Grants for Songwriters: Funding Your Craft in 2026

I want to talk about the people behind the songs. Not the performers, not the producers—the writers. The ones staring at a notebook at 2 a.m. trying to make a second verse hit as hard as the first. The ones driving around Chattanooga humming melodies into their phone. Songwriting is some of the most invisible, under-funded work in the entire music industry, and that's a problem.

I started MusicBoost because I kept meeting incredible artists who couldn't afford to bring their music to life. But the deeper I got into it, the more I noticed that songwriters specifically were falling through the cracks. Performers can book gigs. Producers can sell beats. But a songwriter sitting on a catalog of brilliant, unrecorded songs? There's no obvious revenue stream for that—at least not until someone records them.

Here's the good news: grants for songwriters do exist. They're just not always labeled that way, and you sometimes have to know where to look. This guide covers every avenue I've found—from PRO-affiliated programs to artist residencies to state arts funding—and shows you how to position yourself as a songwriter when applying. If you're looking for a broader view of grants for independent musicians, start there first. But if writing songs is your primary craft and you want funding specifically for that, keep reading.

Why Songwriters Get Overlooked for Grants

Let's be honest about the problem. Most music grants are built around a pretty specific model: an artist needs money to record, tour, or buy equipment. The application asks for a bio, some streaming links, maybe a press photo. It's all set up for performers.

Songwriters don't always fit that mold. Maybe you write songs for other people. Maybe you have hundreds of demos on your laptop but no "official" releases. Maybe your best work is on a co-write that got cut by someone else, and your name isn't even on the Spotify page. When a grant committee says "show us your music," they usually mean "show us your artist profile"—and that can leave writers behind.

There's also a perception issue. People understand why a recording costs money (studio time, mixing, mastering). But songwriting funding? "You just need a guitar and a notebook, right?" Wrong. Professional songwriting costs money: co-writing trips, demo recordings, pitch sessions, instrument maintenance, and—most critically—the time and space to actually write without worrying about rent.

The grants landscape is shifting, though. More organizations now recognize songwriting as a fundable creative practice. You just need to know how to find these opportunities and how to present your work in grant-friendly terms.

Major Songwriter Grant Programs

These are the big names. If you're serious about songwriting grants, you should know every one of these organizations and what they offer.

ASCAP Foundation Programs

The ASCAP Foundation is one of the strongest supporters of songwriters and composers in the country. They run multiple programs worth knowing about:

• Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards: Annual awards for jazz composers under 30. If you write in the jazz idiom, this is a marquee opportunity with awards ranging from $500 to $5,000.
• Morton Gould Young Composer Awards: For classical and concert music composers under 30. Awards up to $3,500. Even if you think of yourself as a "songwriter" rather than a "composer," if your writing leans orchestral or chamber, this could fit.
• ASCAP Foundation Songwriting Workshops: Not a direct grant, but free workshops taught by hit songwriters. The education and connections are invaluable—and they sometimes lead to other opportunities.
• Bart Howard Songwriting Award: Recognizes an outstanding song or body of work. The prestige alone can open doors.

The ASCAP Foundation also funds various songwriter-in-residence programs and community music initiatives. Check their website regularly—new programs pop up, and deadlines vary year to year.

BMI Foundation

The BMI Foundation runs a parallel set of opportunities for writers and composers:

• BMI Student Composer Awards: For classical composers under 28 who are enrolled in accredited schools. Awards up to $5,000.
• John Lennon Songwriting Scholarship: One of the more accessible opportunities for pop, rock, and contemporary songwriters. Awarded in partnership with the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.
• BMI Conducting Fellowship: More niche, but relevant for songwriter-composers who also conduct their own work.
• Pete Carpenter Fellowship: For aspiring film and TV composers. If your songwriting extends into scoring, this is a major opportunity.

BMI also runs songwriter workshops in Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles that function as unofficial development programs. Getting into one of these can put your songs in front of publishers and other industry gatekeepers.

SESAC-Affiliated Opportunities

SESAC is smaller than ASCAP and BMI but still represents a significant roster of writers. While SESAC doesn't run a public foundation with the same grant structure, they do sponsor songwriter retreats, showcases, and awards through their network. If you're a SESAC affiliate, ask your rep directly about development opportunities—many aren't widely publicized.

Nashville Songwriters Foundation

The Nashville Songwriters Foundation (connected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame) supports working songwriters through:

• Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards: Recognizes career achievement, but the nomination process itself raises your profile within the industry.
• Educational programs and workshops: Including song critique sessions with professional writers and publishers.
• Community events: Songwriters-in-the-round events that double as networking opportunities and can lead to co-writing connections, publishing deals, and grant referrals.

Even if you don't live in Nashville, many of these programs accept remote participants or host events in other cities.

Songwriters Hall of Fame Programs

The national Songwriters Hall of Fame runs its own set of awards and scholarships separate from the Nashville chapter. Their Hal David Starlight Award and other recognition programs are invitation-only, but they also fund songwriter education initiatives and emerging writer showcases. Getting on their radar starts with being active in the PRO community and submitting your work consistently.

Songwriting Residencies

Sometimes the best thing a songwriter can get isn't cash—it's time. Uninterrupted, distraction-free time to write. That's what artist residencies offer, and several of the most prestigious programs in the country are open to songwriters.

MacDowell

MacDowell (formerly the MacDowell Colony) in Peterborough, New Hampshire is arguably the most famous artist residency in the United States. They accept composers, songwriters, and interdisciplinary artists for stays of 2-8 weeks. Here's the key detail: there is no fee. Room, board, and a private studio are provided at no cost. You just have to get accepted.

