Grants for Miami Musicians: MIA, WaveMaker and More

Miami music grants compared: MIA, WaveMaker, and Artist Access amounts, rules, and deadlines, plus how fan funding works, so musicians can pick the right fit.

Your Real Funding Options as a Miami Music Artist

If you make music in Miami-Dade County, funding for independent artists comes from two main places: local grants, and money raised directly from your fans. Grants award money through an application and a review. Fan funding raises money from the people who already listen to you. Each path has its own amounts, rules, timelines, and limits.

This guide lays out the facts on the Miami music grants open to musicians, explains how fan funding works, and walks through which option tends to fit which kind of project. Use it to compare, then check each program's official page before you apply.

MIA Grants: How Much Is the Miami Individual Artists Grant?

The Miami Individual Artists (MIA) Grants program is run by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs.

Amount: up to $10,000
Who qualifies: working professional artists who live in Miami-Dade County and have a body of work
Disciplines: all disciplines, including music and sound performance
How awards are decided: merit-based review
Limit: one application per artist
Funding period: October 1 to September 30
Taxes: awards are taxable

How competitive is the MIA grant?

For fiscal year 2025-26, the program received 587 applications and recommended 321 for funding, a little more than half. The program is aimed at working professionals, so expect to show an existing body of work, not just a project idea.

When are MIA grant applications due?

In the last cycle, applications opened in early February and closed in early March. The funding period runs October 1 to September 30, so it starts several months after applications close. If you need money for something happening next month, this timeline will not cover it.

WaveMaker Grants: Miami Funding for Free, Public Work

WaveMaker Grants are run by Locust Projects as a regranting program of the Andy Warhol Foundation. Music is eligible, but the rules about where and how the work is shared are specific.

Amount: up to $6,000 for New Work/Projects and Long-Haul grants
R&D grants: up to $2,000, with a possible $4,000 follow-up to carry the project out
Who qualifies: Miami-Dade residents; music is an eligible discipline
How the work must be shared: with the public, at no cost, in unconventional spaces
Where it cannot happen: museums, commercial galleries, traditional venues, or paid-admission venues
Not eligible: LLCs established for commercial enterprise, and generally anyone who received a WaveMaker grant in the past 5 years
Application fee: none

What does the free, public rule mean for musicians?

This rule decides whether most music projects fit. A free performance in a non-traditional space could fit the format. A ticketed club show would not, because traditional and paid-admission venues are excluded. A release you plan to sell is a harder fit too, since the work has to be shared at no cost. Read the guidelines closely before you build a proposal.

When are WaveMaker applications due?

Recent cycles opened February 1 with an April 1 deadline.

Artist Access Grants: Funding for Training and Professional Development

Artist Access Grants are offered by Miami-Dade County with FUNDarte.

Amount: up to $2,000
What it funds: professional development, such as workshops, residencies, and training

Eligibility rules and deadlines are set each cycle, so check the current guidelines from Miami-Dade County and FUNDarte before you apply.

Other Miami-Dade Artist Grants You May See Listed

Oolite Arts and the South Florida Cultural Consortium also fund local artists, but both focus on visual and media artists. If your work is music only, read their guidelines before you plan around them.

Fan Funding: How It Works

Fan funding means asking the people who already support your music to pay for a specific project, usually through a campaign with a goal, an end date, and rewards. There is no application and no review panel. Your supporters decide by contributing.

Here is how it works on TuneShift:

You set a goal of at least $100, a minimum contribution of at least $1, and an end date.
To launch, you connect payouts through Stripe so fans can pay you.
Each contribution is charged when the fan checks out, and your share goes to your connected Stripe account.
Campaigns are keep-what-you-raise, not all-or-nothing. If the campaign ends below its goal, you keep what came in.
The campaign stops taking contributions when its end date passes.
The Starter plan includes one campaign a month.

What does fan funding cost?

TuneShift takes a platform fee on each contribution: 8% plus $0.30 on Starter, 6% plus $0.30 on Pro, or 5% plus $0.30 on Elite. On a $100 contribution on Starter, the fee is $8.30 and $91.70 reaches you. Stripe's processing fee is paid by TuneShift out of that fee, not charged to you on top. Starter has no plan price. Pro and Elite have a monthly plan price, listed on the pricing page.

Strengths of fan funding

Speed. You choose when to launch and when the campaign ends. There is no application cycle to wait for.
No panel. Nobody scores an application. Your supporters decide.
Commercial work is allowed. You can raise money for a release you plan to sell or a ticketed show at a paid venue, as long as your campaign description is accurate and the money goes to the purpose you describe.
You keep ownership. Backing a campaign does not give fans any ownership of your music. Under TuneShift's terms, you keep all ownership rights to your original content.

Limits of fan funding

Platform fees. Every contribution carries the fee above, so you receive less than fans give.
It depends on your audience. Fan funding works when you already have listeners engaged enough to pay. Without that audience, a campaign has no one to reach.
Campaigns can fall short. A goal is a target, not a guarantee. You keep what you raise, but that may be less than the project costs.
You owe your supporters. Your campaign description has to be accurate, the money has to go to the stated purpose, and you are expected to deliver any rewards you promise.
The income is taxable. Campaign money is generally taxable income, and if your payments cross the reporting thresholds, Stripe sends you a 1099-K. See Understanding Your 1099-K from Stripe and Taxes for Independent Artists.

If you are planning a campaign, How to Run Your First Crowdfunding Campaign covers goals, rewards, and promotion.

