New Music Creator Fund: Overview and Guidelines  

About 

The New Music Creator Fund offers grants to individual music creators working in any genre who need support to reach the next stage of their creative practice. The program supports costs related to the creation of new work and new projects developed in collaboration with other artists and practitioners. Individual performers may also apply if their collaborator is a music creator. 

Our Definition of Music Creator 

For us, the term ‘music creator’ refers to any individual composer or artist who creates original music. Some music creators may also be performers; some may only create music for other people to perform. All these individuals are eligible to submit applications to this fund.  

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!  

Timeline 

Our application portal will open on October 31, 2024 at 10 am ET/7am PT and will remain open for two weeks, closing on November 14, 2024 at 11:59pm ET/8:59pm PT.   

Decisions and internal notifications will be made by the end of March 2025, and the public announcement will be made in June 2025. 

Registration Links for the Application Webinar and Q&A Sessions: 

Application Webinar – October 23 at 2pm ET/11am PT- Register HERE 
Q&A: October 29, 8pm ET/5pm PT – Register HERE 
Q&A: November 7, 7pm ET/4pm PT – Register HERE 

 
Program Approach and Changes for 2025 

This year, we have made major changes to the New Music Creator Fund to: 

• Increase the percentage of applicants per US region receiving support. 
• Streamline the application evaluation process. 
• Reduce wait times from application submission to decision notification and award.  

These changes encompass three areas of the program: 

1. Application Cycles based on Geographic Regions

Beginning this year, we will offer regional application cycles based on the 4 main geographic regions outlined by the US Census Bureau: the West, Midwest, South, and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic 

The next two application cycles will be broken down regionally as follows: 

November 2024 deadline: open to applicants based in the West, South, and New York 

November 2025 deadline: open to applicants based in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and New York 

Applications from New York will be accepted every year in respect of our endowment allocation for New York-based artists. In line with our regional cycles, New York applicants may not apply more than once every two years.   

Geographic Regions: State/Territory Breakdown 

South - eligible to apply in November 2024 (application open October 31- November 14, 2024) 
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, US Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia 

West - eligible to apply in November 2024 (application open October 31- November 14, 2024) 
Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Mariana Islands, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming 

Midwest – eligible to apply in November 2025 
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic – eligible to apply in November 2025 
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont 

New York – offered every year, but applicants may not apply more than once every two years. 
In other words, if you apply to the Creator Fund in November 2024, you cannot apply again until November 2026, regardless of whether you received a grant or not. If you are a New York applicant and wait until November 2025 to apply, you would be eligible to apply again in November 2027. 

2. Eligibility 

We have made changes to our eligibility criteria to improve our assessment process. Applicants must complete an eligibility quiz before accessing the application. We ask that you pay close attention to the following changes before reading the complete criteria below: 

• All applicants will now be required to watch (live or by viewing on demand) the Creator Fund Application Webinar, which will take place on  Wednesday, October 23 from 2-3pm ET / 11am-12pm PT. The webinar will be made available on the program page for those who cannot attend in real time. Reporting your attendance/viewing will be based on the honor system – thank you in advance for your cooperation!     
• All applicants must read the Creator Fund FAQs  
• As stated above, to maintain alignment with the new regional cycles and to ensure equitable access for applicants from different geographic regions, all Creator Fund applicants (including those in New York) can only apply to the program every 2 years.   

Other Eligibility Criteria 

Age/Career Stage 

• Students are not eligible for the New Music Creator Fund. Applicants cannot be enrolled in a degree granting program or other educational institution (including ABD PhD/DMA candidates).  
• Applicants must be at least 21 years of age. 
• Applicants must 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 you to have received financial compensation for at least some of your work.  

 Geography 

• For this year’s cycle, the applicant must be a music creator based in New York State or one of the Western or Southern states/territories listed above. 
  • New York State awardees/applicants can only apply to the Creator Fund every 2 years to maintain alignment with the regional application cycles. In other words, if you apply to the Creator Fund in November 2024, you cannot apply again until November 2026, regardless of whether you received a grant or not. If you are a New York applicant and wait until November 2025 to apply, you would be eligible to apply again in November 2027. 

Collaboration 

• The New Music Creator Fund encourages new collaborations. Each applicant must list between 1-5 collaborators on their application. 
• A collaborator may be another musician, an artist from a different discipline, ensemble, a venue/presenter, or a producer; someone who you work with to bring your project to fruition. 
• Collaboration could focus on e.g. the creation of new work, the research and development (R&D) time you need with your artistic collaborators, a recording, and/or a live or virtual performance of some kind. See the "What the Creator Fund Supports” section below for a complete list of what the program supports.  

