Applications open now: click here to apply
New York, NY (March 18, 2025) – SESAC Performing Rights and New Music USA announced today continued funding for Reel Change: The Fund for Diversity in Film Scoring. Reel Change is a grant and mentorship program for composers of diverse backgrounds who have been marginalized in film composition, powered by SESAC Performing Rights and composer Christophe Beck, and administered by New Music USA.
The fund, first established in 2020, has been renewed for another three years. It supports film projects currently in production, where additional funding and mentoring would help composers at a pivotal moment in their careers. Four to six grants averaging $20,000 will be allocated each year of the program. Supportable expenses include composer compensation, musician fees, recording and sound mastering fees, studio expenses, orchestration, production equipment, and more. In its first five years, Reel Change has supported 29 grantees and has granted over $450,000 in funding.
Erin Collins, Senior Vice President of TV/Film at SESAC Performing Rights, says:
“We’re thrilled to continue our work with New Music USA to progress the world of film scoring and to advocate for underrepresented voices. At SESAC Performing Rights, we strongly believe in the mission of this fund and are eager to build upon the successes that have occurred since Reel Change started five years ago.”
Vanessa Reed, President & CEO of New Music USA, says:
“New Music USA is proud to continue our collaboration with SESAC Performing Rights and Christophe Beck as delivery partners for the Reel Change fund. We are grateful for this robust support of composers from backgrounds historically underrepresented in film scoring and we believe that the continuation of this program will help strengthen the soundtracks of films today and in the future.”
2023 Reel Change grantee Chanell Crichlow adds,
“The Reel Change Film Fund was a huge financial help in bringing the score for Sleep Training to a new level. The best part is the mentorship I received as part of the program. It allowed me to hone in on my craft and see more clearly how to use different tools to shape the scene and the score. It was priceless to show my work and get feedback; it significantly improved my score and boosted my confidence as a film composer.”
Applications are reviewed on a rolling timeline by an advisory board made up of leading composers of film music, including Christophe Beck, Jongnic “JB” Bontemps, Kris Bowers, Miriam Cutler, Chanda Dancy, Vivek Maddala, Tony Morales, Carlos Rafael Rivera, and Pinar Toprak. Members of this advisory board will offer additional support and mentorship for grantees.
To apply and learn more about our 29 Reel Change Fund recipients visit: Reel Change: Fund for Diversity in Film Scoring – New Music USA
ABOUT THE ADVISORY BOARD
KRIS BOWERS is a Grammy-nominated, Emmy Award-winning, and Juilliard-educated pianist and composer who creates genre-defying music that pays homage to his jazz roots with inflections of alternative and R&B influences. Bowers’ work as a film and television composer is a testament to his versatility as an artist. Bowers has established himself at the forefront of Hollywood’s emerging generation of composers, and throughout his career, he has consistently championed an art practice guided by multi-disciplinary collaboration. krisbowers.com
JONGNIC “JB” BONTEMPS is a uniquely modern film composer, harmonizing a classical education with his rich tech background as a maestro of Silicon Valley to write everything from the hip-hop infused score for the Tribeca-favorite documentary United Skates, to rousing additional music for Creed II. He’s been the go-to composer for the latter film’s director, Steven Caple Jr., including the score for the coming-of-age drama, The Land, where he also produced the song “This Bitter Land” for Nas and Erykah Badu. bontempsmusic.net
MIRIAM CUTLER is a three-time Emmy-nominated composer, is passionate about documentaries: HBO, CNN, PBS, Sundance, Emmy, and Oscar nominated films: RBG, Love Gilda, Dark Money, The Hunting Ground, Ethel, Lost in La Mancha, Poster Girl, KingsPoint, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib… Advisor/ Sundance Documentary Composers Lab, juror Sundance, AMPAS Documentary Branch Exec Committee, Film Expert/USC Cinema/US State Department’s American Film Showcase. TV Academy Music Branch Exec committee, former SCL Board and Co-Founder Alliance for Women Film Composers. miriamcutler.com
CHANDA DANCY is both an accomplished film and television composer with over 16 years of experience and an emerging classical concert composer. Arts Boston named her one of “10 Contemporary Black Composers You Should Know.” She is known for her work with Aleem Hossain’s sci-fi feature “After We Leave” which has garnered critical acclaim around the globe. She is also known for her work with Wong Fu Productions’ debut feature “Everything Before Us”, starring Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat). chandadancy.com
VIVEK MADDALA is a four-time Emmy® award-winning composer and multi-instrumental performer. He has scored dozens of feature films, theater & dance productions, and TV programs. His music, which combines melodic symphony writing with modern textures from around the world, has been described as “an emotive frenzy of guitar, percussion, brass, woodwinds, and strings.” Vivek is a Sundance Institute Lab Fellow for film composition, and has had work premiere at the Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Venice, and Sundance film festivals. In 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 Vivek won consecutive Daytime Emmy Awards in the category of “Outstanding Music Composition” for his animation scoring work.
