TUNECORE GRANT EXPANDS TO SOUTH INDIA, SELECTING FOUR ARTISTS TO EACH RECEIVE INR 100,000

TuneCore’s largest regional grant yet, the latest TuneCore Grant seeks to uplift artists who perform in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam

TuneCore, the leading development partner for self-releasing artists—owned by Paris-based Believe, one of the world’s leading digital music companies—has announced the third edition of the TuneCore Grant program. The latest edition will provide endowments of INR 100,000 each to four independent artists who perform in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam respectively. Artists can send in their entry via the TuneCore India website between 1st March and 31st March 2024. 

Artists can enter by submitting a single to be judged by a panel of industry experts consisting of Sam C.S (music composer), Ghibran (music composer), Neha Nair (singer/songwriter) and Padmanaban N.S. (Head of Artist and Label Partnerships).

The TuneCore Grant was first launched in 2022 to provide financial support for rising independent artists to help further their careers. Since its inception, nearly 300 artists have participated in the program, submitting singles for consideration for the previous two editions. 

Discussing the growth of the program and this year’s focus on South India, Akhila Shankar, Head of TuneCore, South Asia said, “We’ve seen a burgeoning independent music scene emerging from the South with more artists choosing to create music in their native tongue. This is both worth celebrating and amplifying. With TuneCore Grant Punjabi we saw that the program directly led to a 40% increase in the number of TuneCore artists releasing music in the language. With each edition of the Grant, we hope to encourage more artists to release independently, express themselves in their language of choice, and contribute to India’s robust, diverse culture.”

TuneCore artists in India release music in more than 25 local languages. The four languages selected for this edition of the grant represent some of the fastest growing languages in terms of number of releases per year. 

Tash Shah, VP, International, TuneCore added, “At TuneCore, our international strategy thrives on fostering vibrant local music ecosystems around the world. The expansion of the TuneCore Grant to South India exemplifies this commitment. We believe financial empowerment at the grassroots level unlocks their creative potential.” 

Vivek Raina, Managing Director, Believe, India & South Asia said, “Believe is committed to fostering local communities and artists singing in their local languages. As the independent music scene across the 5 southern states grows, we are committed to supporting artists at various stages through our network of services and programs”. 

Submission details and additional information surrounding the TuneCore Grant South India are available on the TuneCore India website and Instagram channel (@tunecore.ind). Grant Applications from artists should include an original single in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada or Malayalam and are open to artists of all genres.