American Express will inject $1 million into the Australian music industry amid the COVID crisis with its new Music Backers Fund, the next iteration of its 2018-19 Music Backers Program.
With applications now open until November 9, grants between $2,000 to $50,000 will be awarded to select music businesses and artists to assist with new ideas, recovery and more.
There’s also a ‘Nominate a Mate’ category open to the public, with punters able to do just that. Recipients in that category will receive $1,500 in funding and those applications are open until September 13.
To kick things off, American Express has already selected and announced four Nominate a Mate recipients, with Isol-Aid’s Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt and Dinosaur City Records’ Cody Munro Morre and Jordanne Chant joined by Nic Kelly (for twice-weekly interview show Isolation Hour) and Mitch Tambo (for Tambo Talk) on the winners list.
In the lead up to applications opening, American Express conducted research that reveals nine in ten punters “believe the music industry is an important contributor to the national economy and a key part of Australian culture”, but fewer than a third are “willing to spend more, or travel farther, to support the local industry through the pandemic”.
“The Australian music industry has never been in greater need of support,” American Express Music Backers Fund judge and Live Nation CEO Roger Field said.
“The way the sector has rallied together during these challenging times has been encouraging to see, with many changing the way they do business in order to service and entertain their communities.
“Programs like the American Express Music Backers Fund are crucial to ensure we help the industry make it through recovery and out the other side.”
For more details on application and the research, head to the American Express website.
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