Sounds Australia is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

organisation established to assist

Australian musicians Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

become established overseas. Set up in 2009, Sounds Australia began as an initiative of the

Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

APRA AMCOS APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...

, and the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

and has assisted artists such as

Flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to tr ...

Chet Faker Nicholas James Murphy (born 23 June 1988), known professionally as Chet Faker, is an Australian singer and songwriter. In 2012, as Chet Faker, he issued an extended play, '' Thinking in Textures'', and signed to Downtown Records in the United S ...

Gossling Helen Elizabeth Croome (born 1983), better known by her stage-name Gossling, is an Australian folk/pop singer-songwriter. Gossling formed after Croome put Psychology/Sociology studies on hold to concentrate on a Bachelor of Music (Composition) ...

, and

Courtney Barnett Courtney Melba Barnett (born 3 November 1987) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for her deadpan singing style and witty, rambling lyrics, she attracted attention with the release of her debut EP ''I've Got a Friend Calle ...

find greater impact outside of Australia. In 2015 the government made changes to their funding which led to uncertainty over the organisation's future, with their funding due to run out on December 31, 2016. In November 2016 Sounds Australia announced the government had committed to fund them for the next four years, with funding also contributed by other organisations. They received further funding from

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

in 2020. Initially Sounds Australia used funding to support musicians in attending showcase conference events in North America, the UK and Europe, such as

South by South West South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

(SXSW), and in their first ten years assisted approximately 1,600 Australian artists to attend over 70 events, in 23 countries. They have also led programs to support non-musicians, and in 2017 Sounds Australia received funding from the

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and inv ...

to visit South America with a delegation of Australian music industry figures to determine opportunities for Australian music. In 2020, following the cancellation of SXSW, Sounds Australia organised a live stream event featuring artists like

Alex the Astronaut Alexandra Lynn (born 3 March 1995), known professionally as Alex the Astronaut, is an Australian folk-pop singer-songwriter. Her debut album ''The Theory of Absolutely Nothing'' was released on 21 August 2020, and peaked at number 22 on the ...

Kota Banks Jessica Mimi Porfiri (born 13 October 1994), who performs as Kota Banks, is an Australian pop singer-songwriter and musician. She signed to Nina Las Vegas's label, NLV Records, in May 2017, which released Banks' ten-track extended play, ''Priz ...

, and

Cable Ties A cable tie (also known as a hose tie, zip tie, or tie wrap) is a type of fastener for holding items together, primarily electrical cables and wires. Because of their low cost, ease of use, and binding strength, cable ties are ubiquitous, findi ...

, but that too was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. As the pandemic continued, in 2021 Sounds Australia presented a showcase at an online SXSW and assisted musicians to access exit permits, allowing acts like

Middle Kids Middle Kids are an alternative indie rock band from Sydney, Australia. The band consists of Hannah Joy (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Tim Fitz (bass, backing vocals, production) and Harry Day (drums, backing vocals). Since forming in 2016, the b ...

and

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...

to leave Australia to fulfil touring obligations overseas.

References

External links

* {{Official website Music organisations based in Australia 2009 establishments in Australia Organisations based in Sydney