Kirsty Rivers


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Kirsty is the Head of Music within the Australia Council’s Sector Development and Advocacy team. Highly regarded as a music sector strategist, Kirsty is a creative force who synthesises industry knowledge and sector development understanding into projects that seamlessly connect people and facilitate outcomes. Kirsty’s work is informed by her commitment to the centrality of the artist and she is a long-term champion of role of women and diverse communities in the sector, new market development and cross-sector partnerships for music.

Prior to the Australia Council, Kirsty was the Senior Manager for Contemporary Music at Creative Victoria and oversaw the Victorian State Government’s Music Works program. At Creative Victoria she was responsible for ground-breaking policy development of music programs that responded to sector need and new opportunities as well as new delivery within funding and investment profiles and saw growth and development across the Victorian sector in response. Kirsty was also instrumental in the delivery of the Australian Music Vault and the Music Market at Collingwood Yards, the establishment of the Victorian Music Development Office and delivering the first southern hemisphere Music Cities convention in 2018.

Her extensive experience in music and music policy making also includes a 17-year tenure as National Manager for Writer Services at APRA AMCOS and roles within music retail and recorded music companies.  As well as establishing various awards and Fellowships for music professionals, Kirsty has been acknowledged herself multiple times by the music community as one of the annual Top 50 Most influential People in Music.

Kirsty sees access to Australian music as vital to sustain wellbeing, connections and artistic vitality