UNIFIED is giving away $25K with new grant initiative

Locally based, global independent music company UNIFIED has furthered its focus on philanthropy with the announcement of The Unified Grant.

Revealed Wednesday during CEO and Founder Jaddan Comerford’s keynote speech, the Grant is comprised of five $5,000 grants, which will be awarded to young music industry creatives.

During his keynote, Comerford, who at 17-years-old started UNIFIED from his bedroom in Melbourne, said the idea for the Grant stemmed from attending John Butler’s Seed festival in the Blue Mountains a few years back.

“This event inspired me so much and I knew one day that I wanted to do something similar, where I could give back,” he said. “I felt this moment could be a perfect time to launch something.”

“With the idea in mind, back at Unify, one of the things that I kept noticing was the amount of people backstage that weren’t working for the festival or playing in bands,” he added.

The grants are open to emerging photographers, producers, videographers, web developers, graphic designers, journalists, app builders, data analystsand other creatives.

To apply, fill out a questionnaire atwww.theunifiedgrant.com and compose a 500-word statement explaining you they deserve the grant and what you will spend the money on.

Comerford said in a statement:“Today I’m honoured to announce The Unified Grant. As someone who started a business with nothing, at a young age and on my own, I want to encourage more people to follow their dreams. For me early on this grant would have helped me do CD pressings, or fly to SXSW.”

Applications for The Unified Grant open Friday September 9 and will close on October 31. A dedicated panel will decide on the five winners. An announcement will be on Monday, November 21 2016.

Unified is currently hiring staff to work from new offices in London and Los Angeles in 2017.