Finding your way in Brussels: how the EU as an institution works with music

By Julia Milewska

Europe’s music scene is bursting with creativity, collaboration, and new ideas, but navigating. EU funding can sometimes feel like trying to decode a complex score without sheet music. This guide is here to make that journey easier. Whether you’re an artist, manager, festival organiser, label or any other type of industry professional, this visual guide will help you understand how the EU supports the music sector, which programmes matter most, and where the opportunities for your next project may be hiding. Think of it as your backstage pass to the funding landscape in Brussels.

1. What is the Creative Europe Programme?

For anyone in the music sector looking for EU support, Creative Europe is the first and most important place to look. The Creative Europe programme is the European Union’s flagship funding initiative supporting the cultural and creative sectors, strengthening artistic diversity, cross-border collaboration, and innovation across Europe.

The Creative Europe programme is structured around three strands: the Culture strand, supporting cultural and creative fields including music; the Media strand, supporting film and audiovisual industries.

And finally, the Cross-sectoral strand, which reinforces collaboration between different cultural and creative sectors: it encourages innovation, supports new media, and promotes policy cooperation.

2. Creative Europe Culture Strand & Music Funding

The Culture strand is the part of the Creative Europe Programme most closely connected to the music sector, and it is capable of providing significant funding. More than 25% of the strand’s sectoral support goes specifically to music-related actions. Funding is distributed through calls for proposals, covering several key types of support:

• Cooperation projects: collaborative initiatives led by at least three entities from different countries, supporting transnational creation, innovation, circulation, and capacity building.
• European networks: multi-member organisations that connect professional cultural actors, gather and share good practices, provide training, and represent sectoral interests.
• European platforms: showcase or kickstart platforms that programme, promote, and give visibility to emerging European artists and work across borders.
• Pan-European cultural entities: for example, orchestras composed of artists from many countries, offering training, residencies, and performance opportunities for young talent.
• Culture Moves Europe: mobility grants for artists and cultural professionals across the 40 Creative Europe countries. Around 18% of the individual mobility and residency projects supported under Culture Moves Europe 2022-2025 were in the field of music. This mobility scheme is funded by Creative Europe and is implemented by the Goethe-Institut.

3. Specific “Music Moves Europe” calls

In addition, Creative Europe regularly launches specific “Music Moves Europe” (MME) calls for proposals. The most recent MME call focused on the green transition and environmental sustainability of the music sector. This call aimed to raise awareness and reinforce knowledge on environmental sustainability, encouraging the development, experimentation, dissemination and application of concrete green practices across the music ecosystem.

4. Music Moves Europe Awards

Of course, we cannot forget about mentioning Music Moves Europe Awards, implemented by Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in partnership with Reeperbahn Festival, which are being co-funded by the Creative Europe programme. The Awards get the support of a unique alliance of European music industry partners. Since 2019, the annual award ceremony has been organised in Groningen to celebrate emerging artists who represent the European sound of today and tomorrow.

All of the above diverse funding opportunities demonstrate Creative Europe's commitment to supporting the music sector at multiple levels, ensuring that opportunities are available for organisations of varying sizes and ambitions throughout Europe.

5. How the Programme Is Run: Structure & Management

Creative Europe is implemented through a two-part governance system within the European Commission, ensuring both strategic direction and efficient delivery.

• The Commission Unit (DG EAC unit D.2. – Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture)

This is the policy-making arm. It designs the programme, sets political priorities, shapes the annual work plans, and ensures that Creative Europe aligns with broader EU objectives, such as cultural diversity, sustainability, digitalisation, intergenerational fairness and cross-border cooperation. The Commission unit also engages with stakeholders across Europe, evaluates sectoral needs, and develops future programme orientations.

• The Executive Agency (EACEA – European Education and Culture Executive Agency)

This is the operational branch that turns policy into action. EACEA manages the practical side of the programme. It publishes the calls for proposals, evaluates applications with independent experts, awards grants, monitors implementation, and provides guidance to beneficiaries throughout the lifespan of their projects. It ensures that funded projects deliver on their objectives and comply with EU rules.

Although they serve different roles, the Commission unit and EACEA work in close coordination. The Commission steers the vision; the Agency delivers it. Their collaboration ensures that Creative Europe remains strategically coherent, transparent, and responsive to the evolving needs of Europe’s cultural and music sectors. Together, they form the backbone that allows Creative Europe to provide stable, well-managed, and future-oriented support for music professionals across the continent.

6. Looking Ahead: AgoraEU (2028–2034)

In the frame of the new EU budget (2028-2034), the European Commission has proposed AgoraEU, an €8.58 billion programme merging Creative Europe's Culture and Media strands with CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values), and doubling funding for cultural sectors. Under this new structure, the programme will consist of three strands:

• Creative Europe – Culture,
• MEDIA+, and
• Democracy, Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV+).

AgoraEU will bring culture, media, democracy, and European values together in a single integrated programme. It will support spaces where people can meet, create together, and share their views freely. The programme will help citizens connect across Europe and build stronger societies. The Culture strand specifically will build on its success from its current programming cycle (2021-2027) by widening its offer of opportunities and accompanying the ambitions of the upcoming Culture Compass for Europe – the EU’s new strategic framework designed to guide and harness the multiple dimensions of culture and set priorities for future initiatives.

7. How to get in touch with Creative Europe?

This guide has given you a quick recap of everything you need to know about the European funding for the music sector. From the Creative Europe Programme and its different funding opportunities to how the system actually works behind the scenes in Brussels, you now have all the essential information to navigate EU support for music.

If you have any questions or need assistance, Creative Europe Desks are in place in every participating country. These desks are your local contact point, ready to help with funding opportunities and application procedures. Whether you're just starting to explore what Creative Europe can offer or you're ready to develop a project proposal, your national Creative Europe Desk is there to support you every step of the way.

To find your national Creative Europe Desk contact, refer to this website.

The opportunities are out there: now it's time to make the most of them!