What Fondation Suisa does

Fondation Suisa is a Swiss non-profit foundation, established in 1989 and headquartered in Lausanne, whose statutory purpose is to promote contemporary musical creation in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. It is recognized as a public-utility foundation and is governed by a Foundation Board chaired by Zeno Gabaglio (as of 2026). The foundation does not sell a commercial product; instead it distributes funding, awards, and promotional support to a broad base of Swiss and Liechtenstein music creators across genres including jazz, pop, rock, electronic, folk, classical, and experimental.

Its core programs are: (i) "Get Going!", an annual work-grant program providing up to eight CHF 25,000 grants to music creators for artistic development; (ii) "Demotape Clinic", a competition run in partnership with Pour-cent culturel Migros / m4music (now in its 28th edition), awarding FONDATION SUISA Awards of CHF 3,000 across five categories plus a CHF 5,000 Demo of the Year prize; (iii) "SWISS MUSIC ABROAD", a curated presence at six international festivals (jazzahead!, The Great Escape, Reeperbahn, MaMA, Linecheck, and previously WOMEX); (iv) "SWISS MUSIC @ home", a hosted-buyer program inviting international professionals to Swiss festivals such as Cully Jazz and SONIC MATTER; and (v) "TALENT SUPPORT", a structured partnership with SWISS FILMS and SONART for film-music composers launched in March 2026. Supporting instruments include the arttv musician portrait video series, the Best Swiss Video Clip competition (CHF 5,000 jury and public prizes), the Swiss Film Music Anthology 1923–2012 publication, and curated music compilations.

The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven rather than commercial: applications are received via an online portal, and visibility is generated through festival showcases, partnership programming, and multilingual outreach in German, French, Italian, and English. The underlying revenue model is that of an endowed public-utility foundation, with annual outflows in the low single-digit millions of CHF implied by grant disbursements and operating activity; specific revenue, endowment, and headcount figures are not publicly disclosed. Leadership is in transition: long-serving Director Urs Schnell (since 2008) is being succeeded by Fabio Baechtold, formerly managing director of BeJazz, effective July 1, 2026.

Name

Fondation Suisa

Legal name

FONDATION SUISA

Website

https://fondation-suisa.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Swiss non-profit foundation established in 1989 that distributes grants, awards, and international showcase opportunities to contemporary music creators in Switzerland and Liechtenstein through programs such as Get Going! and Demotape Clinic.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Foundation Services

NAICS

Music Publishers (51223)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) & Public Performance Licensing (MPAIAKAA)

Keywords

• Music creator grants
• Artist development programs
• Swiss music promotion
• Music festival showcases
• Cultural funding foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Funding Distribution: As a non-profit foundation established in 1989, Fondation Suisa promotes contemporary musical creation in Switzerland and Liechtenstein through grants, awards, and partnership programs. The foundation distributes funds to music creators rather than generating commercial revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fondation Suisa is a non-profit foundation that promotes contemporary musical creation in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. It distributes grants, awards, and partnership-based funding to music creators, and supports international promotion of Swiss music through showcase programs at major European festivals. Its core offerings are the Get Going! work grants (CHF 25,000 each), the Demotape Clinic competition, the SWISS MUSIC @ home and SWISS MUSIC ABROAD international promotion programs, and partnership programs such as the Talent Support initiative for Swiss film music composers.

Product overview

FONDATION SUISA operates as a unified foundation offering multiple interconnected funding and promotion programmes for Swiss and Liechtenstein music creation. The core offerings include the "Get Going!" work grant programme (CHF 25,000 grants for emerging artists), the "Demotape Clinic" competition (in partnership with Migros), and international promotion through "SWISS MUSIC @ home" (bringing international professionals to Swiss festivals) and "SWISS MUSIC ABROAD" (showcasing Swiss artists at international festivals like jazzahead! and The Great Escape). Supporting services include arttv musician portraits, the Swiss Film Music Anthology publication, and partnership programmes such as Talent Support for film composers, Screen to Sound creative labs, and Cinema in Concert. All programmes work together to strengthen Swiss music visibility both domestically and internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SWISS MUSIC @ home: Program by FONDATION SUISA that invites international professionals to Swiss festivals to connect them with the local music scene.
• Get Going!
• SWISS MUSIC

