Berlin-based musicians and bands can now apply for Musicboard’s scholarships and residencies. For the first time, the newly introduced Scholarship PLUS is available – an extension of the previous project scholarship, now including individual coaching and mentoring opportunities. The residency programme will also continue. Unlike in previous years, there is only one application deadline for scholarship and residencies: 17 March 2025 at 6 p.m. The allocation of funding is subject to the availability of funds.
Exchanging ideas and networking at the VILA SUL residency in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, getting to know the underground music scene in Kampala, Uganda, two months of collaborative work in a feminist community in Accra, Ghana, or working on your own project in Berlin with professional support? From now until the application deadline on 17 March 2025 at 6 p.m., musicians and artists from all genres and areas of pop music who live and work in Berlin can apply for Musicboard’s scholarship PLUS and residencies. Musicboard defines pop music as all genres and styles that cannot be clearly categorised as classical, new music, or jazz. This includes all forms of genre-spanning and experimental pop music. The allocation of funding is subject to the availability of funds.
Musicboard will provide information about the current call for concepts in an online session held jointly with Music Pool Berlin and Kreativ Kultur Berlin. On 17 February 2025 at 5 p.m., interested parties will have the opportunity to join a Zoom conference to ask questions about the advertised scholarships and residencies and the new coaching and mentoring programme PLUS. The Zoom conference will also provide information on the funding criteria and the application process. Prior registration is not necessary. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87190548493
NEW: THE PROJECT SCHOLARSHIP BECOMES THE SCHOLARSHIP PLUS
The Musicboard scholarships support Berlin musicians and bands in realising a project of their own choosing. These are intended to serve individual artistic development and professionalisation. Funding can be provided, for example, for creating albums and videos, promotion and marketing, the songwriting process itself, and developing artistic collaborations and co-productions.
In 2025, the Musicboard scholarships will, for the first time, be awarded in combination with a mentoring and coaching programme. In collaboration with Music Pool Berlin, the Scholarship PLUS provides selected musicians with not only financial support but also individual coaching and mentoring over several months to support them in their funded projects. By combining mentoring and coaching, musicians and bands receive comprehensive guidance in developing their careers strategically. Additionally, community events offer opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and long-term connections among musicians. Participation in coaching and mentoring is only available in conjunction with receiving a Musicboard scholarship.
More information about the Scholarship PLUS
RESIDENCIES: ONLY ONE APPLICATION DEADLINE IN 2025
In 2025, the Musicboard’s residency programme will have only one application deadline. Applications for the co-creation residencies in Accra / Berlin, Detroit / Berlin, and Kampala/Berlin, as well as for residencies in Salvador de Bahia, Ris-Orangis/Paris, Los Angeles, Sternhagen Gut in the Uckermark region, and Hellerau in Dresden, can be submitted until the deadline on 17 March 2025 at 6 p.m. Unlike in previous years, there will be no second application round in the summer.
Musicboard’s residency programme gives Berlin pop musicians the opportunity to work creatively in a new setting, whether in Germany or abroad. With co-creation residencies, Musicboard also welcomes international musicians to stay in Berlin. These residencies serve to further the internationalisation of Berlin’s pop music scene and establish long-term, transnational co-production. They promote interdisciplinary exchange and artistic experimentation.
More information about the residencies
NEW JURY MEMBER
Scholarships and residencies are granted on the recommendation of an independent jury of experts of the Berlin music scene. Starting in 2025, Peer Steinwald will be part of the jury. He will join Aida Baghernejad, Ebru »Ebow« Düzgün, Ji-Hun Kim, Misla Tesfamariam, and Yeşim Duman in evaluating applications. Musicboard would like to take this opportunity to thank the departing jury member Thien Nguyen.
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