The Minns Labor Government is driving long term viability and growth in the live music industry by supporting events and venues to build audiences through local music festivals, all ages gigs, digital platforms and content.
The live music sector has been under sustained financial pressure since the covid pandemic due to sharply rising costs and changing audience patterns. Building on a series of initiatives to address these challenges, the NSW Government has awarded its first round of Local Audience Development Grants aimed specially at growing audiences in the grass roots of the music sector.
The grants will support 28 events and venues with up to $100,000 each, including the Milton Folk Jazz & Blues Festival, Sounds Fresh Music Festival in Penrith and the River Sounds festival in Bellingen. This support will allow these festivals to strengthen their offering to local communities and develop into the blockbuster events that attract increasing numbers of visitors.
The grants will also help build the next generation of live music audiences by increasing support for all ages gigs, including the Never Had so Much Fun events in Gosford, Elizabeth Beach and Coffs Harbour; SKATE X SOUND in Kiama and Dynasty of Style in the Sydney CBD.
In order to assist the industry to build new audiences online, the program will also support six projects with up to $200,000 each. Recipients include the SydneyMusic.net gig discovery platform, the Oxford Art Factory for a digital storytelling series and Take Flight's new Sky Sessions online series showcasing hip-hop artists performing over classic instrumentals.
Eighteen of the Local Audience Development Grant recipients are based in regional NSW, seven in Western Sydney and nine in the Sydney metro region.
The NSW Government has supported the live music sector in the following ways:
- Establishing the Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund in September 2024 which has allocated a combined $2.25 million of emergency funding to five festivals in FY2024/25.
- Quadrupling the number of venues hosting live music to access extended trading hours.
- Ending single serial noise complaints shutting down music venues.
- Introducing legislation to protect the industry through the Music Bill 2026.
- Creating the NSW Music Prize, Australia's largest cash music prize for music, totalling $160,000 across three award categories.
- Introducing 'Michael's Rule' incentives for international touring artists to book local support acts across the Venues NSW network and the Sydney Opera House.
- Delivering recording, touring and promotion grants to help artists and acts create new work, grow audiences and build their careers.
- Introducing venue upgrade and soundproofing grants for operators to install soundproofing, improve infrastructure and get their venues gig ready.
Click here for more information on the $3.1 million Local Audience Development Grants.
Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham said:
"We've supported the larger music festivals through our viability fund, this package is about building the smaller local and up and coming festivals. These events provide great entertainment for locals and have the potential to become the blockbuster events of the future.
"This funding is helping bring back the great tradition of all ages shows. These formative live music experiences help build the audiences of the future.
"The way the live music industry reaches audiences online is also changing rapidly. That's why we're investing in local platforms that help build audiences through digital platforms and storytelling.
"After the lockouts, the lockdowns and then the festival crisis - it's been a very challenging decade for live music. We can't afford to lose it, which is why we're working hard to rebuild all the vital parts of the music ecosystem."
Head of Sound NSW Emily Collins said:
"Our Local Audience Development Grants are supporting a broad range of organisations and events to help artists connect with communities and ensure music businesses and industry professionals can continue presenting and supporting accessible grassroots live music.
"It can be challenging for audiences and artists to find places to enjoy and play live music and these grants will provide vital support to the industry to change that. We look forward to seeing these events, projects and campaigns come to life across NSW."
Take Flight host Christopher Kevin Yu said:
"Since day one, Take Flight has operated under the motto 'attitude local, mindset global'. It informs everything we do, including our premier 'Sky Sessions' segment which features some of New South Wales' best hip-hop artists performing new material in our studio.
"With the help of this Sound NSW grant, we look forward to highlighting even more upcoming and established talent from all corners of New South Wales."
Gossy Weekender festival director and Central Coast Music and Arts executive director Louise Sawilejskij said:
"Central Coast Music & Arts is pleased to receive the Sound NSW funding for Gossy Weekender, a three-day, multi-venue music and arts festival in the Gosford CBD.
"The funding will support the introduction of a new major free, all-ages event, alongside expanded programming featuring high-calibre interstate artists and a strong lineup of local talent.
