New York City Musicians

The Café Royal Cultural Foundation NYC offers Music Production Grants to support New York City-based artists across all genres of music who are working to produce an audio recording. This grant program supports production-related costs including recording, mixing, editing, and mastering. If the artist is not self-producing their work, the grant may also assist with producer fees. The foundation expresses a preference for recording to occur within the five boroughs of New York City, although nearby locations may be approved on a case-by-case basis. Grant recipients have the option of using Flux Studios, a renowned facility, at its independent artist rate. Interested applicants may contact Flux Studios to obtain a quote to include in their grant budget, although utilizing Flux is not a requirement for eligibility or selection. Applications must include up to five downloadable .mp3 tracks or a private Spotify/SoundCloud playlist link (with no more than three songs), a brief project description, a short artistic biography, and a detailed budget not exceeding $20,000. Applicants must not include any fees for themselves or for previously funded collaborators, and costs must be confined to eligible studio-related expenditures. Eligible applicants must be United States citizens or residents who have lived in New York City for at least one year and plan to remain residents through the completion of their project. The grant is awarded strictly to individuals and not to bands or organizations. Previously completed recordings and compositions not finalized by the deadline are ineligible. Artists may only apply with the same project twice, but may submit different projects in future rounds. Applications are accepted year-round, but each cycle only permits 40 submissions per category. For the Spring 2025 cycle, the application limit has been reached and submissions are closed. The next application cycle will open in September 2025. The release or final mastering of the funded work must occur no sooner than 90 days after the application deadline and within 12 months following the grant award date. Applications are reviewed in two rounds. The initial evaluation by the Selection Committee scores submissions based on criteria including musical quality, innovation, artistic performance, cultural relevance, and future potential. The top five scoring applications advance for review by the Executive Committee. The foundation values the professional input of its judges and offers a stipend for their contributions.