Courtney Barnett may have taken home a total of four awards last night at The Age’s Music Awards, but it seems like the real winner was Victorian music scene as a collective whole.
Barnett was took home for Best Song, Best Album, Best Female and Best Band categories, while the Smith Street Band took out Best Live Act and C.W. Stoneking snagged the award for Best Male. However, in a surprise twist, the Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley made an appearance to announce that the night’s biggest winner was the local music scene, with the prize being a whopping $704,078 to be invested.
As reported by Beat, the $704,078 forms part of the $12.2 million Music Works package put forward by the Andrews Labor Goverment as an investment in local musicians, festivals, venues and industry events. Speaking at the awards, Minister Foley said:
Since announcing the package in May, we’ve been working closely with the industry to determine the best ways to support and foster industry growth. These latest initiatives provide support for the industry at all levels – from artists to managers, festivals to conferences, media organisations and crucial market development opportunities…. Our unprecedented $12.2 million Music Works package shows the Andrews Labor Government’s commitment tocontemporary music and recognition of how important music is to our social, cultural and economic life, and to our creative industries, here in Victoria.
The Music Works Grant supports Victoria’s music industry and the breakdown of the funding looks a little something like this:
– $604,078 to go to 46 projects through the inaugural round of the new Music Works Grants program.
– $50,000 is to support the 2015 industry development conference, Face the Music (which is happening this week in Melbourne).
– $50,000 to support a new partnership with Sounds Australia to increase export opportunities for Victorian musicians and workers during its 2016 program.
With professional development events and international showcase opportunities, the supported projects span all genres of contemporary music. Along with a wide variation of musicians, the projects also include support for festivals, independent record labels, online music business training and music media programs, with the next funding round is for for activities starting after May 1, 2016.