Program provides support for venue-based music

Man plays guitar in a pub venue singing into a microphone. A man and woman watch on.

$2.5 million in targeted funding is available under Round Six of the Live Music Australia Program.

The funding will assist live music venues as they rebuild following the impacts of the pandemic, as the Australian Government answers the calls by stakeholders for more support for venues hosting professionally-staged, original home-grown live music.

Like many other industries, live music venue owners and staff were hit hard during the pandemic as they were forced to close their doors during lockdowns.

While those days are over, those long months have made a huge dent in the finances of those venues, with many sadly never able to reopen.

The funding aims to sustain these venues, allowing them to employ skilled professionals, improve capacity, and build a stronger touring circuit for home-grown and international artists.

To receive funding, applicants need to demonstrate their commitment to hosting original Australian live music and its professional delivery.

The Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy Revive recognises the importance of contemporary music through the establishment of Music Australia, as a part of the new Creative Australia. Music Australia will provide direct support to the Australian music industry to grow including through strategic initiatives and industry partnerships, research, skills development and export promotion.

To learn more about what the Australian Government is doing to support Australian contemporary music, download Revive: A Place for Every Story, a Story for Every Place.

To apply for funding under Round Six of the Live Music Australia Program and for further details, visit: www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/live-music-australia

Applications close Wednesday 26 April 2023.

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Image: Old Fashioned Nights, Henry Wagons performs at Dashville, 29 September 2022. Photo: Craig Wilson.