Hi. I left a hole in my explanation. At the particular college we visited, it was explained that music merit money will not compare to academic merit. Well, that was pretty specific, and it was backed up with more explanation. There, they do have automatic academic merit calculators, but you must be part of it before the well runs dry, thus the advice to apply early. At that place, we will not expect music merit money, but the package overall will be very affordable anyway.
It is probably true that at most other places, the music merit money will (need to) be greater than the academic.