Application

Do you write or produce your own songs? Would you like to play a concert in Berlin? Would you like to get to know other young musicians and try out your skills in workshops with professionals?

Then we look forward to receiving your application for the Treffen junge Musikszene!

Apply as a solo artist, in a duo or with your band if you are between 11 and 21 years old and not already under contract. You can apply with up to three self-written songs, electronic music, digital sound productions, vocal art or sound experiments in any language.

The Treffen junge Musikszene offers young musicians a platform to present their self-written, self-penned or self-produced music. The competition is open to all modern styles: songs from the fields of pop, singer-songwriter, rap, rock as well as electronic music, sound experiments, sound design, video, radio play or game music can be submitted.

What is important to us is what you express and represent with your music. The songs and tracks should be able to be played or presented in a live situation on stage.

In addition to participating in public concerts, the Treffen junge Musikszene offers a creative space in which the prizewinners can develop their musical signature in workshops, receive tips and knowledge from professionals and get to know each other, exchange ideas and jam together.

Start for applications 19 March 2024
Deadline for applications 31 July 2024
Announcement of the final selection End of August 2024
Treffen junge Musikszene 28 November to 3 December 2024

You can apply if:

• you are between 11 and 21 years old
• you are not yet a professionally trained musician and do not yet have a contract with a music label or management
• the submitted tracks are your own productions

As this is a national competition, unfortunately only applications from within the German Federal Republic can be considered.

Participation with the same entries in other competitions is not excluded. A repeated application is possible. 

The independent jury is looking for remarkable and exemplary songs, tracks and compositions by young musicians. In order to be able to compare the applications submitted, the jury looks for certain characteristics in the entries.

These qualities are important to the jury:

• Inventiveness in composition, lyrics, arrangement
• The relationship between lyrics and music in songs
• Skills on the instrument, vocal quality
• For electronic music: skills and mastery of the technology and the means and the creative use of them
• Expressiveness and attitude of the artists in their music
• Music and/or lyrics touch the listener
• Experimentation, willingness to take risks in the musical idea and design, avoidance of copying styles
• Creativity, wit and originality of the music submitted
• Mastery of the stylistic basics within the respective stylistic directions
• A personal view of the world is recognizable through the music
• The world is captured in coherent musical and lyrical images, e.g. through the imagery of the lyrics or motifs in the music.
• The music refers to the current state of society and addresses important socio-political issues
• The music conveys credibility, has persuasive power and shows awareness of the use of the chosen artistic means
• Performability as a live performance (applies to pre-produced songs, playbacks, effects devices, natural and digital instruments). Electronic and digital music should also be created live in the moment of a concert
• The musicians convey an awareness of a discrimination-sensitive and privilege-conscious approach to lyrics and instrumentation or arrangement.

Please submit your application via our ApplicationPortal). Once you have registered, you can enter all the details of your application there. You can apply with

• self-written songs in all languages
• all modern music styles (e. g. pop, hip-hop, jazz, funk, rock, chanson, folk, blues, electronic music, experimental music, sound design)
• any kind of self-produced music that works with lyrics, contains messages or tells stories and themes (e.g. texts set to music, radio plays, games, podcasts, vocal art and sound experiments)

Submissions that are not own productions or from soloists, duos or bands that are already contractually bound (e.g. to record companies, producers, music publishers, etc.) will not be recognized.

Please also upload the following application materials:

• Music: up to three songs, titles or tracks, including an unedited recording from the rehearsal room or a performance or live situation
• Lyrics: the complete song lyrics or lyrics set to music, stories or content that you have realized musically. In the case of instrumental pieces, it is also interesting for us to find out what themes, thoughts or stories you have worked through.
• Self-presentation: a self-written text about you and your musical development and work

If you have any questions or problems using our application portal, please contact us by phone on +49 30 254 89 113 or by email treffenjungeszene@berlinerfestspiele.de.

An independent jury will select around ten soloists, duos or bands, each with one song, from the applications received. The selection process is completed at the end of August. The jury’s decision is final – there is no legal recourse.

The award winners will be invited to Berlin for six days at the Treffen junge Musikszene. The award-winning songs or tracks will be presented in a joint concert by the prizewinners at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. In addition, the selected young musicians are invited to take part in an intensive program of various workshops on topics such as singing, voice work, composition, production, improvisation, stage performance and performance analysis. The program also includes expert discussions on other music topics as well as evening jam sessions.

All costs for participation in the Treffen junge Musikszene will be covered.