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The NSW Government has unveiled a $3.1 million Local Audience Development Grants program to fund 28 live music events and venues and six digital projects across the state, the latest plank in a sweeping strategy to shore up an industry that employs almost 15,000 people on the festival circuit alone.
The grants, announced this week, provide up to $100,000 per event or venue and up to $200,000 per digital project.
Recipients range from Sydney's Oxford Art Factory and Lansdowne Hotel to regional operators including Gossy Weekender on the Central Coast and Leaps and Bounds in the Hunter Valley.
The funding builds on the $2.25 million Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund established in September 2024, which delivered emergency grants of up to $500,000 each to five festivals - Bluesfest, Lost Paradise, Yours and Owls, Listen Out, and Field Day - at a time when rising costs and regulatory burdens threatened to push them under.
However, poor ticket sales led to the collapse of Bluesfest earlier this year.
“We’ve supported the larger music festivals through our viability fund; this package is about building the smaller local and up and coming festivals," says John Graham, the NSW Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy.
"These events provide great entertainment for locals and have the potential to become the blockbuster events of the future.
“This funding is helping bring back the great tradition of all ages shows. These formative live music experiences help build the audiences of the future."
Graham points out that the way the live music industry reaches audiences online is also changing rapidly.
"That’s why we’re investing in local platforms that help build audiences through digital platforms and storytelling," he says.
“After the lockouts, the lockdowns and then the festival crisis - it’s been a very challenging decade for live music.
"We can’t afford to lose it, which is why we’re working hard to rebuild all the vital parts of the music ecosystem.”
Gossy Weekender festival director and Central Coast Music and Arts executive director Louise Sawilejskij has welcomed the government support via the new grant for the three-day festival in Gosford.
“The funding will support the introduction of a new major free, all-ages event, alongside expanded programming featuring high-calibre interstate artists and a strong lineup of local talent," says Sawilejskij.
“It will also provide increased employment opportunities for local artists and arts workers, provide practical experience for students and volunteers, and contribute to the ongoing growth of the Central Coast’s live music ecosystem.
“The 2026 program will expand the representation of First Nations artists and continue to prioritise a diverse and inclusive lineup, including culturally and gender-diverse artists, artists with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ artists, and emerging artists under 25.”
The grants program is administered by Sound NSW on behalf of the NSW Government, with funded projects expected to roll out across the 2026 calendar year.
The latest grants come on the heels of the NSW Government introducing the Music Bill 2026 to parliament in February with legislation described as a world first.
The bill covers noise assessment reform for live music venues, a venue accreditation scheme, anti-genre-discrimination provisions and measures to support all-ages gigs.
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