Grant Scheme for Music Hubs in the field of pop, hip hop and dance music

For whom?

The grant is intended for organisations and individual initiators engaged in stimulating talent development in the field of pop, hip hop and dance music in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The grant can be applied for by:

• Organisations
  Organisations that are established in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom (Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba) where they support talent development in the field of pop, hip hop and/or dance music. Organisations already receiving a multiple-year organisational grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), or receiving a multiple-year production or festival grant 2025–2028 from the Performing Arts Funds NL, are not eligible to apply.
• Individual initiators
  Natural persons (such as self-employed professionals) who live and work in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and who, as part of their professional practice, support talents who also live and work there. Individual initiators cannot apply for a grant to support their own artistic development. The grant is for activities aimed at supporting talents.

For what?

The grant is for activities aimed at talent development in the field of pop, hip hop and dance music. Pop music is understood to also include popular sub-genres such as Tumba, Zouk, Soca and Kompa.

Relevant activities are ones that contribute to talents’ artistic and business development and their presentation within the local music infrastructure.

Examples of such activities are:

• Providing opportunities for personal research and development
• Facilitating performances
• Offering artistic and/or business mentoring
• Awarding assignments
• Offering residencies.

Talent development is not just about artists performing on stage. Functions behind the scenes, such as productional, organisational or technical roles, can be part of the project.

Activities should last at least 12 months and at most 24 months. This period starts on the day after the grant decision is announced.

The application must concern professional musical practice, rather than amateur art, wellness activities or leisure time activities.

How much?

The grant sum is at most:

• € 40,000 for legal persons (such as foundations and associations without profit motive)
• € 20,000 for individual initiators (natural persons, including self-employed professionals).

Not more than 25% of the grant sum may be used to cover organisational and overhead costs.

How and when to apply?

The budget available for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom can be applied throughout the year.

Applications are processed in the order that they arrive, and for as long as the budget has not been exhausted.

Applications should be submitted via My Fund. For this you need a My Fund account.

Don’t yet have an account? Bear in mind that it takes two office days on average for a new account to be activated.

Before submitting your application, be sure to read the full grant scheme text on wetten.overheid.nl (in Dutch only),  as well as the explanation at the bottom of this page.

Good to know

The activities must focus on talent development within professional music practice.

Applicants must have demonstrable experience with talent development within pop, hip hop and/or dance music. Applicants must support one or more talents in their artistic development, their business development, and their presentation.

Applications are assessed with respect to:

• The applicant’s experience and quality
  The applicant has demonstrable experience with talent development in music and can substantiate this.
• Contribution to talent development and presentation
  The application shows how talents are supported in their professional development and how they are presented within the local music infrastructure.
• Financial substantiation
  The budget must be realistic, in line with the plan, and properly substantiated.

Please note: Applications are rejected if the assessment of the applicant’s reflection on the assessment criteria contains three or more critical points.

Draft applications
Would you like to check beforehand whether your plan is eligible for the grant scheme? You can have a draft application reviewed until not later than three weeks before the moment when you wish to submit the application. You can email your draft application to: muziekhubs@fondspodiumkunsten.nl.

More information about the conditions, assessment criteria and the information we need to process your application can be found via the button below on the Performing Arts Fund website. This information is only available in Dutch.

More information

Questions & contact

Do you have any questions about this grant or is something not entirely clear? Please contact the contact person on this page.