Applications for projects with application amounts between 3,001 and max. 50,000 euros can be submitted by three fixed deadlines per year.

Eligible expenses within the scope of project funding are in particular

• Artistic fees of an appropriate amount (minimum fee per concert 300 euros)
• Other project-related personnel costs
• Event and production costs
• Travel and accommodation costs in accordance with the Federal Travel Expenses Act (BRKG)

Funding generally requires co-financing of at least 10% of the total eligible expenditure. Co-financing may include 

• Complementary funds from other public funding bodies (e.g. federal states, municipalities)
• Own funds (exclusively cash)
• earmarked grants from third parties (public bodies, foundations, sponsoring, donations)
• Ticket sales and participation fees

In the case of funding, proof of the co-financing share must be provided at the latest when the contract is drawn up.

Projects that receive funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) or from an organisation permanently funded by the BKM cannot receive additional funding from the Music Fund (e.g. Federal Cultural Foundation, Capital Cultural Fund, German Music Council, Initiative Musik, Performing Arts Fund, Sociocultural Fund, etc.).

The following event formats are not eligible for funding:

• charity events
• purely audio or video productions
• Educational trips and trips abroad
• Projects that do not take place within Germany
• Applications from musicians or applicants not based in Germany
• Purely educational projects, university projects
• competitions

Acquisitions (e.g. instruments or electronic equipment) are generally not eligible for funding.

Applications must be submitted online only. There is no entitlement to funding. The decisions of the Board of Trustees will be announced approximately two months after the respective deadline.

Since 2024, the small project funding programme focusses on projects in rural areas and structurally weak regions. From 2026 onwards, this program will also support the implementation of projects in public spaces.

The last submission deadline in 2025 is August 29, 2025 for projects taking place in the months of October 2025 to March 2026.

For projects whose total costs do not exceed 10,000 euros, applications can be submitted with a maximum funding amount of 3,000 euros.      
Depending on the planned start of the project, these applications can be submitted at short notice for three planned deadlines in 2025.

The Managing Director of the Musikfonds decides on the funding of these applications together with a representative of the Board of Trustees.
A maximum of 50 applications of 3,000 euros each can be approved per year.

Eligible expenses within the scope of project funding are in particular

• Artistic fees of an appropriate amount (minimum fee per concert 300 euros)
• Other project-related personnel costs
• Event and production costs
• Travel and accommodation costs in accordance with the Federal Travel Expenses Act (BRKG)

Funding generally requires co-financing of at least 10% of the total eligible expenditure. Co-financing may include 

• Complementary funds from other public funding bodies (e.g. federal states, municipalities)
• Own funds (exclusively cash)
• earmarked grants from third parties (public bodies, foundations, sponsoring, donations)
• Ticket sales and participation fees

In the case of funding, proof of the co-financing share must be provided at the latest when the contract is drawn up.

Projects that receive funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) or from an organisation permanently funded by the BKM cannot receive additional funding from the Music Fund (e.g. Federal Cultural Foundation, Capital Cultural Fund, German Music Council, Initiative Musik, Performing Arts Fund, Socio-Cultural Fund, etc.).

The following event formats are not eligible for funding:

• charity events
• purely audio or video productions
• Educational trips and trips abroad
• Projects that do not take place within Germany
• Applications from musicians or applicants not based in Germany
• Purely educational projects, university projects
• competitions

Acquisitions (e.g. instruments or electronic equipment) are generally not eligible for funding.

Applications must be submitted online only. There is no entitlement to funding. Decisions will be announced approximately two to three weeks after the respective deadline.

Outer Ear focuses on projects that break new ground in addressing and engaging audiences. The aim is to promote participatory projects that focus not on the finished work, but on the process of its creation. Experimentation, openness, incompleteness, and shared experience are deliberately made visible and audible in order to create new approaches to contemporary music and enable participation and temporary communities. 
The projects are primarily aimed at people who have had little exposure to experimental music formats to date. The goal is to encourage openness to new and different things and to enable shared aesthetic experiences that are both challenging and connecting.

Infocalls: 20.03.2026, 11:00 - 26.03.2026, 16:00, invite link to follow

Applications can be submitted from April 1, 2026, to April 30, 2026 (6 p.m. CET).

The Artificial Intelligence Scholarship Programme (STIP-5) was announced for a second time in 2025. The framework conditions have not changed compared to the previous year. The program continues to be aimed at musicians in Germany who are involved in AI-based composition. The largely uncontrollable spread of “corporate AI” is to be countered by individual artistic positions that reflect the far-reaching social consequences of AI technology.

A total of 15 scholarships will be awarded by a jury of experts. The scholarship period runs from January to December 2026.

The FEB-4 funding programme is aimed at professional independent ensembles and bands in Germany that contribute to the diversity and artistic quality of the experimental music scene. Among other things, the aim is to support ensembles and bands in professionalising their management, developing new artistic models and promoting their musical formats. Funding is provided for long-term projects that are presented nationwide and include innovative collaborations and sustainable forms of ensemble and band work.

Professional ensembles with at least five members that have been based in Germany since January 2022 are eligible to apply. Funding amounts to up to €50,000 per year for a maximum of two years. An independent jury has decided on the award on 1 October 2024.

The STIP-4 scholarship programme is aimed at established composers in Germany who are involved in AI-based music production. The aim is to explore the potential of AI as a tool for inspiration and for creating unknown soundscapes, and to develop innovative compositional strategies for working with AI.

The scholarship is awarded for twelve months and also includes a residency phase of the recipient's choice. Scholarship recipients must demonstrate experience in the field of technology/new media. An independent jury of experts decided on the awarding of the scholarships on 1 October 2024. 

In March, the special programme muh[sic] was announced for 2023 to promote current music projects in rural regions of Germany. 
In a two-stage selection process, 40 projects were selected from 203 applications to be implemented by the end of the year.

Funding was awarded to projects with experimental, contemporary and non-commercial objectives in line with the Musikfonds' funding principles. The muh[sic] special programme aims to strengthen the production, presentation, communication and reception of contemporary music formats in rural regions.

Funding amounts between €15,000 and a maximum of €25,000 per project were approved. As a rule, funding required a contribution of at least 25 per cent of the total eligible expenditure.

At the end of the special programme muh[sic], the Music Fund is publishing a video report and a final brochure (see sidebar) documenting the project and providing an insight into the diversity of current music production in rural areas.

The grants gave professional freelance artists in the current music scene the opportunity to implement new work projects. These could include, for example, composition projects, the development of concepts and/or alternative or digital formats, or the further development of individual sound languages.
The grants rewarded outstanding artistic achievements that contribute to the preservation of musical diversity. They gave artists the opportunity to continue their artistic development and remain active in their profession despite severely limited career prospects.

The last round of the special scholarship programme (STIP-III) expired at the end of May 2023. In three funding rounds, almost 3,300 scholarships were awarded, with a total volume of approximately €22.5 million.

The scholarship-like funding for ensembles and bands (FEB) was aimed at professional groups from the independent experimental music scene. 
The severe restrictions on concert performances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic put ensembles and bands to the test, from which they have not yet been able to fully recover. 
The aim of the scholarship-like funding was to enable collective musical and creative work on new projects, thereby securing the joint artistic future of the ensembles and bands.

The last round of scholarship-like special funding (FEB-III) expired at the end of April 2023. In three funding rounds, over 900 grants were awarded, with a total volume of approximately €12.4 million.