Tónlistarsjóðir – Music Fund

Iceland's Music Fund is the country's main public source of music money, administered by Iceland Music for the Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education. It runs four departments and five grants, so the first task is picking the right one. The published material sets no explicit residency test, but the fund's remit under the Music Act is Icelandic music and the people making it.

Music Grants cover composing, recording, releasing and promoting music, at 500,000–3,000,000 ISK. Performance Grants cover domestic concerts and tours and the marketing around them, paid directly to musicians or their representatives, at 250,000–3,000,000 ISK. Business Grants back festivals, venues, concert series and music start-ups, also 500,000–3,000,000 ISK. Marketing Grants, 500,000–2,000,000 ISK, are for building attention abroad and expect an export-ready project with credible foreign partners. Travel Grants are flat: 75,000 ISK within Europe, 100,000 ISK beyond. Under Performance and Business you can also apply for a two- or three-year contract worth 1,000,000–6,000,000 ISK a year.

The four main grants have two deadlines a year, in May and November, submitted through the Rannís application portal; travel grants run on their own two-monthly cycle via the Iceland Music website. Funded projects must normally begin within 18 months. The fund will not pay the running costs of organisations that already receive regular operating support, or anything that has already happened, and an unsubmitted report from a project funded in 2022 or later blocks any new application.

The scoring is published: 40% for the project itself — well defined, interesting, adding to the diversity of Icelandic music — 20% for the applicant and collaborators, and 40% for the budget, marketing plan and timeline together. Half the marks sit in the paperwork most people leave until last.