Each amount is different depending on the grant program itself. Details for each one are given on its page. Some grants include additional funding for barrier removal (child/elder care, transport, etc.), hardware and/or software. As per our structure, every grantee has health insurance costs covered for the duration of the grant. Most grants also include music industry education, artist mentorship, creative resources and distribution services.

Nope! This is a grant. You own your masters, too.

Candidates must be U.S. citizens or residents who are not enrolled in an academic institution or contracted with a third party recording or distribution company during the duration of the program. We seek to support those from groups whose access to resources and learning has been limited due to race, gender, geographic location, sexuality, etc.

We are looking for artists who have already demonstrated some level of drive and ambition by putting original material online, playing shows, etc. This opportunity is best suited to artists who can accelerate their existing growth, not those who have not started yet.

We will prioritize artists who are making alternative and adventurous music - artists who seek to experiment and pave their own path sonically. We will not be prioritizing classical music, opera or jazz since there are currently plenty of other grant opportunities for musicians working in those areas, although we recognize that genres aren’t always so clearly defined.

We will assemble a rotating panel of esteemed musicians, curators and industry personnel who work in a variety of genres.

It depends on the grant. For the shorter term grants, we strive to make an accommodating schedule so that you don’t have to. But for our principal grant, that’s the idea. The purpose of that grant is to allow artists to devote their time to their craft. Find more info on each individual grant page.

We offer digital distribution services as well as our music industry education program, which will be available to the public shortly - stay tuned!

It depends on the grant. Find information on the individual grant pages. If you have specific questions, please send us an email!

See the ‘who can apply’ question in the artist section above.

Many people believe that today’s unsigned musicians can use social media and other digital tools to launch a career completely on their own terms. However, the reality is that 83% of independent musicians still report not being able to make ends meet. They then have to either tailor their art towards specific playlists to boost streaming revenue or sign away the rights to their music to a label for an upfront check. In general, the only ones who can afford to be uncompromising with their craft and professional choices are those who come from privileged backgrounds. The Rising Artist Foundation provides creative and professional freedom to young artists who wouldn’t normally be able to afford it.

According to a report by the Helicon Collaborative, less than 5% of arts foundation funding in the US goes to people of color, low-income backgrounds or from rural communities. We aim to support those groups and close those funding gaps.

The US doesn’t have any robust federal funding infrastructure for young musicians outside of classical, opera or jazz music. Technology has provided new and novel opportunities for aspiring artists outside of those genres, but they are skewed in terms of who they prioritize. This is causing the American music landscape to suffer, leaving behind diverse talent that could otherwise propel our culture forward. It would be irresponsible to keep waiting for change instead of making a path for it ourselves.

The number of musicians we can impact depends on our fundraising and our revenue-generating mechanisms. We hope that this can grow to be a whole system for how young American artists can start their careers.

We plan on scaling by expanding our portfolio of grant offerings through partnerships with other established artists and organizations. These partner-funded grants could help us target specific regions and genres that frequently get overlooked by established methods of arts funding. Please see our “For Artists” page for a list of available grants.

Neither and both! We’re disrupting because we’re doing something new and that will necessarily cause a stir, but it leaves the existing industry still intact. We’re offering an alternative method of entry that supports the rest of the industry in what we see as a more sustainable, less-pressured approach.

We’re glad you’re interested! We don’t have a template for partnerships but please reach out by sending us an email and we can discuss what our specific work might look like.

We have the infrastructure to deliver your content to all platforms for just a 5% fee that goes directly into sustaining our operations and grants. We’re also in the process of finalizing physical partnerships. Please reach out for more information or if you are a potential physical partner!

We have a lot of trust and respect for our board and the remarkable minds in it. The board is by invitation only, but they are based on existing relationships. So start one with us by reaching out.

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