Strengthening Youth Music

The purpose of the Strengthening Youth Music fund is to improve the youth music sector infrastructure and the services that organisers offer to strengthen the youth music sector in Scotland for the benefit of children and young people.

Applications will open at 2pm on Tuesday 5 August 2025

The YMI Strengthening Youth Music Fund supports individuals and organisations working in the youth music sector deliver activities that will improve, develop and strengthen the sector, and the services offered to benefit children and young people across the country.

In 2023/24, we undertook a review of the YMI Strengthening Youth Music Fund, gathering feedback from previous applicants, end of project reports and YMI evaluations. This review resulted in a refreshed approach to the fund guidance and application questions, that aimed to make the application process more accessible for applicants. While the overall ambitions of the fund remain unchanged, we have:

  • Refreshed the purpose of the fund increasing the focus on supporting projects that demonstrate how they will result in a strategic intervention that will strengthen the youth music sector in Scotland.
  • Reduced the number of application questions.
  • Added questions on Environmental Sustainability and Fair Work in line with Scottish Government requirements.
  • Refreshed our approach to monitoring and evaluation that allows applicants to take a more proportionate approach that is appropriate to the size and scale of their project.

This fund is not to support project delivery directly with children and young people. If you are looking to apply for a project which focuses on delivery with children and young people, you should instead apply for the YMI Access to Music Making fund.

Up to £1.4m will be available for the Access to Music Making and Strengthening Youth Music Funds in 2025/26.

Guidance and Downloads

How to apply

Guidance is now available to allow you to prepare, and applications will open at 2pm on Tuesday 5 August 2025. 

All applications for the Strengthening Youth Music fund must be made through Creative Scotland's online application portal. For information on how to register, access and complete the application form, visit: my.creativescotland.com/user-guide.

Access support

Creative Scotland is committed to offering clear and accessible application processes and programmes that are open to everyone. We have a number of ways we can support you to make your application. Find out more in the guidance.