Toto Music Awards Enters 20th Year, Applications Now Open

First instituted in 2004 in memory of Bengaluru resident Angirus ‘Toto’ Vellani to continue his love for music, literature and film, Toto Funds the Arts is now running into its 20th year to provide direct support to artists across forms.

The Toto Music Awards, which was the first one to be given out to artists in 2004, recently began going out to two winners since its last outing. The upcoming 20th year of the Toto Music Awards 2024 is now accepting entries from Indian artists under the age of 30, with a prize of ₹60,000 each to two winners. The last date for entries is September 20th.

Past winners of the Toto Music Awards range from Bengaluru-based rock band Parvaaz to hip-hop artist Prabh Deep to hip-hop artist and singer-songwriter RANJ aka Ranjani Ramadoss, gypsy-waltz experimentalists Peter Cat Recording Co and more. Toto Funds the Arts is also accepting entries for their other categories, including photography, short film, English writing and Kannada writing and digital art. “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,” the applications page mentions in terms of pre-requisites to apply for the Toto Music Awards.

With the last date for entries this month, the long list will be announced in November. The shortlist and two winners will be announced in December this year, followed by the formal awards ceremony in early 2024. According to organizers of the awards, special edition events will also take place later in the year and around the time of the ceremony.

A description for the Toto Music Awards says, “Toto’s first love and TFA’s first award recognizes exceptionally talented singer-songwriters and music bands making any kind of music in India, in any language, and any genre. The only constraint is that their submissions must be their original content. Previous winners have represented a wide range of genres such as Metal, Hip Hop, R&B, Fusion and Electronica, and have come from all corners of India, including the north-east and Jammu and Kashmir. Music critics, producers and leading practitioners have been invited to form part of the independent panel of jurors.”

Find more details about the Toto Music Awards here. Last date to apply is September 20th.