The $1,770,543 investment will support 36 record labels for the creation of new professional recordings, digital content and artwork, marketing and promotional campaigns, production, manufacturing and freight, and artist development.
As part of the initiative, Music Australia is incentivising record labels to manufacture physical products using environmentally sustainable materials. Where labels can demonstrate they have been guided by Green Music Australia's Sound Country: A Green Guide on Physical Music Products, Music Australia will subsequently reimburse the price difference associated with sustainable productions, up to a limit of $5,000 per label for the Record Label Development Scheme and $2000 per label for Marketing & Manufacturing Grants.
For the Record Label Development Scheme, in addition to label support, a mandatory 10% artist creation fee will be added to the grant for creative and artistic services provided by the artists for the project. This includes recording activities and video production that features the recording artist.
First launched in 2024, the Record Label Development Scheme was a groundbreaking initiative for Australian labels, recognising their role in discovering, developing, and promoting local talent. Following consultation with the recorded music sector, the scheme returned in 2025 alongside the Marketing & Manufacturing Grants, a companion program providing smaller labels with targeted funding for marketing, promotion, and physical production.
Together, the Record Label Development Scheme and Marketing & Manufacturing Grants will ensure Australian labels can continue to compete effectively, support their artists, and contribute to a thriving music ecosystem in Australia.
The awarded labels include:
Record Label Development Scheme Recipients 2026
| Blossom Rot |
| Bodega Collective |
| Butter Sessions |
| Central Station Records |
| Civilians |
| Earshift Music |
| Forever Ever Records |
| Gallery Recordings |
| Hopestreet Recordings |
| Medium Rare Recordings |
| Mushroom Music |
| New Levels |
| NLV Records |
| One Day Recordings |
| OURNESS |
| Psychedelic Salad Records |
| Red Rebel Music |
| Sweat It Out |
| TMRW Music |
| UNIFIED |
| Wonderlick |
Marketing & Manufacturing Grants Recipients 2026
| Cheatin' Hearts Records |
| Dune Castle Records |
| Efficient Space |
| Elations Recordings |
| Feral Media |
| Flaming Heart Recordings |
| Hy-Lo Creative Studios |
| Impressed Recordings |
| Keeper Recordings |
| Low Key Source |
| Music in Exile |
| Oomycota |
| Pure Space |
| TRACKWORK |
| Transmitter Records |
| Wantok Musik Foundation |
| Wild Thing Records |
Music Australia has been established under the Australian Government's National Cultural Policy Revive, a dedicated body within Creative Australia to support and invest in the Australian contemporary music industry.
