The Australia Council for the Arts today announced the appointment of Paul Mason as its director of music.

As director of music Paul will play an important leadership role in the Australian music sector and within the Australia Council.

Paul previously established and managed the successful Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (Amrap), an initiative aimed at creating increased radio exposure for local music.  Established in 2000, Amrap works with both musicians and broadcasters providing a range of grants and services.

Paul has an extensive background in live music presentation, having programmed the music for venues such as the Harbourside Brasserie in Sydney and for events such as the Byron Bay Arts and Music Festival.

He has been on the board of Sydney radio station FBi 94.5 and was involved with successfully campaigning for the station’s 50% Australian music policy.

Paul has been a senior manager with the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia and represented the organisation as a member of the Contemporary Music Working Group. More recently he has been working with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a manager in the Technology and Distribution division.

In 2007 he was awarded a scholarship through the Australian Business and the Arts Foundation to undertake further study at the Australian Graduate School of Management.

Paul has also been a board member of the Music Council of Australia and was President of Music NSW. He has also conducted research into the impact of local content regulations for the Music Council and has appeared at conferences as a speaker on this subject.