Funding for musicians: music grants in Canada
Earning money as a musician can be tough, and there are more challenges now than ever. To get a music project off the ground, you’ll need to be creative in looking for ways to fund your music.
If you’re a Canadian musician, one way to find funding is through the extensive network of grant programs that provide financial assistance for music projects.
What are music grants?
Music grants in Canada are funds usually awarded by municipal, provincial, or federal governments. They’re given out as a way to help musicians compose, record, promote, and perform their music.
Many grants are aimed at emerging artists. But there are also programs that exist to further support the careers of established bands, as well as to help record labels develop their roster of artists.
As you can imagine, the application process for getting a music grant in Canada is rigorous, and can be very competitive. Be sure to plan ahead and give yourself lots of time to go through the application and prepare any required materials.
While you might not receive the first grant that you apply for, the application process itself will help you clarify and plan out your music career goals. Some organizations will also provide feedback on why your application wasn’t successful, which can help you for the next time you apply for funding.
Below is a comprehensive list of music grants offered in Canada, starting with federal grant programs. We hope this helps you find some funding for your next project!
National Canadian music grants
Canada Council for the Arts
Explore and Create: This grant is open to all artistic disciplines, including music. It supports the research, development, creation, and production of work, as well as professional development for artists.
Arts Across Canada: This grant is designed to support artistic relationships across Canada. One of the goals of the grant is to help artists showcase their work through touring.
Arts Abroad: The Arts Abroad grant is designed to help bring Canadian arts and culture to an international audience. It provides funding and opportunities for artists to travel and share their work with the world.
Canadian Starmaker Fund
This private fund supports the marketing and touring initiatives of Canadian artists both within Canada and abroad. It’s designed to help emerging Canadian artists that have a proven track record of music sales.
FACTOR
Artist Development: This grant offers a small development subsidy for emerging artists, to help with recording, touring, showcasing, video production, and marketing.
Juried Sound Recording, Single/EP: This industry-juried grant is awarded to musicians creating new recordings for a single and/or EP format — specifically, five songs or less and under 20 minutes of recorded music.
Juried Sound Recording, Album: With special funding awarded by a music-industry panel of judges, this grant is designed to help musicians record and promote original full-length albums.
Live Performance: A grant designed to support artists with touring and showcasing their music in Canada and internationally.
Video: A grant that helps Canadian musicians produce music videos.
SOCAN Foundation
Note: These grants are only available to SOCAN members.
Travel Assistance Program: This grant is designed to help musicians and music industry professionals tour, showcase work, attend award ceremonies, and conduct other music-related travel business.
Professional Development Assistance Program: A grant to help with music career development that provides funding for conferences, seminars, workshops, and courses.
Work Commissioning Assistance Grant: This grant helps Canadian musicians create new musical works in the genre of concert/classical music.
Provincial Canadian music grants
Alberta music grants
Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Music Individual Project Funding: A grant that provides funding for specific music projects.
Queen's Platinum Jubilee Scholarship for Performing Arts: Funding awarded to a young Albertan performing artist who demonstrates clear educational or training goals.
British Columbia music grants
Arts Circulation and Touring: Grant funding for artists based in British Columbia to support touring both within British Columbia and outside of the province..
Individual Arts Grants, Professional Performing Artists: A grant supporting initiatives for the development, creation, production and/or live performance of classical, experimental, original, traditional, and contemporary music.
Music BC Travel Grants: Funding for musicians based in British Columbia who travel to showcase or perform their original music.
Manitoba music grants
Produce Program: Grant money designed to support commercially viable music recording products made in the Manitoban music recording industry.
Produce – Out-Of-Province Artists Program: A grant designed to encourage those not from Manitoba to travel there for music industry purposes.
Promote Program: Funds designed to market and promote a completed music recording project.
Perform Program: This grant helps Manitoban artists with performing outside of their hometown.
Create: Grant to help emerging and established artists create new work or develop works in progress.
