Toto Music Awards for Young Artists in India

Contemporary original music from all parts of India, in any genre and language, composed and written by an individual or a band/project is welcome.

Toto Funds the Arts (TFA) nurtures and recognises young artists in India through awards, workshops, conversations, readings, screenings, concerts and other events.

Award Information

• Two winners, to be decided by an eminent panel of jurors, will receive a cash award of Rs 60,000 each.

Eligibility Criteria

• Nationality
  • Only Indian citizens residing in India are eligible for the award. Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders are not eligible.
  • Age Restriction: 18 – 29
  • Since the TOTO Awards are intended to identify and encourage young talent, all applicants (including members of the applying band / project) must be born after 1 January 1994 and before 1 January 2006.
• Recording Quality
  • Professional grade studio recordings are not a requirement, but with recording gear easily accessible these days, they do expect a basic standard to be met. They believe that the recording process is an important one for musicians to hone their craft. They therefore expect to hear some effort being put into the recordings and arrangements, even if they are just home recordings. As a submission medium, they accept only SoundCloud links without exception.
  • (Unreleased and released work is welcome, but only via Soundcloud. Make the uploads private and send the shareable link, if you wish to send unreleased work.)
• Originality & Collaborations
  • All entries must contain only original compositions and lyrics composed and written entirely by the applicant individual/band/project. All published tracks must be published under the band’s name or artist’s name/moniker. The applicant individual/band/project must own the rights to all submitted music and recordings.
• Language
  • If your music has lyrics in languages other than Hindi or English, applicants are encouraged to send in translated lyrics to help the jury reach a better verdict.
• Labels & Artist Management
  • Artists working with labels or professional management are permitted to apply. However, given that the spirit of the award is to foster relationships with the artists themselves, they ask that all correspondence with TFA be conducted directly by the artists and not their managers/representatives.

For more information, visit TFA.