New Music USA

OVERVIEW: New Music USA was founded through the merger of the American Music Center and Meet The Composer, two organizations that have long supported the music community. It provides over $1 million each year in grants, through their three programs, for the creation and performance of new musical work and community building throughout the country.

IP TAKE: New Music USA is fairly unrestrictive and open about what music projects it considers. It prioritizes modest projects, so small-scale organizations and groups could have a lot of luck here. Funded projects change frequently, so grantseekers will want to keep an eye on the website.

PROFILE: Established in 2011, New Music USA was created through the merger of the American Music Center and Meet The Composer. It seeks to “support and promote new music created in the United States” by “fostering connections, deepening knowledge, encouraging appreciation, and providing financial support.” It supports the music community through several different programs for both groups and individual artists. It currently hosts several programs designed to assist with recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Grants for Music

Project Grants are available to a wide range of music projects, including the creation of new musical work, new live music for dance, recording costs for a project, or residency and community outreach activities. Essentially any activity that involves getting new music out to the world through a live performance or a recording will be considered. This can include the creation of new musical work, new live music for dance, recording costs, and residency and community outreach activities. New Music USA very much favors projects that involve living composers, and recent music and give special consideration to requests of under $3,000.

New Music Creator Development Fund makes grants to help music creators overcome challenges imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. It supports creative costs, “which relate to collaboration with other artists and practitioners following the social isolation we’ve all experienced over the past [several] years.” It accepts applications from individual performers; however their collaborator must also be a music creator. Grantseekers should check the program’s guidelines and FAQ pages before applying.

Reel Change Film Fund offers $20,000 grants over five years coupled with a mentorship program for composers from under-represented groups working in film composition. New Music USA awards four to six of these grants annually. Apply here.

New Music Capacity Building Program awards $10,000 over two years to “small sized groups committed to presenting, performing, or promoting new music by living music creators on a regular basis.” Working with New Music USA staff and industry experts, funded organizations will receive both financial support and professional development opportunities, focused on audience development, fundraising, digital marketing and presentation, equity and inclusion, peer collaboration, and scenario planning. Selected groups must be based in New York City.

The Amplifying Voices program works to increase racial and gender equity in classical music. It focuses on supporting and promoting “under-represented composers,” creating “space for their contributions to artistic-planning at major national orchestras,” and making “major strides toward transforming the classical canon for future generations.” This is not a grantmaking program; instead it is a consortium of orchestras.

Similarly, Next Jazz Legacy is a three-year apprenticeship program that supports women and non-binary jazz musicians with personalized apprenticeships and financial support. Its focus is the “intersection of gender and race.” While the program is new and it is unclear what that financial support looks like, applicants face “an open call process and a meticulous, months-long review process by a distinguished and diverse panel of jazz trailblazers.”

Discontinued programs include Music Alive, NYC Impact Fund, and Organizational Development Fund. While these programs have been retired, their program pages are still featured on New Music USA’s website, so it is possible they may be reactivated again somewhere down the line.

Important Grant Details

The best way to keep up with ongoing deadlines and newly announced ones, as well as updates from New Music USA's grantmaking team is to join their mailing list. Grantseekers should also check out the searchable database of past grantees to get an idea of the types of projects it typically funds.

PEOPLE:

Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).

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