Cultural Funding

Because of the famous “exception culturelle française,” a particular focus is set on preserving and maintaining the French cultural life, traditions and language in the francophone world. Thus, there is a wide array of institutions for funding and promotion. Among them, AJC, Jazzdor, ONDA and Le Périscope work to support and improve international exchanges.



In 2016, 48 AJC member concert halls (oriented towards creative music) programmed 78% French musicians, 12% European musicians and 10% other international artists (AJC study). All funding is public; private sponsorship for jazz is negligible. The main source of cultural funding are local government (cities, communal groupings, departments, regions), then regional government (DRAC) and “sociétés civiles” (SACEM, etc.).

These institutions variously grant international support, and it is often necessary to combine multiple sources of funding (for instance with one’s home country’s institute).



In any case, it is always useful to reach out to the institutions directly. Last but not least, to play in France, it is highly recommended and often necessary to have at least one France-based partner, whether a musician or a professional, if only to be guided within the intricacies of the French administration, employment regulations and funding requirements. And proficiency in French is preferable (if not essential).