Victorian Music Industry Recovery Program

The Victorian Music Industry Recovery program is a one-off competitive grants program for

Victorian contemporary music industry artists, workers, businesses and organisations.

The program aims to fund projects that will support contemporary music industry artists, workers and businesses who have lost work as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to:

• work on activities that can be delivered while maintaining physical distancing and COVIDSafe measures
• develop new works that can be commercialised
• identify new ways of working, and new ways to connect with audiences that respond to the changed environment, and
• upskill through professional/business development and mentoring opportunities.

There are four funding streams available, including dedicated streams for First Peoples and Deaf and Disabled applicants. See the program guidelines for further details.

Applications opened on 21 September and will close at 5pm, 22 October 2020. Projects can commence from 1 December 2020.

For the purpose of this program, Victorian contemporary music is defined as music that is currently being written, recorded and performed by Victorians. Its genres would include (but are ;not limited to) blues, country, electronic/dance, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, jazz, metal, pop, rock and roots and other contemporary genres.

Funding will be provided for activity across two areas:

• Development of new work – including (but not limited to) the recording of new original music works; creation of new digital and audio-visual content to support new or adapted forms of delivery (e.g: new ways to release music, or new ways to host activities and events) and other marketing and promotional content where new intellectual property is created; opportunities for artists and industry practitioners to connect with their audience, extend their market share and address barriers to the market.
• Training and professional/business development – support to contemporary music artists, industry workers and businesses/organisations to undertake professional development, business development and mentoring activities.

All projects and activity must comply with the Victorian Government or relevant public health guidelines and restrictions of the day. See the program guidelines for further details on each stream and advice on ‘What will not be funded’.

The program will provide funding for projects and activity of between $4,000 to $50,000. Additional funding is available to support access costs, see below.

Additional requirements apply for projects that receive $40,000 and above. Please see the program guidelines for further details.

The program will provide additional funding of up to $10,000 to help remove barriers for Deaf and Disabled creatives, artists, arts workers involved in a project.

All applicants can apply for up to $10,000 in additional funding to make their activity accessible to a wider audience (e.g. Auslan, captioning, audio description, materials in other formats).

Please contact program staff to discuss how to include these costs in your application and budget as they will vary depending on the applicant and size/scope of project.

The following COVIDSafe principles apply to businesses and workplaces in Victoria:

• ensure physical distancing (1.5 metres)
• wear a mask or face covering
• practice good hygiene
• keep good records and act quickly if staff become unwell
• avoid interactions in close spaces
• create workforce bubbles.

Specific creative industries guidance is being developed and will be available on this website shortly. In the meantime, consult Business Victoria for information creating a COVIDSafe workplace and developing COVIDSafe plans.

When developing their proposal, applicants should consult Victoria’s roadmaps for reopening.

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a dynamic situation, we encourage applicants to consider activity and projects that can be delivered flexibly or adapted swiftly to comply with the changing environment (i.e ;digital delivery or a plan for digital delivery if an in-person event is not possible due to restrictions.)

Victoria’s roadmaps for reopening set out the Victorian Government’s plan for easing restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.

As each step of the roadmaps is subject to review by public health officials, we acknowledge there is still uncertainty as to exactly what restrictions will be in place in December. We therefore encourage applicants to consider flexible delivery models and activity that can be adapted swiftly to comply with changing restrictions (i.e. plans for pivoting to digital delivery if the in-person event is not able to take place) and to state their contingency plan or flexible model as part of their application.

The Victorian Music Industry Recovery program is open to Victorian-based contemporary music professionals working across all genres and career stages, including (but not limited to) artists/bands, performers, producers, agents, managers and promoters, contractors such as bookers, sound and lighting technicians, and music industry businesses and organisations.

Contact us if you work in the music industry and want to discuss your eligibility.

Please note venues that receive funding through the Victorian Live Music Venues program will not be eligible for support through this program.

With the exception of recipients of grants through the Victorian Live Music Venues program, previous Creative Victoria grant recipients are eligible to apply to this program, provided they:

• meet the eligibility criteria of the Victorian Music Industry Recovery program; and
• are for projects and activities as set out in the program guidelines.

Venues are eligible to apply to the Victorian Music Industry Recovery program but if your application to the Victorian Live Music Venues program is successful, you cannot receive funding from both programs.