TONY MORALES is an Emmy-nominated composer known for his orchestral scores and textural sound for feature films and television, including Bloodline and Scorpion. His latest project, action-thriller The Fugitive is hailed as the new Quibi flagship series. Morales earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for the mini-series Hatfields & McCoys (co-composed with John Debney), and scored all three seasons of Disney’s Elena of Avalor for which he received multiple Daytime Emmy nominations as well as an Annie Award nomination. Morales has composed music for documentaries including Benedict Men, The Definition of Insanity, and The Dominican Dream. tonymoralesmusic.com
CARLOS RAFAEL RIVERA is a Grammy and 3x Emmy winning composer and educator with a multifaceted career in Film, TV, and the Performing Arts. His work includes the critically acclaimed score for Netflix’s limited series THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, one of the most-viewed Netflix limited series of all time, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and directed by Scott Frank. This achievement earned Rivera his second Primetime Emmy Award, his first Grammy, and additional accolades including the Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) Award, the BMI Film & TV Visual Media Award, the Hollywood Music in Media (HMMA) Award, and two International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) Awards. Rivera also earned the World Soundtrack Award (WSA) for this title along with his work on HBO Max’s HACKS.
PINAR TOPRAK is one of the most refreshing voices in music composition today, with a diverse body of work spanning across film, television, and video games. She has composed major superhero sagas like Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel, DC’s Stargirl, and SY-FY’s Superman prequel series Krypton. She also scored HBO’s six-part docuseries McMillions, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, as well as Epic Game’s massively popular online video game Fortnite. pinartoprak.com
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
CHRISTOPHE BECK, an LA-based, Canadian composer, started piano lessons at five, and by eleven he was learning Bee Gees songs by ear and performing with his first-ever band, the unfortunately-named Chris and The Cupcakes. During high school he studied piano, saxophone, and drums, and wrote many tender 80s love ballads. Beck studied music at Yale, and attended USC’s prestigious film-scoring program, where he studied with Jerry Goldsmith. Beck scored the second season of WB’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and received Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for his score to the Buffy episode, “Becoming, Part 1.” In 2000, the cheerleading comedy Bring It On launched Beck’s film career, which includes such diverse credits as Under the Tuscan Sun, Edge of Tomorrow, Crazy Stupid Love, Pitch Perfect, and the Hangover trilogy. More recently, Chris scored the Oscar® and Grammy®-winning animated film Frozen, and Marvel’s Ant-Man films. Christophe works out of his studio in Santa Monica, California. christophebeck.com
SESAC Performing Rights drives efficiency in licensing for music users and enhances value for its affiliated writers, publishers, and composers by providing timely, efficient royalty collection and distribution. The company represents top-tier songwriters and film composers from a broad range of genres including Adele, Burna Boy, Rosanne Cash, David Crosby, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Kesha, R.E.M., and many more. SESAC has long represented the music on some of TV’s biggest shows including Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Suits, Dateline NBC, Seinfeld, and The Doctors among many others, and is the PRO of choice among many of Hollywood’s most sought-after film and television composers, including Christophe Beck, Danny Lux, Jon Ehrlich, Laura Karpman, Gabriel Mann, Randy Newman, Paul Shaffer, among many others. SESAC Performing Rights is a division of SESAC Music Group, a global multi-line music company. Learn more at www.sesac.com
NEW MUSIC USA is a national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing new music in all its forms. Its mission is to nurture a vibrant and inclusive community for artists and listeners by supporting the creation, performance, and appreciation of new music throughout the United States. Through responsive grant-making; skill-building; mentorship and convenings for creators from all backgrounds; and platforms designed to connect music-makers with organizations and their audiences, New Music USA works to ensure a thriving, connected, and equitable ecosystem for the music of our time. newmusicusa.org
