Contemporary Music Festivals - 2026/27

Program objective

This funding program supports local contemporary music festivals that builds audiences, promotes NSW music, supports local music collaboration and provides opportunities for community connection through music.   

• festivals with capacity of up to 12,000 can apply for up to $100,000 
• festivals with capacity of over 12,000 can apply for up to $250,000. 

The funding aims to:  

• build audiences and promote NSW music  
• increase local artist engagement with their local music scene or community  
• increase opportunities for all ages music event programming   
• strengthen community participation particularly in Western Sydney and regional NSW  
• amplify the work of priority communities to build a diverse contemporary music sector. 

The Local Audience Development Grants are funded by the NSW Government and administered by Sound NSW within the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport.

This program is administered by Sound NSW (Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport).

Eligibility

What your application needs to include

After the application is submitted

Successful applications will be decided by: Secretary, Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport (DCITHS).

Eligibility

Applications will be initially reviewed by Sound NSW staff to ensure they meet eligibility requirements, and all application materials are acceptable. Sound NSW reserves the right to seek further information from the applicant to determine eligibility.  

If your application is deemed ineligible you will be notified by email within 14 days.  

Application Review  

After eligibility is confirmed, the application will be evaluated by an assessment panel of at least three industry assessors against the assessment criteria and consistent with these guidelines.   

Sound NSW aims to allocate:  

• 50% of the program budget to applications for activity in Western Sydney and regional NSW  
• additional priority will be given to events that support NSW Government priority groups.  

Assessment panel members will be provided with the application(s) and each Assessment panel member will score the applicants responses against each criterion using the scoring methodology provided, prior to a formal panel meeting.  

Assessment panel scores will be collated and discussed at an assessment panel meeting. Panel members will agree on final consensus scores for each applicant and each criterion. Applications must rate Claims fully substantiated against all criterion, to be recommended to the designated decision-maker for the award of a grant.   

The assessment panel will make their recommendations to the designated decision-maker and successful applications will be approved by the Secretary DCITHS, who may delegate to an Executive Director, based on recommendations from industry assessors.  

Please note that funding allocation follows a competitive process. Evaluations will consider the assessment criteria outlined above and the availability of Sound NSW funds.  

Application Outcome  

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application within twelve weeks of the closing date.  

Sound NSW will provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants. The format of this feedback may vary depending on the quantity of applications and the resources available.  

Assessment process considerations  

Applicants should note that:   

• the NSW Government typically receives far more applications than it can support  
• you are not guaranteed funding even if your application meets the published criteria  
• if you are successful, your application may not be funded to the amount you requested.   

Sound NSW may, at its sole discretion and at any stage of the application process, do all or any of the following:   

• require additional information from an applicant  
• may request applicants to provide clarification or additional information regarding the eligibility criteria  
• change the scope of the requirements of these guidelines  
• vary, amend (including by replacement), or terminate the application process  
• re-open an application after the closing date, provided it doesn’t give the applicant an advantage over other applicants  
• consider any non-conforming or late application  
• request further advice and/or clarification from applicants during the assessment process.  

Successful grant applications  

If your application is successful, you will be sent a funding agreement (contract), generally within one month of notification. This outlines the conditions of funding, how you will be paid and your grant reporting requirements.   

Contracts will not be issued, and payments will not be made, until all Sound NSW and Create NSW outstanding acquittals have been submitted.  

Sound NSW staff will review required reporting, outlined below, and may contact you for additional information as part of this process.  

Payment will be dependent on when the signed Funding Agreement has been returned to Sound NSW, as well as any special conditions, variations or outstanding acquittals being satisfactorily completed.   

Publication of grants information 

The Grants Administration Guide (Guide) requires that certain information is published in relation to grants awarded no later than 45 calendar days after the grant agreement takes effect (see section 6.5 of the Guide and Appendix A to the Guide). 

This information is also open access information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act), which must be made publicly available unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information. 

In accordance with these requirements, relevant information about the grants awarded will be made available on the NSW Government Grants and Funding Finder as soon as possible after the funding agreement is executed. However, if due to the commercial-in-confidence nature of the information provided, the amount of funding provided will not be published. 

All records in relation to this decision will be managed in accordance with the requirements of the State Records Act 1998 (NSW). 

• If you agree we will publish your name, your LGA, primary location, artform, project title and description and amount of funding for media and communication purposes 
• This is subject to privacy legislation 

Acknowledgement NSW Government and Sound NSW  

As a recipient of Government funding, you will be expected to acknowledge the support of the NSW Government through Sound NSW in all publications, promotional and advertising materials and public announcements.  

Reporting  

Successful applicants will be required to provide a project and financial acquittal at the end of the funding period.  

Program evaluation  

The Program will be evaluated to measure how well the outcomes and objectives have been achieved.   

We may collect and use information from your application and reports for this purpose. We may also interview you or ask you for more information to help us understand how the Program impacted you and to evaluate how effective the activity was in achieving its outcomes.  

We may contact you up to three years after you receive the final grant payment associated with the grant round for more information to assist with this evaluation. Sound NSW and the NSW Audit Office reserves the right to undertake an audit of Program funding and support within seven years.

Support and contact