inc awardees here.

2023 Partners

Prior regional cohorts of New Music Inc were made possible by The New York Community Trust (New York City), the Walder Foundation (Chicago), the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation (Baltimore), and The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation (Baltimore).