Contemporary Music Touring Program

Who can apply

Individuals or organisations may apply to tour live music performances within Australia. Touring musicians must be performing original Australian contemporary music. Funding can be provided to performers, managers, agents, and music networks on behalf of professionals working in the Australian music industry. Applications must contain one tour only.

Who can’t apply

You can’t apply for a grant if:

• your tour does not involve the presentation of original Australian contemporary music
• you received a grant, or administered a grant, from Creative Australia in the past and that grant has not been satisfactorily acquitted
• you owe money to Creative Australia.

What can you apply for

Under the Contemporary Music Touring Program, performances of original Australian contemporary music can include a wide range of different musical styles.

The tour must comprise of performances in at least three venues or locations outside of the performer’s hometown. Tours that include regional and remote destinations, or which assist performers residing in regional and remote areas to tour, are a priority for funding.

• If your itinerary contains only metropolitan performances, you may request up to $15,000.
• If your itinerary contains at least one regional or remote performance, you may request up to $25,000.
• If 75% of your itinerary is to remote and/or very remote locations, you may request up to $50,000.
• Please note: The minimum grant amount you can apply for is $5,000.
• The Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) helps determine the regional and remote reach of the tour. To find out if you meet the ARIA rating to qualify for additional funding, begin a grant in our online system. When you get to the ‘Outline your project’ section, the system will automatically look up the ARIA code once you enter the details of the state, town and postcode of the location you are searching for. To assist in planning your tour, you can download the ARIA Code list from our website to search for the relevant ARIA codes. If you need help with your application, contact an Artists Services Officer.

Joint tours, where two or more independent performers are undertaking the same tour itinerary, are eligible under this program. These should be submitted as a single application. In such cases, the funding caps still apply.

We encourage the inclusion of additional activities which extend opportunities for community participation, such as workshops, master classes and all-age performance.

You may apply for costs associated with reducing the environmental impact of your activity.

Access costs are legitimate expenses and may be included in your application. We encourage applicants to ensure that their work is accessible to everyone. Therefore, budgets may also include costs associated with making activities accessible to a wide range of people (e.g. performances using Auslan, translation to other languages, captioning, audio description, temporary building adjustments, and materials in other formats).

If you are an applicant with a disability, or are working with artists with disability, you may apply for access costs associated with the use of an interpreter, translation services, specific technical equipment, carer or support worker assistance. Please contact Artists Services to discuss your specific needs.

Australian music media advertising spend uplift

Music Australia will provide an additional $5000 for a limited number of successful applicants to advertise their funded touring activity through local Australian music media.

This includes the eligible activities below: please note that this list is not exhaustive and you may include other local options as appropriate to your tour locations.

• Purchase radio carts on community radio – find a station here
• Buy commercial radio advertising – find a station here
• Advertise in Australian music media publications such as: Acclaim, Around the Sound, Australian Musician, Beat Magazine, BMA Mag, Countrytown, Forte Magazine, Mixdown Magazine, Music Feeds, Purple Sneakers, Rolling Stone Australia, Scenestr Magazine, The Brag, The Music, Wall of Sound, X-Press Mag. Both online and physical editions are eligible
• Artwork creation (such as ad asset creation in line with the publication ad specs).

While you may undertake the following marketing and promotional activities for your tour, they are not eligible to be funded by the $5000 Australian music media advertising spend uplift:

• employing a publicist
• engaging a digital marketing firm
• hiring a radio promotions person
• advertising of any kind on any social media platforms
• undertaking an influencer campaign.

What can’t you apply for

You can’t apply for:

• a tour to fewer than three venues or locations outside the performer’s home town
• overseas tours
• tours by non-Australian performers
• tours which are primarily schools-based (except for applications seeking remote or very remote touring funds where the school is the primary venue in a remote or very remote location)
• a series of performances at a single location
• tours that do not involve the presentation of original Australian contemporary music.

Your application must comply with the following Protocols. We may contact you to request further information during the assessment process, or if successful, as a condition of your funding.

• Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts

All applications involving First Nations artists, communities or subject matter must adhere to these Protocols, and provide evidence of this in their application and support material. More information on the First Nations Protocols is available here.

• Commonwealth Child Safe Framework

All successful applicants are required to comply with all Australian law relating to employing or engaging people who work or volunteer with children, including working with children checks and mandatory reporting. Successful organisations who provide services directly to children, or whose funded activities involve contact with children, will additionally be required to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

Applications to the Contemporary Music Touring Program will be assessed by a panel of peers drawn from the Music sector.

Peers will primarily refer to the information supplied in applications and support material to make their assessment. They may also consider their own engagement with the work, relevant professional experience, and advice from our staff.

Peers will assess your application against the following three criteria:

Quality

Peers will assess the calibre of the artists and arts workers involved and the quality of the music. They may consider:

• the strength of the artistic support material provided
• the track record of the key artists involved, including their achievements, as evidenced by their biography and professional profile.

Impact

Peers will assess the impact your application will have on the development of Australian culture. They may consider:

• proposed additional community activities included in the tour itinerary, such as workshops, master classes or all-age performances
• any partnerships or collaborations with local personnel or organisations in touring locations
• benefits provided through the tour to people in touring locations (e.g. local emerging artists, audiences)
• regional extent of the proposed tour, as indicated by the geographical locations of the proposed itinerary.

Viability

Peers will assess the viability of your budget and touring logistics. They may consider:

• how viable and achievable the project is (as evidenced by the budget, itinerary and planning)
• the quality of the marketing/audience development strategy, including evidence of demand in proposed locations
• the resources supporting the project (including financial and/or in-kind)
• the strength of the people, presenters and partners involved, including confirmations and their track record delivering similar tours
• appropriate safety and wellbeing practices in place for artists, venues or locations and audiences
• where relevant, evidence of an environmental impact plan which may include cost-benefits.

Additional material can be submitted to help support your application. Peers will review support material to gain an understanding of the quality of your work, and where relevant, the skills and role of other artists or partners involved.

We do not accept support materials submitted via post. Application-related material received by post will not be assessed and will be returned to the sender. If you think you will have difficulty submitting your support material online, please contact Artists Services.

You can submit the following support material with your application:

1. Artistic support material

You can submit up to three URLs (weblinks) to written material, images, video or audio as a recent example of your work. Peers may review up to:

• 10 pages of written material
• 10 images
• 10 mins of video or audio recording.

Learn more about support material, including how to submit late confirmations after the closing date, and advice on how to get examples of your work online.

In some circumstances we will accept support material in another format. Please contact Artists Services for further advice.

2.  Additional artist information

You can include a brief bio or curriculum vitae summary of any additional artists involved in your project. All bios should be included as a single document and a maximum of two pages in total.

3.  Letters of support

Where appropriate, you can include up to five letters from proposed participants in support of your project. All letters of support should be included as a single document and a maximum of five pages in total.

4. Environmental impact

If your project has an environmental impact, you should provide evidence of an environmental impact plan which may include cost-benefits. Arts On Tour’s Green Touring Toolkit and Green Music Australia’s Sound Country provide provides detailed information and resources for artists and arts organisations on how to mount a sustainable tour.