Share: Grant funding geared towards helping Manitoban artists with touring.
New Brunswick music grants
Career Development: Funding and opportunities aimed at developing artistic talent in New Brunswick.
Creation: Grant funding awarded to NB-based artists to conduct work or research on an original creative project.
Arts Infrastructure Grants for New and Emerging Artists: Funding aimed at helping NB creatives purchase equipment for their creative work.
Newfoundland and Labrador music grants
Professional Project Grants Program: Grant funding available to help artists and creative groups work, travel, collaborate, and perform.
Professional Artists Travel Fund: This grant supports travel costs for artists who have been invited to take part in unexpected activities that will enhance their careers.
Professional Development: Grant funding designed to help musicians develop their careers and perform outside of the province.
Artist Development: This grant helps to fund everything from demos to full-length albums, pre-production and songwriting trips, as well as marketing materials and promotional efforts.
Touring: A grant designed to help NL artists tour in-province, nationally, and internationally.
Northwest Territories music grants
Government of the Northwest Territories
Artist to Market Program: Offers grants for NWT artists to showcase their talents and sell their work outside of the Northwest Territories
Arts Project Grant, Medium / Small: Supporting emerging, mid-career, and established NTW-based artists with funding for small- and medium-scale arts projects and events.
Nova Scotia music grants
Music Nova Scotia Investment Program: Grants to help NS-based artists tour, record, market, and showcase their work for one year.
Nunavut music grants
Community Tourism and Cultural Industries Program: Grants to help artists with recording, innovation, purchasing raw materials, developing marketing strategies, artistic residences, mentoring, and touring for projects that support the promotion, protection, and preservation of Nunavut’s culture and heritage, official languages, and activities that support elders and youth.
Makigiaqta provides individuals enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement (whether they live inside or outside of Nunavut), to support mentorship, internships, and other training support.
Ontario music grants
Music Creation Projects: Money to assist Ontario-based artists at all career stages, working in all music genres, to create original musical works.
Music Production and Presentation Projects: This grant funds Ontario-based artists, groups, and collectives who present original music.
Music Annual Operating: A grant that supports musicians and organizations that contribute to Toronto’s culture.
Music Creation and Audio Recording: A grant providing financial assistance to artists for the writing and production of original music.
Prince Edward Island music grants
Golden Ticket Program: A grant designed to help develop musicians (solo or band) living and working in Prince Edward Island.
Takin' Care of Business Program: A grant program aimed at helping PEI musicians with the business aspects of their careers.
Quebec music grants
Touring Program: Provides support to Montreal-based artists who wish to reach new audiences throughout the Island of Montréal.
Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
Creation: Assistance for music projects to help develop an artistic practice.
Professional Development: A grant aimed at helping to further develop artistic professional careers through training, seminars, and conferences.
Travel: This grant helps fund artists who tour to showcase their work.
Musicaction (Francophone artists only)
Production d’un album: Provides financial assistance to create an album.
Production et promotion de titres: A grant providing funding for artists to record and promote up to four tracks.
Soutien à l'émergence: This program helps emerging musicians to develop their career in the music industry.
Commercialisation nationale: Grant funding aimed at helping musicians from Quebec market their work across Canada.
Commercialisation internationale: This grant helps Quebec-based artists market their music internationally.
Saskatchewan music grants
Sound Recording Grant: Funding for sound recordings by Saskatchewan-based artists, including singles, EPs, and full-length albums.
Tour Support Grant: Aimed at helping artists and bands perform for new audiences nationally and internationally.
Micro-Grant Program: Small grants aimed at helping artists with emergent needs.
Independent Artists Program: Grant funding available to help artists pursue their creative work.
Yukon music grants
Performing Musicians Fund: This program supports activities that help Yukon musicians build sustainable careers in the music industry.
Touring Artist Fund: Grant money aimed at helping Yukon-based artists tour outside the Yukon.
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