We’re thrilled to announce that the pilot of our Ambassador program, which will provide grants to touring Memphis musicians, will officially launch on July 2!
On that date, artists will be able to begin applying for funds via a form on this site. All applicants will be reviewed by the MEM board of directors. The decision to fund an artist will be based on the quality of their music and their potential as an Ambassador for our city, and the amount of funding awarded to each artist will be based on the size of the band, number of tour dates and geographic reach. Artists applying will need to have either confirmed or held dates or a detailed tour plan.
The idea at the heart of the Ambassador program is the idea at the heart of all of our work: musicians are our city’s best ambassadors, and they are already doing this work. We’re excited to have the opportunity to reward that work and, we hope, give artists resources to be able to do it even more. This pilot will likely run through the end of 2018, and our aim is to use the experiences of artists and the data we collect from them to make the case for even more individual and partner funding in years to come to allow us to award larger grants to more musicians.
In 2019, we also hope to include music industry conference scholarships in Ambassador program funding, as well. Artists who meet our eligibility requirements (check out the homepage to learn who MEM serves) would be able to apply for a scholarship to attend a music industry conference in the U.S. or abroad (think SXSW, Midem, Music Biz, Folk Alliance, etc.). There may be an educational or community component to the scholarship, requiring artists to share knowledge as a stipulation of the funding.
In the meantime, save the date for July 2 – we can’t wait to put our first Ambassadors on the road!