The Teosto Cultural Foundation has a mission to promote the creation of musical works and support the ecosystem around it to increase the value of Finnish music.
The Teosto Cultural Foundation strives to increase the amount and diversity of professional music authors in Finland and enable them to reach their audiences both in Finland and worldwide. The Teosto Cultural Foundation was established in spring 2024 on the basis of a decision made by an extraordinary meeting of the members of Finnish Composers’ Copyright Society Teosto in December 2023.
In December 2024, the Teosto Cultural Foundation will issue grants of EUR 6,000 to songwriters and composers for artistic work and the costs of artistic activities in the first pilot application round.
Who can apply for and receive a grant
The personal grants issued by the Teosto Cultural Foundation are intended for composers, lyricists, arrangers and stage music librettists who already have established careers working as a music author professionally.
The applicant must be a Finnish citizen or a private person permanently resident in Finland.
How to apply for grants
Personal grants are applied for either from the Sibelius Fund of the Society of Finnish Composers or the Music Creators’ Fund by using the Klaavi.fi system. The grants awarded by the Music Creators’ Fund are primarily aimed at popular music creators and the grants awarded by the Sibelius Fund are intended for composers of contemporary art music.
Application for and use of grants
The application period for grants is 4–25 November 2024 ending at 23.59 on the final day.
The board of directors of the Teosto Cultural Foundation will make decisions on the grants based on proposals by the committees of the Music Creators’ Fund and the Sibelius Fund of the Society of Finnish Composers in December.
Grant recipients will be notified of the grant by email by 31 December 2024. The names of all grant recipients will be published.
The grant must be used in 2025.
Teosto Cultural Foundation grant and the other grants from another foundations
If the applicant have already been awarded a working grant for the year 2025, the applicant is not allowed to apply for another working grant for the same period. The applicant may, however, apply for a project grant to cover costs incurred in artistic work, for instance for a specific purchase or a specific project.
Please note that the Teosto Cultural Foundation grants cannot be postponed from this round of applications to the year 2026.
Criteria for assessing applications and the amount of the grant
The criteria for awarding grants are professionalism and the systematic nature of activities. Your plan included in the application should contain an outline of your artistic and professional vision as well as what you intend to do with the grant and what your desired impact is. The objective may be artistic, related to the exposure of the works and the author or otherwise related to promoting the author’s career or professional skills.
The grant is awarded for artistic work and/or related acquisitions or outsourced services that promote the author’s career. In other words, it may be a working grant (which may include costs) or a project grant for expenses.
The purpose may be, for example, creative artistic work, related equipment or software, travel (including costs for a residence as well as trips made for personal development), remuneration paid to musicians for demo recordings or performances arranged by the applicant, communication and marketing costs, participation in professional development training or studio rent.
PLEASE NOTE! Grants are not awarded for the performances or tour activities of the applicant or their group or for the costs of publishing recordings.
The grant is EUR 6,000.
Payment of and report on the use of the grant
The instructions for the payment of the grant are included in the decision letter. Grant recipients must report on the use of their grant by the end of 2025.
Taxation of grants
The Teosto Cultural Foundation notifies the tax administration of the grants and aims for the grants to meet the criteria defined in section 82 of the Income Tax Act, in which case the grants are not taxed up to a certain annual amount in euros. If the grant were to be interpreted as taxable income for the recipient, the recipient of the grant would be liable for taxes. Please visit the Tax Administration website for further information: https://www.vero.fi/en/individuals/tax-cards-and-tax-returns/income/earned-income/grants/
Teosto Cultural Foundation Privacy Policy
https://klaavi.fi/teosto-cultural-foundation-privacy-policy.pdf
Enquiries
Secretary of the Music Creators' Fund Riitta Huttunen: rahasto@musiikintekijat.fi, +358 50 355 1036. Enquiries preferably in the evenings between 4-8 PM.
Director of the Sibelius Fund of the Society of Finnish Composers Vappu Verronen: vappu.verronen@composers.fi, 040 500 5905. Phone hours: Mon November 18th and Fri 22nd from noon until 2 PM on both days.