The Music Development Office recognises the value of showcasing opportunities for artists at international and national music conferences, where performances can significantly increase an artist's profile amongst new audiences and foster engagement with industry representatives who may further their career such as managers, booking agents and record label A&R scouts.
For South Australian artists who are selected for these coveted performances, they may face the financial burden of travelling great distances to participate and incur extra costs in accommodation and expenses if they choose to stay longer at such events to maximise industry networking opportunities.
To address these barriers to market, the Music Development Office offers two funding opportunities for artists who are officially invited to showcase at a selected range of events: Export Contribution Fund and National Showcase Contribution Fund.
In partnership with Sounds Australia, the Export Contribution Fund provides a non-competitive $3,000 contribution to travel costs for eligible artists who receive an official invitation to showcase at Folk Alliance International (Kansas, USA), SXSW (Austin, USA), The Great Escape Festival (Brighton, UK), Americanafest (Nashville, USA) and The Reeperbahn Festival (Hamburg, Germany).
If you are officially selected to showcase at any of these particular international events, Sounds Australia will be in contact with you to organise the payment of funding. There is nothing extra you need to do.
For details, see Sounds Australia https://soundsaustralia.com.au/funding/sa/
In Australia, the most prominent showcasing opportunities are presented by the annual conferences South by South West (SXSW) Sydney and Bigsound (Brisbane).
From August 2024, the new National Showcase Contribution Fund (NSCF) will offer $1,000 each to artists who can demonstrate their official showcase selection* for either of these national opportunities, to be used for travel costs.
If you are officially selected to showcase at any either Bigsound or SXSW Sydney, you should contact the Music Development Office for further details on how to access this funding.
[email protected] | ph 8429 3555