Products and services

• Get Going! Annual work grant program providing CHF 25,000 in seed funding to up to eight music creators in Switzerland and Liechtenstein for artistic development, focusing on ideas in development rather than finished projects.
• Demotape Clinic Annual competition for emerging Swiss music talents organized in partnership with Migros Cultural Percent, with FONDATION SUISA Awards of CHF 3,000 in each of five categories and a Demo of the Year prize of CHF 5,000, totaling approximately CHF 20,000.
• SWISS MUSIC @ home Program that invites international music professionals to Swiss festivals (e.g., Cully Jazz, SONIC MATTER, Willisau, Archipel Festival) to connect them with the local music scene and facilitate networking with Swiss musicians and event organizers.
• SWISS MUSIC ABROAD International presence program showcasing Swiss music at major international festivals including jazzahead!, The Great Escape, Reeperbahn Festival, MaMA Music & Convention, WOMEX, and Linecheck.
• arttv Musician's Portraits Video portrait series produced in partnership with arttv presenting selected Swiss musicians, including Get Going! award recipients, documenting their work and current projects.
• Swiss Film Music Composers Talent Support Structured partnership between SWISS FILMS, Fondation Suisa, and SONART to strengthen the position of Swiss film music composers through professionalization, international networking, and visibility initiatives at festivals and markets.
• Screen to Sound Creative lab partnership supporting Swiss film music composers through workshops and networking opportunities.
• Cinema in Concert Program combining cinema and live music, featuring Swiss film music performed in concert settings.
• Best Swiss Video Clip Annual award competition for the best Swiss music video clip, presented in partnership with Solothurn Film Days and m4music festival, with jury and public vote prizes of CHF 5,000 each.
• Music Compilations Curated music compilation albums showcasing contemporary Swiss music across various genres.
• Swiss Film Music Anthology 1923-2012 Publication documenting Swiss film music from 1923 to 2012, preserving and showcasing the history of film music composition in Switzerland.
• Zusammen, insieme, ensemble Initiative promoting barrier-free access to classical concerts, partnering with orchestras and cultural organizations.

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SWISS FILMScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2026Partnership with SWISS FILMS and SONART to strengthen Swiss film music composers' position in the international film industry through professionalization, networking, and visibility initiatives at festivals and markets.
• SONART (Association Suisse de Musique)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2026Partnership with SWISS FILMS and SONART for TALENT SUPPORT program supporting Swiss film music composers through professionalization, international networking, and visibility activities.
• Swiss Music Export (SME)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerFondation Suisa collaborates with Swiss Music Export on international promotion of Swiss music, including joint presence at international festivals (The Great Escape, jazzahead!), SWISS MUSIC @ home program, and Swiss Business Blender networking events.
• Pro HelvetiacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for international cultural promotion, particularly for SWISS MUSIC @ home program that invites international professionals to Swiss festivals, and joint decisions on international festival presence.
• Pour-cent culturel Migros (m4music festival)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership for Demotape Clinic competition, now in its 28th edition. The competition awards emerging Swiss musicians with FONDATION SUISA Awards in five categories and Demo of the Year prize, held during the m4music festival in Zurich.
• arttvminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with arttv to produce video portraits of selected musicians and Get Going! award recipients, providing visibility and documentation of Swiss music creators.
• BeJazzminorOthersBeJazz is the Bernese jazz organization managed by incoming Director Fabio Baechtold since 2007. While not a formal partnership, this represents the incoming director's background and industry connections.
• Swiss Embassy (United Kingdom)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint presence with Swiss Music Export at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, UK, promoting Swiss music internationally.
• Swiss Embassy (France)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSwiss Business Mixer networking event presented by Swiss Music Export and FONDATION SUISA in cooperation with Swiss Embassy in France at MaMA festival.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• GEMA: GEMA is Germany's performing rights organization and one of the largest music rights societies in the world. It channels funding to Musikfonds and other cultural initiatives, making it structurally comparable as the underlying collecting society in a Swiss/German-style foundation ecosystem.
• SABAM: SABAM is the Belgian collecting society for authors, composers, and publishers, supporting Belgian music creators through cultural initiatives and grants. Comparable to SUISA in role and to Fondation Suisa in supporting national music creation.
• Fondazione SIAE: SIAE is the Italian collecting society, with associated cultural foundations funding Italian music creation. The Italian counterpart structure to SUISA/Fondation Suisa, providing a relevant cross-jurisdictional peer for understanding the European collecting-society-funded foundation model.
• BUMA Stemra: BUMA Stemra is the Dutch collecting society for music rights and a key funder of Dutch music creation and export initiatives. It represents the same institutional archetype as SUISA in the Swiss ecosystem, making it a relevant peer for understanding the foundation's funding model.
• SUISA: SUISA is the Swiss collecting society for music rights and the foundation's namesake. While Fondation Suisa is structured as an independent non-profit, SUISA's membership base and royalty flows effectively underpin the foundation's funding, making it the closest institutional peer and parent-ecosystem organization.

Direct peers

• PRS Foundation: PRS Foundation is the UK music industry's charitable foundation that funds music creators through grants, awards, and development programs. It is the closest international direct peer to Fondation Suisa in terms of model: a music-focused grantmaking foundation supporting creation and international showcasing.
• Musikfonds: Musikfonds is a German music grantmaking foundation funded through German collecting societies (GEMA, GVL) to promote contemporary music creation. It is highly comparable in model to Fondation Suisa as a collecting-society-funded music creation foundation.
• Suisseculture: Suisseculture is the Swiss umbrella organization for professional cultural workers, including musicians. Fondation Suisa lists it within its network and collaborates on advocacy and policy work for Swiss creators, making it a close Swiss cultural-sector peer.
• Music Finland: Music Finland is the Finnish music export and development organization that promotes Finnish music internationally through showcases, awards, and funding. Its model of combining grantmaking, international showcasing, and partnership-driven promotion parallels Fondation Suisa's SWISS MUSIC ABROAD approach.
• Pro Helvetia: The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia is the most direct Swiss peer, a federal foundation that funds and promotes Swiss arts internationally. Fondation Suisa explicitly collaborates with Pro Helvetia on SWISS MUSIC @ home and international festival presence, and they share the same Swiss cultural-promotion mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/121460585449
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fondation-suisa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Fondation Suisa