NSW Music Prize 2025 ceremony. Photo by Ashley Penin.
What is the NSW Music Prize?
The NSW Music Prize is an annual prize delivered by Sound NSW, celebrating the rich creativity and contribution of NSW artists to the contemporary music sector.
The $160,000 prize pool will be split across 3 categories:
- The NSW Music Prize, to be awarded to a NSW-based artist or act whose release or body of work has had the most significant impact over the last 12 months ($80,000).
- The NSW First Nations Music Prize, to be awarded to a NSW-based Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander artist or act whose release or body of work has had significant and meaningful impact over the last 12 months ($40,000).
- The NSW Breakthrough Artist of the Year, to be awarded to an emerging NSW-based artist or act who has had a groundbreaking 12 months ($40,000).
Sound NSW is the NSW Government’s dedicated contemporary music development office that provides advocacy and leadership, strategic initiatives, policy development, and investment and funding.
Nominations Committees and Judging Panels
Expressions of Interest are now open to artists and industry professionals with expert contemporary music industry knowledge to be part of the Nominations Committees and Judging Panels for the NSW Music Prize.
NSW Music Prize Nominations Committee and Judging Panel members will share their music expertise to nominate, assess and discuss NSW contemporary music artists or acts, releases and their impact over the last 12 months. This will contribute to the finalist and winner selections for each category of the Prize.
Find more information on how to apply.
Nomination and assessment process
NSW Music Prize
- Artists and acts are nominated by a nominations committee appointed by Sound NSW, made up of 20 experts with wide-ranging knowledge and experience across the Australian music industry and media landscape.
- Each nominations committee member will nominate 5 artists/acts, considering the prize’s eligibility criteria and assessment criteria. Nominations will be submitted by a preferential nomination system (for example, first choice will receive 5 points, second choice will receive 4 points and so on).
- Sound NSW will collate nominee submissions, tally votes and rank from highest to lowest score to determine finalists. There will be 10 finalists for this category. If more than 10 artists/acts receive enough nominations to be ranked 1st to 10th, the nominations committee will be asked to do a second round of preferential voting on this group of nominees.
- Sound NSW will contact potential finalists to provide details to confirm their eligibility. If eligible, finalists will be confirmed and required to accept Sound NSW terms and conditions for the prize. If ineligible, the nominee will be excluded from the list of finalists and the next eligible nominee will be included in the list of finalists.
- The winner of the prize will be selected from the 10 Finalists by a Judging Panel appointed by Sound NSW made up of 5 experts with wide-ranging knowledge and experience across the Australian music industry and media landscape. The judging panel will evaluate the finalists against the assessment criteria. The winner will be announced publicly, and the judging panel’s decision is final and binding.
NSW First Nations Music Prize
- Artists and acts are nominated by a First Nations nominations committee appointed by Sound NSW, made up of 5 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander experts with wide-ranging knowledge and experience across the Australian music industry and media landscape.
- The First Nations nominations committee will nominate 3 artists/acts, considering the prize’s eligibility criteria and assessment criteria. Nominations will be submitted by a preferential nomination system (for example, first choice will receive 3 points, second choice will receive 2 points and so on).
- Sound NSW will collate nominee submissions, tally votes and rank from highest to lowest score to determine finalists. There will be 5 finalists for this category. If more than 5 artists/acts receive enough nominations to be ranked 1st to 5th, the nominations committee will be asked to do a second round of preferential voting on this group of nominees.
- Sound NSW will contact potential finalists to provide details to confirm their eligibility. If eligible, finalists will be confirmed and required to accept Sound NSW terms and conditions for the prize. If ineligible, the nominee will be excluded from the list of finalists and the next eligible nominee will be included in the list of finalists.
- Confirmation of Aboriginality and/or evidence of connection to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander culture and community may be requested as an additional eligibility check at the judging stage, as requested by First Nations judging panel. More information and examples of how Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identity can be evidenced and verified can be found in the First Nations NSW Confirmation & Connection guide.
- The winner of the prize will be selected from the 5 finalists by a First Nations judging panel appointed by Sound NSW, made up of three Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander experts with wide-ranging knowledge and experience across the Australian music industry and media landscape. The First Nations judging panel will evaluate the finalists against the assessment criteria. The winner will be announced publicly and the Judging Panel’s decision is final and binding.
NSW Breakthrough Artist of the Year
- Artists and acts are nominated by a nominations committee appointed by Sound NSW, made up of 20 experts with wide-ranging knowledge and experience across the Australian music industry and media landscape. The nominations committee will nominate 3 acts based on the eligibility criteria. Nominations will be submitted by a preferential nomination system (for example, first choice will receive 3 points, second choice will receive 2 points and so on).
- Sound NSW will collate nominee submissions, tally votes and rank from highest to lowest score to determine finalists. There will be 5 finalists for this category. If more than 5 artists/acts receive enough nominations to be ranked 1st to 5th, the nominations committee will be asked to do a second round of preferential voting on this group of nominees.
- Sound NSW will contact potential finalists to provide details to confirm their eligibility. If eligible, finalists will be confirmed and required to accept Sound NSW terms and conditions for the Prize. If ineligible, the nominee will be excluded from the list of finalists and the next eligible nominee will be included in the list of finalists.
- The winner of the prize will be selected from the 5 finalists by a judging panel appointed by Sound NSW, made up of 5 experts with wide-ranging knowledge and experience across the Australian music industry and media landscape. The judging panel will evaluate the finalists against the assessment criteria. The winner will be announced publicly and the judging panel’s decision is final and binding.
Frequently asked questions
For more information about the NSW Music Prize, please see the FAQs.
NSW Music Prize 2025
Explore the full list of winners and finalists of the NSW Music Prize 2025.
Support and contact
For further information, please contact:
- Celline Narinli, Music Programs Manager, Sound NSW
- Email: info@sound.nsw.gov.au