APRA AMCOS is shelling out $2,000 grants in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
APRA AMCOS is offering $2,000 grants to help artists get a leg-up in these tough times.
From today, members around the globe from entry level to the very top can apply for a grant, established in response “to the COVID-19 pandemic and its profound impact on the music industry and the livelihoods of music creators,” reads a statement.
The PRO’s Sustainability Fund comes from an initial funding pool of $300,000, money redistributed from out of the board’s decision to reduce director’s fees and combined with APRA AMCOS’ cultural fund.
The goodwill programme is led by ‘80s hitmaker and APRA Board Chair Jenny Morris and her board colleagues.
“The intention for the fund is, very simply, to provide real financial support so that music creators can continue to make new music. This is an investment in them and their endeavours, and I am certain the fund will help bring exceptional new work to life,” said Morris.
Applications close Friday, May 29. Successful applicants will be notified and receive funds at the end of June.
Visit APRAAMCOS.com.au to apply.
APRA’s handout, announced Friday, should assist scores of careers while the federal government plays a disappearing act.
With the live music sector crippled by the COVID-19 emergency, the industry has presented Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts Fletcher, and others with a proposed emergency package worth $650 million.
It’s designed to help the country’s network of venues and tens of thousands of artists and employees to bounce-back from these dire times.
To date, Fletcher hasn’t made the money rain.
“Our members’ income is derived from numerous sources, and nearly all of those have been immediately and adversely affected by COVID-19, especially the touring and live sector,” explains APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston, who has pleaded for the multi-million-dollar stimulus package alongside Live Performance Australia CEO Evelyn Richardson, ARIA CEO Dan Rosen and other captains of industry.
On March 27, APRA AMCOS announced steps to help its 103,000 songwriter, composer and publisher members during the Coronavirus pandemic by bringing forward live performance royalties. Usually paid in November, live performance royalty payments are brought forward to this month.
Echoing the comments of Live Performance, Ormston on Friday said the music industry was “one of the first to be impacted, and will be one of the last allowed to restart.”
The aim of the Sustainability Fund “is to help our members to keep doing what they do – writing the songs and composing the music that is the bedrock of the Australian and New Zealand music industries and that enriches all of our lives.”
On Wednesday, LPA pondered once more why government has done so little to help the creative industries.
“So Josh Frydenberg forecasts arts and recreation sector will be important jobs generator in recovery from COVID-19,” a tweet reads. “If so, why has so little been done to support them right now? 50 days since live industry shut down with still no plan from C’wth Govt to help it.”
So @JoshFrydenberg forecasts arts and recreation sector will be important jobs generator in recovery from COVID-19. If so, why has so little been done to support them right now? 50 days since live industry shut down with still no plan from C'wth Govt to help it @PaulFletcherMP
— Live Performance Aus (@LivePerfAust) May 12, 2020
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.