Music Individual Project Funding

Alberta's provincial arts funder pays for one defined phase of a music project rather than ongoing activity. Four categories are open: art production (composition and commissioned work, demo recordings not intended for sale, commercial recordings including pre-production and song development), marketing (promoting a release, promotional tours, costs of performing at invited special events), research, and training or career development (workshops, masterclasses, mentorships, courses in performance, recording arts or composition).

You must be a resident of Alberta — a citizen, permanent resident or protected person who has lived in the province for at least a full year and normally spends six months a year there — and not incorporated. Bands, ensembles and collectives can apply if every project co-owner meets the same test; one person applies as lead and carries the money and the reporting.

The ceiling is CAD $18,000 and you may request up to 100% of eligible costs. Those include session musician and commission fees, production, royalties, promotion, tuition, travel and accommodation, and basic living expenses of up to $3,000 a month. Manufacturing, artist and producer fees for principal ensemble members, studio rental where you own the studio, and anything already spent before you applied are not eligible.

Applications go through the GATE Front Office portal; first-time users must request a login at least five working days ahead. You submit a resume, a detailed project description and two musical selections of up to five minutes each. An expert panel weighs the project's impact on you and on the genre in Alberta, its artistic merit, the realism of the budget, and your ability to deliver it. Decisions take four to six months.