Applicant/Collaborators 

• The New Music Creator Fund is for individuals only; organizations cannot apply. 
• Each applicant may only submit one application.   
  • If an applicant appears on another application as a collaborator, only one project containing the applicant may be selected for an award.  
  • If a collaborator appears on more than one application, only one project containing the collaborator may be selected for an award.  
• Applicants may not have received an award from any of New Music USA’s programs that fund individuals in 2023 or 2024. 

Applicant Projects 

• The Fund only supports new work; projects involving revisions or arrangements are not eligible. 
• Projects that have already been publicly presented, either in part or whole, are not eligible. 
• Performance, presentation, or completion of project should not take place before June 2025. 
• Requests solely for promotion/marketing/PR are not eligible.  

Other Essential Requirements 

• Applicants must have audio/video samples of their work. 
• Applicants must include a resume/CV with their application materials.  

3. Our Application Review Process  

Our review process will be shortened to reduce waiting times from application to award.   

New Music USA staff will first screen applications for completeness and to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria. Then, the applications will enter a peer review process: 40-50 independent panelists from around the country will evaluate the applications and determine the awardees. Every application will be assessed by at least 3 panelists.   

Applications will be evaluated based on artistry, impact, need, and collaboration, outlined below. 

Review Criteria

Artistry - artistic merit of the project and artist(s) involved based on submitted work samples/existing body of work. This includes projects that display originality and artistry that will shape the future of music creation and sound and/or projects that involve artistic growth and innovation. Please be sure to submit the very best examples of your music. 

Impact – the difference this project will make to the next steps of your and other participants’ careers as a professional artist. We are interested in projects with the most potential to have a significant impact on creative practice; how this project will help provide a breakthrough or help you advance in your career.  

Need – how you want to use the money and the urgency of support right now, including projects that do not already have funding or have limited funding and why your project needs funding now.  

Collaboration – strength of the collaboration proposed including whether the project involves new or existing collaboration.  

PLEASE SEE THE CREATOR FUND FAQs FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE REVIEW PROCESS AND CRITERIA. 
 

What the Creator Fund Supports 

We are open to hearing from you about the support you need to initiate or sustain collaboration with other artists and to help you keep creating. 

We envision that costs incurred through your collaborative work may include:  

• Support for the time you need to create new material and initiate new collaborations with your proposed artist(s)  
• Creation fees for a new idea or work in progress that does not have additional support 
• Performer or other collaborator fees  
• Project specific equipment  
• Recording costs  
• PR/marketing 
• Technical assistance/skills building  
• Support for digital presentation/creation of music videos 
• Workshopping  
• Joint R&D (research and development) into new project ideas  
• Other costs you consider to be essential e.g., childcare for yourself or a collaborating artist 

The Creator Fund Does Not Support:   

• Benefits or fundraisers  
• Competition fees  
• Projects that are already 100% funded  
• Projects that have already been completed  
• Funds for international collaborators   
• Individuals who are enrolled in a degree-granting program. This includes ABD candidates for doctoral programs (PhD and DMA). 

Applications must be led by music creators and can involve creative collaborators from any discipline.  

Number of Awards We Can Make 

We plan to make a total of 50 to 60 awards of up to $5,000 each with funding from New Music USA’s endowment and annual funders. The average grant is $3,000. 

New York  
This strand is open to artists who live in New York state only. Approximately 40 to 45% of our funding for individual creators will be allotted and we anticipate awarding roughly 24 to 25 artists in this strand.   

This Cycle’s Regions: South and West 
Approximately 55 to 60% of our total funding for individual creators will be allotted to artists from the South and West. We anticipate awarding roughly 33 to 36 artists in this strand.   

Funding Transparency  

The New Music Creator Fund and the New Music Organization Fund are endowed programs that are made possible by the generous funders who either donated to our endowment or generously donate to New Music USA annually. Some of these funders had or have specific requests regarding the kinds of work we support because of their geographical location or specific area of interest. We are providing the facts and figures below so that all applicants have a better insight into these allocations, which influence the applications our advisors select. Please note that applications may cover a number of the categories listed below; others may not fit with any.  

