Fast Forward Funding Programme for Music Professionals in Switzerland

Deadline: 01-Sep-2025

Applications are now open for Fast Forward Funding Programme for music professionals to further develop their international careers.

The programme includes:

• Mentoring
• Contribution to management costs
• Two business labs
• Contribution to the production of digital and visual content or similar

Funding Information

• CHF 25,000 per year (of which max. CHF 5,000 is intended for mentoring and max. CHF 10,000 for musicians’ fees).

Eligible Projects

• To be eligible for support, projects must:
  • Have a clear connection to Switzerland
  • Be of nationwide importance
  • Be adequately co-funded by other public or private means
  • Respects/guarantee fair working conditions

Eligibility Criteria

• Mid-career music professionals (individual artists or small groups) who are active in the pop, rock, jazz, electronic, experimental, global sounds and hip-hop genres.
• A connection to Switzerland is given, if one of the following conditions is met:
  • The production or project in question is developed or implemented by artists and cultural practitioners, who verifiably hold Swiss citizenship or are permanent residents of Switzerland and who are regularly artistically involved in relevant events in Switzerland.
  • The project is created, developed, or implemented by an independent group or cultural institution whose place of production is in Switzerland and who is regularly and publicly active in Switzerland.
• Nationwide relevance is given, if one of the following conditions is met:
  • The art and cultural practitioners participating in the project are regularly involved in programmes of nationally recognised art and cultural institutions in Swiss regions other than their own or abroad, and the project in question has a transregional appeal.
  • The artistic potential of an emerging art practitioner involved is exceptional in terms of a national or international career.
  • The project makes a significant contribution to the development of Swiss artistic and cultural production and its dissemination.
  • The project is of significant importance for the exchange between Switzerland’s various linguistic regions.

Restrictions

• Pro Helvetia is unable to consider funding requests if:
  • The same part of the submitted project is already received funding from other federal bodies (e.g. Federal Office of Culture, Presence Switzerland, Swiss National Science Foundation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation)
  • The project is part of a school or university curriculum/basic training or continuing education programme (including dissertations, diploma projects, university scholarships, etc.)
  • Funding is intended to cover infrastructure and equipment costs, as well as the costs of operating cultural facilities, archives and collections
  • The project does not depend on funding from Pro Helvetia

Assessment Criteria

• The Foundation assesses whether:
  • The project demonstrates high degree of independence and professional competence as well as social and thematic relevance
  • The project is implemented according to professional standards
  • The costs are commensurate with the expected impact
  • A lasting impact can be expected
• Furthermore, the Foundation attaches great importance to the following aspects:
  • The project has an appropriate commitment to diversity.
  • Resources are used in an ecologically responsible manner and work and production are planned sustainably.

Selection Criteria

• Establishment in Switzerland’s present-day music scene, regular presence in the various language regions of Switzerland
• Attendance at international festivals and event venues
• Creation of own musical repertoire with a clear profile
• Professional booking and management structures and international distribution of recorded music

Application Requirements

• Motivation behind/description of three objectives the applicant would like to achieve with the programme.
• Planned activities with estimated expenditure.
• Artistic CV incl. links to audio and video content.
• Naming of potential mentors.
• All documents are to be submitted in English. If this is not possible, applications may be submitted in German, French or Italian.

For more information, visit Pro Helvetia.