Miiesha and Baker Boy are among several artists that will receive a $2000 grant in light of the COVID pandemic, which has seen the music industry decimated as tours are cancelled and albums are put on hold.
APRA AMCOS announced the launch of a Sustainability Fund back in May this year, saying it was to “provide direct financial support to songwriter and composer members in the creation of new music.”
Among the 50 recipients of the grant also include Chris Tamwoy, TRIALS, Joe Geia, Emma Donovan, Electric Gardens’ Zaachariaha Fielding, Deline Briscoe and Allara.
“The Australian Government is proud to provide these grants that will see First Nations songwriters supported so that they can continue to share their exceptional creative talent and culture,” Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said.
“This will help to sustain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creators and is in recognition of the vital contribution they make to the Australian music industry.”
Leah Flanagan, national manager for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office, called the grants “vital” for music creators.
“Right now, we need to be bold in our support of Australia’s first storytellers. These cash grants are vital to music creators at a time when income sources – particularly from live – have evaporated, as have many other artistic opportunities,” she said.
“I’d like to congratulate all of the recipients and extend a wholehearted thank you to all who applied and shared their stories.”
That Sustainability Fund was created by APRA Board Chair Jenny Morris as a response to the global pandemic.
On top of receiving the grant, Aussie artist Miiesha, who hails from a small Aboriginal community of Woorabinda in Central Queensland, recently celebrated the physical release of her Nyaaringu EP with the unveiling of a two-track remix package, featuring the talents of Briggs, JessB, and more.
“Nyaaringu is a collection of stories that I wanted to tell,” Miiesha explained in regards to the meaning behind her original tune.
“For me, it represents my journey and where I’m at now coming from Woorabinda. The interludes in the collection are recordings of my grandmother speaking. For me, she was and always will stay with me as the strongest voice in my life so I felt she had to be a part of this with me.”