• Roughly 25% of the Creator and Organization Fund applications we award must include the creation of new work (e.g. commissions and facilitation of brand-new pieces of music)  
• Roughly 25% of the Organization Fund applications we award must include creation or programming of live music for dance (creation, performance, choreographer, and dancer fees)  
• Geographical restrictions are as follows:  
  • 54% of our grants budget is available without geographical restriction   
  • 37% is restricted to New York City based artists/organizations  
  • 7% is restricted to New York State based artists/organizations  
  • 2% is restricted to California Bay Area based artists/organizations  

Equity and Inclusion  

New Music USA is committed to inclusive and equitable treatment across all our activities. We serve a diverse community of applicants and grantees and we welcome the unique contributions that all artists bring in terms of their education, opinions, religion, culture, music style, ethnicity, race, gender, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, dis/ability, sexual orientation, languages spoken, religious beliefs, and geography. We encourage applications from all people including Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQIA+ artists, and artists with dis/abilities.  

Application Questions/Requirements  

You can view a sample application and preview the questions in this PDF. 

Work Samples   

Project Samples demonstrating artistic quality for music creator/key collaborator(s)  

• 2 to 3 work samples demonstrating recent work by you and your collaborating artists. 
• You may provide links to YouTube, Vimeo, or upload mp3/mp4 files.  

Narrative   

You can complete this section by submitting a written response OR by uploading a video or audio file (maximum 5 minutes). Please choose only one of these approaches as our review panel won't have time to assess both. To move forward in the review process, you MUST answer the following four questions in your narrative:    

Question 1: Please tell us about your proposed project and collaboration (250 words or less).   

Some questions you might consider in your response:  

• Tell us about your project.  
• Who you’re proposing to collaborate with and why?  
• Is this a new collaboration? If an existing one how is this moving in a new direction or contributing to artistic growth?  
• Would this collaboration happen without support from New Music USA?   

Question 2: Tell us about the IMPACT this project will have and the difference this project will make in advancing yours and other participants’ careers. (100 words or less)  

Some questions you might consider in your response:  

• How will this project advance or help you move forward to the next stage of your creative practice?   
• What will happen once the project is completed? 
• How will this work impact or contribute to your community (e.g., your community of artists, the community you are in, your audience, etc. )? 

Question 3: Please outline the NEED for support, how you want to use the money, and the urgency of support right now. (100 words or less)  

Some questions you might consider in your response:  

• How would you use the money you are applying for?   
• Why do you need our support and why is this important right now?   
• Does the project already have support? If so, why is funding from New Music USA crucial at this time?   

 Question 4: When will you do this work (please include any relevant dates)?  (100 words or less)  

Budget Breakdown 

• Please outline how you plan to use the funds, as well as any funding received or projected to date for the proposed project. Please share short descriptions with each budget line.  
• Your budget can include: 
  • Support for the time you need to create new material and initiate new collaborations with your proposed artist(s)  
  • Creation fees for a new idea or work in progress that does not have additional support. 
  • Performer or other collaborator fees  
  • Project specific equipment  
  • Recording costs  
  • PR/marketing  
  • Technical assistance/skills building.   
  • Support for digital presentation/creation of music videos  
  • Workshopping   
  • Joint R&D (research and development) into new project ideas   
  • Other costs you consider to be essential e.g., childcare for yourself or a collaborating artist. 

Support from New Music USA’s Team   

• Due to the high volume of applications, New Music USA is only able to provide email assistance for technical issues with the application site. For help with your application the following services will be available: 
  • Application Webinar – October 23 at 2pm ET/11am PT- Register HERE 
    • It is required to attend or watch this webinar on demand in order to apply  
  • Q&A: October 29, 8pm ET/5pm PT – Register HERE  (optional, not required) 
  • Q&A: November 7, 7pm ET/4pm PT – Register HERE (optional, not required) 
  • All Webinar and Q & A sessions will be recorded and uploaded to this page
  • Creator Fund FAQs provide answers to most questions.  
  • If you have a technical issue with the application site, email grants@newmusicusa.org 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 November 14, 2024 at 11:59pm ET. 
  • Consider or inform applicants of incomplete or improperly submitted applications. 
  • Provide feedback. 
• Notifications and any communications about your application will be made via email from our application site. Please add noreply@mail.smapply.net to your address book to ensure you receive these communications. 
• If awarded: 
  • You will be required to document grant-funded activities, keep records of expenses, and submit documentation and receipts. 
  • You will be required to submit a final report or update on funded activities by June 2026. 

For further questions and information, please read the FAQs HERE.