Music Capital Scheme Award 2 Guidelines

These guidelines are designed to help you apply to the Music Capital Scheme 2025 Award 2.

There are 6 parts to these guidelines:

• Part 1: An overview of the award
• Part 2: An overview of funding
• Part 3: Who can apply – and who can’t
• Part 4: What you can apply for – and what you can’t
• Part 5: How to apply
• Part 6: Assessment procedure

The Music Network Music Capital Scheme is designed to provide support for the purchase of musical instruments and related items for use in live performance contexts.

Award 2 is for individual established professional performing musicians. The award aims to support these musicians to:

• ✔ buy high quality musical instruments
• ✔ maintain or repair high quality musical instruments
• ✔ buy selected items of equipment such as instrument cases, accessories and electronic performance equipment (more examples on pages 3–4).

What do we mean by ‘established professional performing musicians’?

We mean musicians aged 18 and over and performing in any musical style, who have a proven track record in professional music performance. Although you may not earn income continuously or exclusively from performance, you identify, and are recognised by your peers, as a professional performing musician.

Music Network is committed to equity and inclusion and encourages individuals from all backgrounds and communities to apply.

Overall fund

The total funding available for the Music Capital Scheme 2025 Award 2 is €340,000.

How much to apply for

You may apply for up to 75% of the total cost of your proposed item(s).

You must fund the remaining 25%. You will have to indicate how you are going to fund this in your application form.

Charges relating to delivery of items (such as delivery charges, bank fees, import fees) can not be funded by the award. This means you must pay for these charges.

Who can apply?

• ✔ Individual established professional performing musicians (see definition on page 1) who are:
  • aged 18 and over
    and
  • resident in the Republic of Ireland (see definition below).

Applicants to Award 2 may be working as high-level performers in:

• any musical style
• a solo capacity

and/or

• as part of a small group or ensemble.

What do we mean by ‘resident’ in the Republic of Ireland?

‘Residency’ is based on the Revenue Commissioners’ definition:

You are resident in Ireland for tax purposes if you are present in Ireland for:

• 183 days or more in a tax year

or

• 280 days or more in total, taking the current tax year plus the preceding tax year together. You will not be resident in Ireland if you are here for 30 days or less in a tax year.

Residents will have a valid PPS number. Please visit www.revenue.ie for additional information.

There are certain exceptions where applications may be accepted from musicians based outside the Republic of Ireland. In such cases, you should clearly outline within your application how the outcomes of your proposal would benefit the arts in the Republic of Ireland.

Who can’t apply?

• ✖ Individuals under the age of 18
• ✖ Previous Music Capital Scheme awardees who have not complied with the conditions of their award.

Items that you apply for must:

• be for use primarily in live performance
  and
• relate to a primary instrument in which you can demonstrate a track record of performance.

Read examples of items the award can and cannot cover below. The examples given below do not cover every possibility. Please contact Music Network if you have a query about an item.

Items that are covered

• ✔ New or high-quality second-hand instruments
• ✔ Once-off instrument repair/maintenance costs
• ✔ Instrument accessories (for example: bows, strings, rosin, shoulder rests, drum heads, sticks, brushes, mutes, straps, reeds, mouthpieces)
• ✔ Instrument cases
• Instrument stands
• ✔ Electronic performance equipment (for example: effects pedals, leads, instrument amplifiers, PA systems & microphones, MDIs (musical digital interfaces), DJ performance equipment, or software used exclusively in live performance)
• ✔ Specialist stools (where necessary)

Items that are not covered

• ✖ Computers or laptops
• ✖ Metronomes
• ✖ Tuners
• ✖ Recording equipment or software

Applicants must complete an online application form, which includes uploading Support Materials (see more details below).

Please visit www.musicnetwork.ie and set up your profile on the online application portal.

When you have done this, you can start to complete the application in stages throughout the application period. Drafts do save automatically, but please check that your latest draft has saved before exiting the portal.

The online application form consists of five sections. The form asks for details about your career in terms of:

• your musical background
• your future career plans.

It also asks you about the proposed item(s) you want to buy, in terms of:

• the individual and overall costs of the item(s)
• your funding contribution towards the cost (25% of the total price)
• why you need the item(s).

It also asks you to provide Support Materials (see Step 3).

The application form asks you to upload 3 types of Support Materials (see the 3 points below). The assessment panel need these materials to help them assess your application. If all Support Materials are not uploaded, your application can’t be fully assessed.

Our online system accepts most file formats, including MS Word files, Excel files, JPEGs, PDFs and MP3s.

1. CV (Curriculum Vitae)

Your CV should not exceed two pages, and should include detail on the following:

• your education and training
• your performance experience
• names of groups and/or musicians you have collaborated with.

2. Audio or video recordings – and a short document

You must submit two musically contrasting recordings which demonstrate your performance skills.

You must also upload a short document that lists the following details for each recording:

• where you want the assessment panel to start and stop listening (for
  example, if you submit a video or audio recording of a full concert, you should let us know which portion of the performance you want the panel to assess by indicating the start and stop times)
• where and when the recordings were made.

You can directly upload audio recordings in MP3 format to the online application form.

Links to video recordings, and to audio recordings in other formats, can be included in your short document.

Note: If the assessment panel can’t access your links, this means they won’t be able to fully assess your application. Please make sure your links and files are publicly accessible, or provide a password if required.

3. Two quotations for each item, from separate suppliers
For this award you must seek quotations for each proposed item from two separate suppliers. Quotations are essential for comparison purposes so that value for money can be demonstrated.

Each quotation you submit must clearly show the following 3 details:

• the supplier name
• instrument or item specifications
• cost.

You can upload the quotes for each item in the following formats:

• ✔ a screen capture from the supplier’s website
  or
• ✔ an email or letter from the supplier.

• ✖ Links to suppliers’ websites are not accepted because they can change or become inactive.

In the case of bespoke instruments, the second quotation should be for the nearest comparable instrument. Please contact Music Network if you have any questions.

The completed application must be submitted using the online portal by 2pm, Thursday 27 November 2025.

If you submit your application by the deadline, you will receive an automated email confirming that your application has been successfully submitted.

Note: The automated email may appear in your spam folder. If you do not receive this email, your application has not been successfully submitted. In this case, it is your responsibility to contact Music Network, leaving yourself time to resubmit (if necessary) before the application deadline.

Your application will not be accepted if it:

• Is received after the closing date and time: 2pm, Thursday 27 November 2025
• does not include all of the Support Materials.
• does not comply with the conditions of the award.
• relates to items already purchased or repairs already carried out before funding decisions are made.
• is not completed in full. Insert ‘N/A’ to any sections that do not apply to your application, if necessary.

Step 1: An independent advisor will assess all eligible applications based on the selection criteria on page 7.

Depending on the volume of applications, they may make a shortlist.

Step 2: A panel will then consider and decide on how to allocate funding to successful applicants. The panel includes representatives of Music Network and relevant practitioners from a variety of musical backgrounds. The decision of the panel will be final.

The panel may decide not to award the total award fund if insufficient high-quality applications are received.

While the panel wants to support applicants who fit the criteria, funding is limited and the process is very competitive. This means that although you may meet the criteria, this does not guarantee you will receive funding.

Please note that lobbying — trying to influence the decision outside the official application process — is not permitted.

Selection criteria
Your application will be assessed based on the three criteria listed in the table below, which are weighted according to the percentages listed. In the case of a number of applicants scoring equally highly, demonstrated track record of the applicant will be considered the primary selection criterion.

You must read and:

• agree to comply with the full conditions of the award as part of the application process

and

• complete drawdown documentation agreeing to the conditions if successful.