FAQs on New Music Creator Fund

“Music creator” refers to any individual composer or artist who creates original music. We consider everyone who is creating original material – songwriters, producers, composers, improvisers – to be music creators. Some music creators may also be performers; some may only create music for other people to perform. Individual performers may apply only if their collaborator is a music creator as outlined. 

See the ‘What the Creator Fund Supports’ section in the guidelines for examples of costs and projects funding from this program can cover.  

For examples of funded projects, please scroll down to the bottom of the Creator Fund program page to see past awardees and descriptions of their projects. 

All of them! You will be asked to list a primary genre and secondary genre on your application.  

We know that genre classifications are imperfect. We use them so that your application can be evaluated by panelists that are most familiar with the kinds of music you create. For example, if you are a jazz artist then we would assign your application to panelists who are jazz artists.  

Please think about who might be best to review your work when you select the primary genre tag; is it someone versed in hip-hop? Classical? Sound art? Etc. 

You may pick as many additional genres as you’d like in the “secondary” genre section.   

No. You may include costs associate with promotion or marketing in your overall budget, but if your project is solely for paying PR/marketing, the project is not eligible.  

At the time of application, your project may be already in progress OR not yet started. However, project activities should be planned, ready to begin, and/or in progress by the time the grant is awarded in late March 2025.  

You cannot apply for a project that will be complete before June 2025 (the public announcement date), or that is already complete. This means that the performance, presentation, or completion of your project should not take place before June 2025. 

Please note that a project beginning years from now won’t be considered as the need won’t be as urgent as others applying to this fund. 

Awardees have up to two years to complete their projects. If awarded, you will be asked to provide updates on your progress and a final report.  

We are most interested in work that is new or in early stages of development.  

That being said, there are instances when projects related to a work you’ve previously completed will be considered. Here are some examples: 

• If you’ve written an album but haven’t yet recorded it, the recording would be eligible for this fund.  
• If you’d like to make a new music video for a song you’ve previously written and recorded, costs related to the music video would be eligible. 
• If you have a previously existing idea, but have not written or recorded it yet, time and space to develop the work would be eligible. 
• If you recorded an album but want to take it to the next level by working with choreographer to create live dance to match the music for a future performance, that would be eligible for the fund. 

In recent years, the Creator Fund has seen an increasing number of applications, meaning that the likelihood of being awarded has been low. By limiting applications to certain US regions each cycle, we are hoping to increase your chances of being awarded and deepen the funding in each region.  

• Applicants based in New York, the West, and the South are eligible to apply in November 2024. Please see the guidelines for a breakdown of the states and territories that are included in each region.  
• Applicants based in New York, the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest will be eligible to apply in November 2025.  

The guidelines list the states and US territory in each region.

Yes, the Creator Fund is open to New York residents every year. The reason for this is that restrictions in our endowment require that we dispense funds to New York-based artists annually. Approximately 44% of our annual funds must be awarded to New York-based artists. Please see the “Funding Transparency” section of the guidelines for further details.  

No. New York applicants may not apply more than once every two years, regardless of whether or not they receive a grant. So if you apply in 2024 (this cycle) you cannot apply again until 2026. If you wait until next year to apply, you cannot apply again until 2027. 

The reason for this is to keep the process as equitable as possible: since other regions cannot apply more than once every two years, we are asking New York residents to adhere to the same guidelines. 

Yes – geographic eligibility depends on creator submitting the application, not the collaborators.  

No. Only artists working and living in the US/US territories are eligible. 

Yes, since you are based in the US you are eligible to apply. You may have collaborators who are not based and working in the US on your project, however please be aware that any funding awarded to the project cannot be used to pay international collaborators. 

If you have received an award from any our New Music USA’s programs that fund individuals in 2023 or 2024, we ask that you do not apply this year, and please wait to apply until the next cycle that your geographic region is eligible. 

No. The New Music Creator Fund offers grants to individual music creators only. Organizations can apply for the New Music Organization Fund in March of 2025. More information will be available in 2025. 

Yes, as long as you are based in one of this year’s regions (West, South, New York).  

Yes, but only one individual from your band can apply, and if awarded, the applicant will be the awardee and receive and manage the funds. 

We ask that applicants have a minimum of 3 years of experience as a professional musician.  