"It will also provide increased employment opportunities for local artists and arts workers, provide practical experience for students and volunteers, and contribute to the ongoing growth of the Central Coast's live music ecosystem.
"The 2026 program will expand the representation of First Nations artists and continue to prioritise a diverse and inclusive lineup, including culturally and gender-diverse artists, artists with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ artists, and emerging artists under 25."
Background:
Full list of Local Audience Development Grants below:
| Live Music Events and All Ages Programming stream: | ||
| Project | Location | Amount |
| Never Had so Much Fun all-ages events in Gosford, Elizabeth Beach and Coffs Harbour | Gosford, Elizabeth Beach and Coffs Harbour | $96,000 |
| A series of all-ages music events at Prop Records in Ashfield | Sydney | $53,689 |
| The Circuit - an all-ages music program supporting regional artists, delivered by the Talent Development Project | Sydney | $51,700 |
| Milton Folk Jazz & Blues Festival | Milton | $80,920 |
| Bodega Collective's Pass the Mic events in Nowra, Newcastle and Parramatta | Nowra, Newcastle and Parramatta | $100,000 |
| Sounds Fresh Music Festival at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith | Penrith | $100,000 |
| Heartdancers to present a series of culturally diverse music events across the Central Coast & Sydney | Central Coast | $41,360 |
| Moving Different festival in Marrickville | Sydney | $17,000 |
| Currambene Festival in Jervis Bay | Jervis Bay | $50,000 |
| Thirroul Music Festival | Thirroul | $25,000 |
| Your Locals is a series of all-ages heavy music events in Blacktown: | Blacktown | $20,000 |
| Night Eats Day to present monthly all-ages music series at La La La's in Wollongong | Wollongong | $100,000 |
| A live music program at the Bluebird Room and Listening Rooms in Tamworth | Tamworth | $78,500 |
| Aloha Music Festival in Collaroy | Collaroy | $100,000 |
| King Street Crawl in Newtown | Sydney | $100,000 |
| SKATE X SOUND is an all-ages music event in Kiama | Kiama | $99,127 |
| Dashville Nights is a live music series at Dashville in the Hunter Valley | Hunter Valley | $67,500 |
| Nightjar Collective is a series of all-ages micro-festivals in Bulli | Bulli | $40,000 |
| Superposition festival in the Blue Mountains | Blue Mountains | $99,999 |
| The Gong Crawl, Wollongong | Wollongong | $94,337 |
| A 12-month low-cost live music series at The Red Rattler Theatre in Marrickville | Sydney | $100,000 |
| West Best Bloc Fest, a multi venue music festival in Newcastle | Newcastle | $75,000 |
| Dynasty of Style - a bi-monthly series of all-ages hardcore shows at Metro Social | Sydney | $94,000 |
| A series of all-ages live music events presented by Cumberland City Council | Merrylands | $100,000 |
| Gossy Weekender in Gosford | Gosford | $100,000 |
| River Sounds festival in Bellingen | Bellingen | $67,400 |
| Sounds of Our Towns, a live music trail in the Blue Mountains | Katoomba | $87,683 |
| Port Kembla Festival | Port Kembla | $35,872 |
| Promoting NSW Music stream: | ||
| Project | Location | Amount |
| All Roads Lead to Oxford Art Factory is a digital storytelling series where established NSW artists handpick emerging acts from their regional communities to support them | Sydney | $195,870 |
| Western Sydney Sound is an audience development initiative by Valenti Studios, profiling artists from Western Sydney | Blacktown | $190,000 |
| Take Flight to deliver 10 episodes of 'Sky Sessions', an online platform showcasing hip-hop artists performing live over classic instrumentals | Penrith | $68,000 |
| SESHN, a digital music discovery platform that helps NSW audiences find local music aligned to their personal taste | Sydney | $199,458 |
| A music discovery initiative curated by Impressed Records, including a monthly vinyl club, listening sessions and podcasts | Sydney | $200,000 |
| To expand the SydneyMusic.net platform, focusing on user-driven discoverability and accessibility | Sydney | $199,296 |