Miami Music Grants vs. Fan Funding at a Glance

Amount

MIA Grant: up to $10,000
WaveMaker: up to $6,000; R&D up to $2,000, with a possible $4,000 follow-up
Artist Access: up to $2,000
Fan funding: whatever your supporters contribute, minus platform fees

Timeline

MIA Grant: last cycle opened in early February and closed in early March; funding period October 1 to September 30
WaveMaker: recent cycles opened February 1 with an April 1 deadline
Artist Access: set each cycle; check current guidelines
Fan funding: you choose the launch and end dates

Who decides

MIA Grant: merit-based review by the county program
WaveMaker: Locust Projects, through an application
Artist Access: the program, through an application
Fan funding: your supporters

What it can fund

MIA Grant: working professional artists in any discipline, including music and sound performance
WaveMaker: work shared with the public for free in unconventional spaces
Artist Access: professional development, such as workshops, residencies, and training
Fan funding: the project your campaign describes, including commercial releases and paid shows

Main restrictions

MIA Grant: Miami-Dade residents with a body of work; one application per artist
WaveMaker: Miami-Dade residents; no museums, commercial galleries, traditional venues, or paid-admission venues; commercial LLCs not eligible; past recipients within 5 years generally ineligible
Artist Access: check current guidelines
Fan funding: accurate campaign description, money used for the stated purpose, promised rewards delivered

Cost to apply or use

MIA Grant: check the program guidelines
WaveMaker: no application fee
Artist Access: check the program guidelines
Fan funding: 8%, 6%, or 5% of each contribution plus $0.30, depending on your plan; Pro and Elite also have a monthly plan price

Taxable

MIA Grant: yes, the county says awards are taxable
WaveMaker: plan for it to be taxable and confirm with a tax professional
Artist Access: plan for it to be taxable and confirm with a tax professional
Fan funding: generally yes; see the 1099-K and taxes guides linked above

Which Option Fits Your Project?

There is no single right answer. Match the funding to the project in front of you.

A free, experimental performance in a non-traditional space: WaveMaker is built for this kind of work, as long as you meet the residency and eligibility rules.
Career development with an established track record: the MIA Grant is aimed at working professional artists with a body of work, and it has the highest maximum of the three grants.
A workshop, residency, or training program: Artist Access Grants cover professional development up to $2,000.
Recording or releasing music on your own timeline, or a project you plan to sell: fan funding fits, because there is no application cycle and commercial work is allowed. It works best when you already have an engaged audience.
Combining sources: different sources can cover different parts of a career. For example, an Artist Access Grant could pay for a production workshop while a fan-funded campaign pays for recording a project you plan to sell. Each grant program sets its own rules about how its money can be used, so confirm with the program before you plan around more than one source.

Deadlines and Amounts Change Every Year

The details in this guide reflect the most recent cycles. Grant amounts, eligibility rules, and deadlines can change from year to year. Before you apply, check each program's official page: miamidadearts.org for MIA Grants and locustprojects.org for WaveMaker Grants. TuneShift's current fees and plans are on the pricing page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there grants for musicians in Miami?

Yes. Miami-Dade residents can look at MIA Grants (up to $10,000), WaveMaker Grants (up to $6,000, with a separate R&D track), and Artist Access Grants (up to $2,000 for professional development). Each one has its own eligibility rules and deadlines.

Can an LLC apply for a WaveMaker grant?

LLCs established for commercial enterprise are not eligible. If you run your music through an LLC, read WaveMaker's eligibility rules or ask Locust Projects how they apply to you before you apply.

Is grant money taxable?

The county says MIA awards are taxable. Plan for other grant money and fan funding income to be taxable as well, and keep records. Taxes for Independent Artists covers the basics, and a tax professional can tell you how it applies to your situation.

What happens if a fan-funded campaign doesn't reach its goal?

On TuneShift, you keep what you raised. Contributions are charged when fans check out, and there is no all-or-nothing rule. The campaign stops taking contributions at its end date.

Can I get a grant and run a fan-funded campaign too?

TuneShift's campaign rules don't restrict other funding sources. Grant programs set their own rules about how their money is used, so check the guidelines of any grant you apply for.

Key Takeaways

MIA Grants from Miami-Dade County award up to $10,000 to working professional artists, including musicians, who have a body of work
WaveMaker Grants award up to $6,000, but the work must be shared with the public for free in unconventional spaces, not traditional or paid-admission venues
Artist Access Grants cover up to $2,000 in professional development, such as workshops, residencies, and training
Grants run on fixed cycles, and the MIA funding period starts October 1, months after applications close
Fan funding has no application or panel and allows commercial work, but it depends on an engaged audience and carries platform fees
TuneShift campaigns are keep-what-you-raise: each contribution is charged at checkout, whether or not the goal is reached
Grant awards and fan funding income are generally taxable, and deadlines change every year, so check each program's official page

Glossary

Regranting: When a foundation funds a local organization, which then awards smaller grants to individual artists. WaveMaker Grants are a regranting program of the Andy Warhol Foundation, run by Locust Projects.
Merit-Based Review: A selection process that judges applications on the quality of the artist's work and proposal rather than on financial need.
Funding Period: The window of time a grant covers. For MIA Grants, it runs October 1 to September 30.
Keep-What-You-Raise: A crowdfunding model where the artist keeps every contribution even if the campaign ends below its goal. TuneShift campaigns work this way.
All-or-Nothing: A crowdfunding model where contributions are collected only if the campaign reaches its goal by the deadline.
Platform Fee: The part of each contribution a fan funding platform keeps. On TuneShift it is 8%, 6%, or 5% depending on the artist's plan, plus $0.30 per campaign contribution.