We define professional musicians as those who have received public performances of their work or who regularly perform music publicly. In both cases we would expect professional creators to have received financial compensation for at least some of their work. 

You will be asked to upload your artist resume, which is another way to help us determine where you are in your professional journey as an artist.

All of the eligibility criteria apply to the applicant only. The collaborator(s) can be from anywhere within the US/ US territories and do not have to have 3 years of professional music experience to be a part of the project. However, the artistic quality of their work will factor into the selection criteria. 

No. You may have international collaborators on your project, however please be aware that any funding awarded to the project cannot be used to pay international collaborators.

Yes. Each applicant must have between 1-5 collaborators for their project. You will be required to list your collaborators by name in the application, as well as state their role in the project you are proposing. 

The program supports costs related to the creation of new work and new projects developed in collaboration with other artists and practitioners. 

A collaborator is someone who you work with to bring your project to fruition. They may be another musician, an artist from a different discipline, an ensemble, a venue/presenter, composer, or producer. It’s also important to note that collaborators need not be musicians; they may be artists of other disciplines such as photographers, visual artists, poets, videographers, dancers, etc.  

This fund encourages new collaborations. 

A new collaboration would involve a partnership or joint effort between two or more collaborators that have not previously worked together bringing together distinct skills, resources, or perspectives to develop something new.   

This could involve artists/creators teaming up for the first time to create a new work, develop a project, or launch an initiative and emphasizes the fresh nature of the collaboration and the potential innovation that can come from combining different talents or approaches.  

As long as your project is new, you can work with any collaborators.  

If your project involves an existing collaboration, or collaborators that you have worked with in the past or work with regularly, we’d like to know how this collaboration is building on past successes, evolving, moving in a new direction, or contributing to artistic growth?  

Technically yes, but if a collaborator appears on more than one application, only one project containing that collaborator may be selected for an award.

No. It is free to apply to the Creator Fund and all of New Music USA’s grant programs. 

Applications must be submitted through  https://newmusicusa.smapply.io/

The application is open from October 31, 2024 at 10 am ET/7am PT through  November 14, 2024 at 11:59pm ET/8:59pm PT.  

You must register if you do not already have a login. 

Email submissions will not be reviewed. 

We are a small team and we regret that we are not able to answer the number of application questions we receive. Please read the FAQ as we have found that most questions emailed to us can be answered by the FAQ. Thank you for understanding our need to make this change as our numbers of applications increase. 

Furthermore, reading the FAQ and attending the webinar will strengthen your application because it will help you to better understand the questions, the review criteria, and the review process.  

While you do not need to be on the call in real time, being there  will give you a chance to ask us questions directly.  

We trust you to answer honestly when we ask in the application if you have attended the webinar and read the FAQ.  

If you are not able to attend at the times provided, please know the webinar will be shared on our website after it airs, and you can view it at your leisure.  

Yes. Collaborators can come from any discipline. However the project must be music focused and have an impact on the music creator’s artistic development. 

Lead applicants may only submit one application for one project.  

If the lead applicant appears as a collaborator on other projects submitted by other applicants, only one project containing the applicant will be selected for funding.  

The application consists of sharing your contact and project information, plus the name and role of your collaborator(s). We require for 2-3 work samples, a four-question narrative response (either written or an audio/video upload no longer than 5 minutes), plus a project budget.

Required materials: Narrative   

The application narrative can be completed by  

1. a written response or  
2. a video/audio response (maximum 5 minutes).  

You are not required to submit a video/audio response if you are submitting a written application. Please choose only one of these approaches as our review panel won’t have time to assess both. There is no preferred method so submit whichever you feel most comfortable with.  

Here is a preview of the application questions in the application site. Please note, only applications submitted through the online portal will be considered.

Required materials: Budget  

You will be asked to provide a brief budget breakdown on how you plan to use the funds. The budget section is in a table format where you will provide a few words/ one sentences that describes the cost and then list the amount. 

• Your budget can include individual costs for you and/or your collaborator, funds for performers, equipment, recording, or other fees. Please be descriptive.   
• Please outline any funding received or projected to date for the proposed project.   

