The Robert Stigwood Fellowship Program provides mentorship and professional development to local musicians and industry entrepreneurs.
The annual program, named after South Australian expat Robert Stigwood, provides local musicians and industry entrepreneurs with mentoring and personalised professional development from project deliverers Stu MacQueen and Dan Crannitch of Wonderlick (behind some of the industry’s big names including Amy Shark, Japanese Wallpaper, Holy Holy and The Paper Kites).
Applications for 2024 fellowships are now closed.
Notification of results will be in early December 2023.
Key dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Round opens for applications | Monday 11 September 2023 |
| Closing date for applications | Sunday 15 October 2023 |
| Notification of results | Early December 2023 |
| Fellowship period / Funding period | 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024 |
Artist Fellowship
Tailored to the needs of participating artists, mentoring may include songwriting, production, business skills, marketing and public relations, and attendance at conferences and high-level industry meetings. The arrangement is akin to a surrogate record label/management team.
Industry Fellowship
Offers mentoring for emerging South Australian music industry entrepreneurs who are working in music management or other areas of artist representation. Focus areas include identifying strengths, weaknesses and ambitions for the future. Each fellow will receive one on-one help developing and achieving a business plan for the following 12 months.
Through the service the fellowship provides to the local music community, Stigwood alumni are well on their way to long and fruitful careers in the industry.
All applications are assessed by an industry formed panel. Successful Artist Fellowship recipients receive up to $25,000 in grants with Industry Fellowship recipients receiving up to $5,000 in grants to use during the mentorship.
Established in 2014, the program has played a significant role in helping South Australian artists develop both creatively and professionally, with many securing recording, publishing and management deals.
Previous Stigwood Fellows include: Teenage Joans, East Av3, George Alice, Towns, Jess Day, West Thebarton, Tkay Maidza, Electric Fields, Bad Dreems and Stellie.
This program is a key initiative from the South Australian Government’s Music Development Office.
Congratulations to the 2023 Robert Stigwood Fellows
Artists
- Aleksiah – Alexia Damokas is an indie pop artist making waves with debut single Fern
- Elsy Wameyo – multiple SA Music Award winner and Triple J Unearthed Artist of the year, Elsy Wameyo is a singer, rapper and producer
- Marlon x Rulla – Marlon Motlop and Rulla Kelly-Mansell are a dynamic First Nations duo who recently toured the country with Xavier Rudd
- prettygirlpanic – 18-year-old indie pop singer songwriter Sophie Kostrzewa
- The Empty Threats – a five-piece psych-rock band and crowd favourite of the Adelaide live music scene
Industry
Hannah Louise - The Sesh’n – venue and events coordinator, booker, promoter, podcaster, artist manager
• Luke Jamieson – Levaria - artist management and development
• Sam Lavers – Flow Process Music - festival promoter and programmer, artist manager
• Victoria Lewis – Sanaa Ink - programmer of diverse cultural experiences and artist management