WA Labor backing local artists and live music with new WA Gig Guide

A re-elected Cook Labor Government will invest $2.75 million to drum up support for WA’s music industry, including increased grant support for homegrown talent and creation of a new WA Gig Guide.
  • Re-elected Cook Labor Government to fund $1.5 million Contemporary Music Fund boost
  • $750,000 for a new WA Gig Guide to be the ultimate source of local and touring live music
  • $500,000 to save WA Music Week and WAM Fest

A re-elected Cook Labor Government will invest $2.75 million to drum up support for WA’s music industry, including increased grant support for homegrown talent and creation of a new WA Gig Guide.

WA Labor's WA Live Music Support package includes a $1.5 million increase in competitive grants available through the successful Contemporary Music Fund, which was a WA Labor election commitment in 2017.

The Contemporary Music Fund is a competitive grants program for homegrown musicians to produce and promote their work in WA. The fund has provided grants to some of WA’s top musical talent, from San Cisco to South Summit, and Spacey Jane to Emily Barker. It also helped Perth’s Voyager proudly represent Australia in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest grand final.

The funding boost over the forward estimates will take the Contemporary Music Fund to $1.2 million per annum, providing much-needed support for WA’s music industry after it has experienced pressures in recent years.

A re-elected Cook Labor Government will also invest $750,000 to create a new WA Gig Guide to be the ultimate source of up-to-date information on local and touring live music events.

The online, cross-platform guide will be developed and run by Western Australian Music (WAM), in consultation with long-running Perth community radio station RTRFM. While it will promote all live music in WA, it will focus on promoting and celebrating local music.

The package also includes $500,000 to save annual celebrations of local music WAM Fest and WA Music Week, which are at risk of being discontinued.

The event schedule will also be expanded to include a new winter program focused on hosting international promoters and producers, to help fill local venues and provide opportunities for the next generation of music fans to experience WA’s excellent local music scene.

Comments attributed to Premier Roger Cook:

“WA Labor is backing our homegrown talent with a $1.5 million increase to our Contemporary Music Fund, which has supported the journeys of some of the biggest names in WA music."

“This commitment will help to ensure the next San Cisco or Spacey Jane can access amazing opportunities to perform, record their music, and get invaluable mentoring and visibility."

“We know Western Australians love to go out and experience live music, which creates jobs and is great for local venues and the economy."

“That's why, if re-elected, we’ll work with WAM and RTRFM to create the ultimate WA Gig Guide – a one-stop shop for WA music fans looking for the latest information on local and touring artists and incredible live music and events.”

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