Musicboard Berlin — Support Tour Funding

This is money for one specific situation: you have been offered a support slot on a bigger act's tour and cannot afford to take it. Musicboard Berlin covers the costs of going out as opening act — travel, accommodation, meals, equipment hire, and fees for people like a sound engineer or tour manager. It deliberately does not pay your own artist fee. The purpose is to close the gap between what a tour costs and what a young band can absorb.

You need to live and work in Berlin; for a band, that means most of the members do. Nationality is irrelevant to the decision, though non-EU applicants must supply a passport showing residence and work permit alongside the Berlin registration certificate. The tour has to be booked already and confirmed in writing by the headliner, run to at least three consecutive concerts outside Berlin, and be built around a single headlining act rather than a string of different ones. Bands on major labels are generally excluded, as is anyone already funded in the same calendar year.

The ceiling is €3,500 per tour, paid against itemised costs rather than as a lump sum; no match funding is required. Applications are made through an online tool in German or English, reviewed on a rolling basis until 30 November 2026, and must arrive at least three weeks before the tour begins. A jury of Berlin pop-scene professionals decides, usually within about three weeks.