Support Tour Funding

1 Purpose of Funding

Musicboard’s Support Tour Funding programme supports up-and-coming Berlin pop musicians in their plans to go on national or international tour with a more established musical act. To be on tour with a headlining act for a longer period, generally exceeds the financial budget of younger bands. This is where the Support Tour Funding comes in, enabling the support act to expand their audience and gain live experiences. With the term »pop music« Musicboard refers to all genres of popular music as well as cross-genre or experimental pop music that cannot be clearly assigned to the categories of jazz or classical and new music.

2 Conditions

The Support Tour Funding programme funds:

musicians and bands living and working in Berlin
support tour projects that are scheduled for the future with fixed dates and are not already being implemented – please note that the completed online application must be handed in at least three weeks before the start of the tour
support tour projects that will be concluded by the end of the year
support tour projects that could not take place, at least not at the required scale, without the funding
support tour projects with a scope of no more than 3,500 euros

Excluded from the funding programme are:

musicians and bands that already received Support Tour Funding within the same year or two years in a row
solo concerts as well as support tour projects with less than three successive concerts taking place outside of Berlin
tour projects with different headlining acts
members of the jury or employees of the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion of Berlin or Musicboard Berlin GmbH and their dependents

3 Application

The following information and documents must be supplied, in German or in English, using exclusively the application tool that can be accessed via the button at the end of this page:

Completed application form
Short description of the proposed tour
with justification for the requested funding
Confirmation of the musical headlining act about the joint tour project
Artistic resume
Specification of costs
towards which the funding will be applied
Scans of certificate of registration or personal ID (front and back)
indicating Berlin as place of residence. For bands, the registration certificate of the applicant band member is sufficient.
for non-EU citizens: Passport scan
including residence permit, duration of stay, and type of work permit. For bands, the document of the applicant band member is sufficient.

Only fully completed documents can be considered. All applications will be handled confidentially and used exclusively for decision-making and funding purposes. Publication of certain relevant details is granted by the applicant as part of the application process.

4 Selection Procedure

Funding is awarded through Musicboard Berlin GmbH upon recommendation of an independent jury of Berlin-based pop experts and in consultation with the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. Jury members are usually appointed for a period of three years. The following jury is appointed to the Support Tour Funding programme in 2024:

Anna Groß
Artist and event manager, label operator SPRINGSTOFF GmbH
Donata Kramarz
Singer, songwriter and producer
Sebastian Hoffmann
Programme Director and organiser, consultant touring artists

A short description of the jury members is available here.

5 Frequently Asked Questions

We’ve collected here some frequently asked questions about Musicboard’s Support Tour Funding. This information is intended for general advice, is not legally binding, and does not take the place of an examination of individual circumstances. We will gladly answer further, detailed questions on the funding programme by phone or by email. We also recommend the free services of the Kulturförderberatung by Kreativ Kultur Berlin, which supports artists in all disciplines in their search for possible funding, can offer tips for preparing applications and can provide review of applications.

What is meant by »Support Tour Funding«? For what purpose can I apply to Musicboard Berlin?: In the context of Musicboard’s funding programme, the term »support tour« refers to a national or international tour of up-and-coming musicians and bands, that accompany one more established headlining band or single musician as opening act. A tour is defined as a series of at least three successive concerts taking place outside of Berlin. The headlining act should already have a certain standing within their scene, so that the support act, through joint touring, benefits from their audience and fan base. The tour must already be scheduled at the time of application and must be confirmed by the headlining act. Musicboard funds all personnel expenses and costs of materials incurred in the course of the tour project, such as fees for sound engineers or tour managers, equipment rental fees, accommodation and travel costs. Support Tour Funding does not cover artist fees as it is meant to compensate for tour costs that exceed the musicians’ financial budget. In general, Musicboard does not fund tour projects by musicians and bands that are signed to a major label. Tour projects consisting of concerts with several different headlining acts are also generally not eligible for funding.
What is meant by »living and working in Berlin«?: In the Support Tour Funding programme, Musicboard funds exclusively musicians and bands who live and work in Berlin. In the case of bands, that means that the majority of band members live in Berlin and make their livelihood here. Residency and livelihood for solo acts must be established with residence permits or personal ID (front and back), and for bands with the residence permit or personal ID (front and back) of the applicant band member. In both cases, the nationality of the musician is irrelevant to the funding decision. For non-EU citizens, it is necessary in addition to the Berlin residence certificate to provide a passport that includes a residence permit, duration of stay, and type of work permit. Please note that Berlin residence must be officially verified. Rent contracts etc. are not sufficient for proof of residence. We kindly ask you to refrain from submitting such documents containing sensitive personal data.
What amount can I apply for, and how often can I receive funding?: Musicboard grants funding of up to 3,500 euros per tour in the Support Tour Funding. The funding cannot be delivered as a lump sum, instead the granted amount must be linked to actual expenses. The individual expenses can be easily listed in the online application form. It is possible for artists or bands to be funded repeatedly and up to two years in a row. However, it is not possible to receive multiple funding within one year.
What should my specification of costs look like?: The cost estimate involves a simple listing of project-related expenditures during the time-frame of the proposed support tour project. Expenditures can be for travel, accommodation, meals, tour staff or tour equipment. The individual expenses can be easily listed in the online application form. A separate financial plan is not required. Non-cash compensation, for example in the case of use of own equipment or an own tour bus, need not be included into the cost estimate and may be listed separately in the application form. For cost-intensive tour projects, it can also make sense to bring in other funds such as your own funds or third-party funds. Own funds are the expenditure of one’s own money (savings, or advance payments from a label) towards the proposed project. Third-party funds are grants from other funding organisations or foundations. For the funding application, neither own nor third-party funds are obligatory.
When exactly is the application deadline?: In 2024, bands and artists can apply for Support Tour Funding until 30 November at 6:00 p.m. Applications are constantly reviewed. Please note that the completed online application must be received at least three weeks before the start of the tour in order to be processed in time and considered for funding. The application is successfully received as soon as it appears in your user profile in the »Submitted Applications« section. If there are technical issues in the application submission, please contact us at funding@musicboard.berlin.de.
When and how will I be informed about the decision of the jury?: The announcement of the jury’s decision follows the application deadline by roughly 2 weeks after the application has been received. Applicants are informed by email. Normally there are more applications received than funds available, and Musicboard is not obliged to explain its decision. There is no legal entitlement to funding.
I have received funding approval – what’s next?: After approval of funding, you will receive a scholarship contract for the proposed tour project. If there are changes in the tour schedule or if the tour cannot be implemented as planned due to the approved amount of funding, Musicboard must be informed immediately. The scholarship contract must be signed by the musician or applicant band member and returned to Musicboard with relevant bank account details. Once all documents are received by the Musicboard, the scholarship funds for the proposed tour project will be transferred to the recipient. The scholarship is purpose-specific and may only be used to finance the proposed tour project within the contractually defined timeframe. For questions about the taxation of scholarships, the website of touring artists may be helpful.
What do I need to consider in my PR for the funded support tour?: Our contractual agreements stipulate that in all project-related analogue and digital publications, reference must be made to the funding by Musicboard Berlin both by embedding the logo and by mentioning the name. The relevant logo can be found under Forms and Templates. The preferred wording is »funded by Musicboard Berlin GmbH«.
How and when must I complete the funded support tour project?: The tour must be concluded within the time frame specified in the funding contract. Within three months of the end of the project time frame, a factual report must be provided as proof of the use of the Support Tour Funding. Please follow exclusively the template provided for this purpose. The report must not have any statements or receipts attached to it. All information is available to funded musicians in their Support Tour Funding scholarship contract.