If you wish to apply for the Victorian Music Industry Recovery program, please consider the following:

• the Victorian Music Industry Recovery program and Victorian Live Music Venues program are distinct programs with separate aims and assessment criteria, consideration should be given to the nature of the activity you are seeking funding for; and
• as both rounds will be highly competitive, inevitably some projects with strong cases will not be awarded funding. If you choose not to accept your Live Music Venues program you are not guaranteed to be awarded funding through this program.

If you applied to the Victorian Live Music Venues program, you will receive notification of the outcome prior to the closing date of the program.

Only one application per applicant or organisation will be accepted. One individual is not able to act as the primary contact for two separate applications. This applies to both individual and group projects.

If you don’t have an ABN or you are not sure that you will have the ability to manage the paperwork or requirements associated with a Creative Victoria grant, an organisation or business can submit the application on your behalf. If your application is successful, this party will receive the funding and will be responsible for managing the funds and reporting to Creative Victoria on your behalf. An auspice organisation can apply to this program on behalf of multiple people/projects.

Yes, see our general eligibility information and information on Auspiced Applications.

Only one application can be submitted per individual or organisation/business. Auspicing organisations can submit multiple applications on behalf of others.

ll eligible applications will be considered by an external panel of peers with music industry expertise, according to each stream. For example, First Peoples’ applications will have a First Peoples-led assessment process and Deaf and Disabled applicants will be assessed Deaf and Disabled peers and people with lived experience of disability.

All applicants will be advised of the outcome within seven weeks of the closing date. We are working as fast as possible to assess programs at this time.

After applications close, they are checked for eligibility and then allocated to external assessors. Assessors are given a period of time to review the applications and then they meet virtually to discuss recommendations. Recommendations are compiled and provided to the Minister for Creative Industries for final approval.

We are working as fast as possible to assess programs at this time. All applicants will be advised on the outcome of their application within seven weeks of the closing date.

We acknowledge that in getting funding right, we need to make sure there is diversity in the process from inception to delivery.

Creative Victoria is working with industry representatives to ensure there is diverse representation on assessment panels for this program.

We will also be reaching out to a broad range of organisations to promote the program and to encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds including applicants who are First Peoples, Deaf and Disabled, women, LGBTI and from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

All applicants will be advised of the outcome within seven weeks of the closing date. If successful you will receive a notification email which details any special requirements you may need to meet and what you need to do in order to receive the funds. Payments will then be processed as quickly as possible.

The Victorian Government’s landmark Music Works package invested $22.2 million into all levels of the music industry over the last four years. Our current focus is on supporting the industry through the urgent and immediate impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) and we will provide an update on Music Works in the future.

Over $2.5 million from this $4 million music industry support program has been allocated to the Victorian Music Industry Recovery program.

$300,000 was allocated to support additional music applicants through the Sustaining Creative Workers initiative following a large number of applications from the music industry.

Creative Victoria is also currently working with the industry on further support programs to be funded from the remainder of this package that will best meet the evolving needs of musicians, music businesses and workers. Further announcements coming soon.

This program includes a dedicated funding stream and assessment process for First Peoples applicants.

Applications by First Peoples creatives, businesses and organisations will be assessed through a First People-led assessment process including members of Creative Victoria’s First Peoples Partnerships Group and other First Peoples industry experts.

For further details please consult the program guidelines or call program staff.

This program includes a dedicated funding stream and assessment process for Deaf and Disabled applicants by Deaf and Disabled creatives and peers with lived experience of disability.

In addition to the grant funding of between $4,000 and $50,000 for general project costs, Deaf and Disabled applicants can receive up to $10,000 to cover any specific access costs that will help remove barriers for the creatives/arts workers involved in the project.

Arts Access Victoria can also provide application advice and auspice services for Deaf and Disabled creatives.

Further, all applicants can apply for additional funding of $10,000 to make their project or activity accessible to a wider audience (e.g. Auslan, captioning, audio description, materials in other formats).

The program encourages applicants operating in the foreground and behind the scenes of the Victorian contemporary music industry to apply, including production companies and other workers involved in the development and delivery of live music events.

We acknowledge that in some circumstances, finding new ways to adapt and generate income can be very challenging, particularly for businesses based solely around the delivering live music events and activities.

For those unable to deliver new works or activity, we have included a professional development stream (Stream 4) to support applicants to upskill while keeping themselves and others COVIDSafe.

For further details please consult the program guidelines.