MacDowell's application is competitive, but they've hosted songwriters alongside novelists, painters, and filmmakers for over a century. If your songwriting has an artistic or experimental dimension—or you can articulate it that way—you belong here.

Ucross Foundation

Ucross in Clearmont, Wyoming provides residencies of 2-4 weeks on an isolated 20,000-acre ranch. Like MacDowell, it's free. The quiet is almost aggressive—no cell service in some areas, no town for miles. For a songwriter, that kind of isolation can be incredibly productive. They accept applications for both fall and spring residencies.

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

The Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada runs dedicated music programs including songwriter residencies. Unlike MacDowell and Ucross, Banff charges a program fee—but they offer significant financial aid based on need. The trade-off is that Banff provides world-class recording facilities, mentorship from industry professionals, and cohort-based programs where you collaborate with other writers. If you want structured creative development, Banff is hard to beat.

Atlantic Center for the Arts

Located in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, the Atlantic Center for the Arts runs master-artist residency programs where associates work alongside a visiting master artist for three weeks. When the master artist is a songwriter, composer, or music producer, this becomes a direct mentorship opportunity. Check their upcoming programs—when a music-focused residency is on the calendar, it fills fast.

State Arts Council Funding for Songwriters

This is the section most songwriters skip—and they shouldn't. State arts councils distribute millions of dollars in grant funding every year, and songwriting is eligible in nearly every state. The trick is knowing how to frame your project.

Most state arts councils organize their grants around disciplines: visual arts, literary arts, performing arts, media arts, etc. Songwriting can fit into multiple categories depending on how you describe it:

• Literary Arts: Frame your songwriting as lyric writing. Emphasize the poetry and narrative craft of your work. Some states explicitly include lyricists in their literary arts fellowship programs.
• Music/Performing Arts: If you perform your own songs, you qualify as a performing artist. Your project can be "creating and performing a new body of original work."
• Media Arts: If your project includes recording demos or producing music videos alongside songwriting, it can qualify as a media arts project.
• Multidisciplinary: Some councils have a catch-all category for projects that cross disciplines. A songwriting project that involves writing, recording, and live performance fits perfectly here.

Here's my process for finding state funding: go to your state arts council website, look for "Individual Artist Grants" or "Artist Fellowships," and read the discipline descriptions carefully. If songwriting isn't explicitly listed, call or email the program officer and ask. I've found that most are happy to confirm whether songwriters are eligible, and some will even help you figure out which category fits best.

A few states with particularly strong individual artist grant programs: Tennessee, New York, Minnesota, Oregon, and Massachusetts. But nearly every state offers something. Check our guides on Tennessee music grants and New York music grants for state-specific details.

Building a Songwriter Portfolio for Grant Applications

This is where most songwriters struggle. You've got the songs—but how do you package them for a grant committee that may not understand the songwriter's world?

Demo Recordings

You need recorded versions of your songs. Period. Grant committees won't read lyric sheets and imagine the melody. Your demos don't need to be fully produced—a clean guitar/vocal or piano/vocal recording is fine—but they need to be listenable. Invest in decent recording quality for your 3-5 strongest songs. If your budget is tight, a single-mic setup in a quiet room with a good performance beats a sloppy home studio recording every time.

Typed Lyric Sheets

Include professional-looking lyric sheets for every song you submit. Clean formatting, correct spelling, clear structure (verse, chorus, bridge labeled). This may seem basic, but messy lyrics signal a lack of professionalism. If your songs have been registered with a PRO, note the registration number.

Co-Writing Credits and Splits

If you co-write (and most professional songwriters do), list your co-writing credits. Include the song title, co-writer names, and your percentage of the writing credit. This shows you're active in the professional songwriting community and can collaborate effectively.

Catalog Summary

Create a one-page summary of your songwriting output. How many songs have you written? Have any been recorded by other artists? Licensed for film, TV, or advertising? Cut by a label artist? Even if the answer to most of these is "not yet," showing a body of work demonstrates commitment.

Artist Statement

Write a short (250-500 word) statement about your songwriting practice. What themes do you explore? What's your process? Why does songwriting matter to you? This isn't a bio—it's a window into how you think about your craft. Grant committees love this stuff because it shows intentionality.

MusicBoost and General Music Grants

I want to be upfront about this: MusicBoost isn't a songwriter-specific grant. We fund all kinds of independent music projects. But songwriter-driven projects are absolutely eligible, and we've funded several.

Here's how songwriter funding works through general music grants like ours:

• Demo recording: Need to get your songs professionally recorded so you can pitch them? That's a project we'd fund.
• Co-writing trips: Planning a week in Nashville to write with collaborators? Travel, lodging, and studio time for writing sessions are legitimate grant expenses.
• Songwriting retreats: Whether it's a formal residency or a self-organized writing retreat, funding time to write is a fundable project.
• Equipment for writing: A new instrument, a better recording interface for home demos, software for arranging—these all support your songwriting practice.

The key is framing your application around a specific project with clear deliverables. "I want to write songs" is too vague. "I'm writing and demoing a 10-song collection exploring [theme], with plans to pitch to [publishers/artists/sync libraries] by [date]" is a project a grant committee can get behind.

For more ideas on funding songwriting and other creative work, check out our guide on how to fund your music through 7 different funding sources. And if your songwriting leads to a recording project, our music production grants guide covers how to fund the studio side of things.

"I applied to MusicBoost to fund demo recordings of my songs. I'd been writing for years but never had professional demos to send to publishers. That $2,000 grant got me into a studio, and within six months one of those demos got picked up for a sync placement."