Required Materials: Work Samples 

• Please share work samples demonstrating artistic quality for music creator/key collaborator(s)  
• Please include 2 to 3 examples of your recent work; video is preferred. Include at minimum one sample of your own work and feel free to add a sample of your collaborator’s work as well. 
  • You may provide links to YouTube, Vimeo, or upload via mp3/ mp4 (size limit 500MB).  
  • If you are providing links to YouTube or Vimeo please be sure your links are public/unlisted and viewable to the panelists.  
  • The system cannot process YouTube links in this format https://youtu.be/ so please share the longer, non-abbreviated link (i.e. Youtube.com/).  
• If you are providing links to password protected work samples, please make sure that you provide the password in the description of the work or at the end of your narrative, otherwise, the panel will not be able to access your samples.   
• SoundCloud is not supported. 
• Suggested work sample length is up to 5 to 10 minutes each. If you are submitting a longer video, please share suggested viewing times/cue points.   
• The work samples can be an example of the project you are applying for OR a different work sample. Submit what you feel is the most supportive of your application. 

Artist resume  

This is where we ask you to upload your artist resume/ or list of your professional experiences and achievements. 

Your resume is another way to help us determine where you are in your creative work history. This should tell the story of how your career has unfolded so far, even if it’s not traditional. 

We do not have any formatting requirements. If you need to create one, here are some resources below to help.  

• https://www.nyfa.org/blog/how-to-create-an-artist-resume/  
• https://airesume.com/resume-examples/artist 
• https://thepracticalartworld.com/2011/02/12/how-to-write-an-artists-cv-in-10-steps/ 

Notifications will be sent from [email protected]. We recommend adding that email to your sender list to make sure you receive notifications about the award. You can see the status of your application in the online application portal. 

Once you have submitted you should receive a notification that your application was submitted via our application portal, both onscreen and via email. .  

Decisions and internal notifications will be made in the first week of April 2025. Emails will come from our application portal so be sure to look for an email from [email protected]. Please be sure to check your junk/ spam folder in case. 

It takes time to review all these applications with the attention they deserve. We appreciate your patience through the review process. 

Creator Fund awardees will be required to document grant-funded activities, keep records of expenses, and submit documentation and receipts. 

Recipients will be required to submit a final report or update on funded activities by June 2026. 

We ask you to share any content you create or stories that are generated by your project with our communications team. This will be mentioned in your award letter. 

Grantees are required to share information on events associated with your project on our Community Calendar. Our Community Calendar is promoted via a monthly newsletter which highlights yours and others’ events to New Music USA’s 22,000+ newsletter subscribers. We send this newsletter on the first Tuesday of every month. 

Yes, but be aware that, with our new regional cycles everyone (including New York based applicants) are only able to apply once every two years, whether awarded or not. Please see the outlined schedule in the guidelines to know when the next round is that includes your region.  

The best way to ask questions about your application is to attend the required Creator Fund Application Webinar and the Q&A sessions.  

Register for one of our webinars and Q&A sessions  

• Application Webinar: October 23, 2pm ET/11am PT – view below, this is a requirement of the application. 
• Q & A Session 1: October 29, 8pm ET/5pm PT (Video, and PDF of Q&A responses- not required to watch)
• Q & A Session 2: November 7, 7pm ET/4pm PT (video, and PDF of Q&A responses- not required to watch)

All Webinar and Q & A sessions will be recorded and uploaded on the program page. 

Here is a pdf with the responded Q&A, and here is a pdf of the slides.

If you are having technical difficulties with the site, email [email protected] with “Technical Difficulties” in the subject.  

Answers to other frequent technical issues are as follow:  

• My video isn’t loading or I can’t see my video when I preview my application, what happened? What do I do? 
  • If you are uploading video narratives or work samples please prioritize .mp4 videos, using the most up to date software you have, as they will embed more seamlessly. If you are providing links to YouTube or Vimeo please be sure to provide links or make sure your links are public.  The system cannot process YouTube links in this format https://youtu.be/ so please share the longer, non-abbreviated link (i.e. Youtube.com/). If you are providing links to password protected work samples, please make sure that you provide the password in the description of the work or at the end of your narrative, otherwise, the panel will not be able to access your samples.  
• My budget isn’t adding up, what happened?
  • Please use ONLY numbers and decimal points when adding budget numbers.  
  • DO NOT include commas. If you include commas the system will not add your budget correctly.