Iceland Music Fund – Music Fund overview (grant types + ISK ranges)

Iceland's Music Fund is really five schemes under one roof, and which one you want depends on what stage you are at. Music grants cover composing, recording, releasing and the marketing attached to a release, at 500,000–3,000,000 ISK. Performance grants pay for domestic concerts and tours and go directly to musicians or their representatives, at 250,000–3,000,000 ISK. Business grants back festivals, venues and companies that serve musicians, at 500,000–3,000,000 ISK. Marketing grants, up to 2,000,000 ISK, are for acts already export-ready and working with credible partners abroad. Travel grants are smaller and simpler: a flat 75,000 ISK within Europe or 100,000 ISK beyond it, for tours, showcases, trade missions, or a composer attending a premiere of their work.

Performance and business applicants can also ask for a two- or three-year contract at 1,000,000–6,000,000 ISK a year, with a detailed first-year budget and a longer one attached; if the committee says no to the long contract it still considers you for a single project grant.

The scoring is published. Forty per cent goes on the project itself — whether it is well defined, interesting and adds to the diversity of Icelandic music. Twenty per cent goes on you and your collaborators. The remaining forty per cent is budget, marketing plan and timeline, which is where thin applications usually lose. Long-term contracts also look at whether you have a sustainability policy covering equality, diversity and environment.

Travel grants have deadlines every other month, including 1 October; the main grant rounds open separately. Nothing is considered if you owe a report on a grant from 2022 onwards.