MusicSA Announces New Music Initiative Play It LOUD
MusicSA’s Play It LOUD initiative aims to deliver investment across six key areas.
Image Danny Wallace
As the state election inches closer, South Australia’s peak body for the music industry, MusicSA, has called on the South Australian Government to invest $12 million to keep the future of the local music scene alive.
MusicSA are urging the Government to invest $3 million per annum over four years into Play It LOUD – its 2026 State Election contemporary music action plan – that offers “a clear, evidence-based investment framework to support the growth of South Australia’s contemporary music industry.”
The aim of Play It LOUD is to strengthen SA’s music ecosystem that already contributes a whopping $490 million to the state and supports more than 5,000 full-time equivalent jobs (9,207+ jobs) annually.
The Play It LOUD package aims to help everyone from emerging artists to those established in the scene, along with metropolitan live music venues, regional communities and offer First Nations leadership.
Play It LOUD aims to deliver investment across six key areas:
$1.25M per annum in Artist and Industry Grants, to support artists, music businesses, venues and festivals across metropolitan and regional South Australia.
$250,000 per annum for First Nations Industry Development, to deliver culturally-led career pathways, address systemic barriers and amplify First Nations voices.
$500,000 per annum in Regional Industry Development, to strengthen regional networks, increase live music activity and address the metropolitan/regional divide
$700,000 per annum in SA Music Industry Sector Development, including a new annual Industry Conference, professional development, mentoring and national and international career pathway development
$150,000 per annum in Audience Development for Local Original Music, to grow ticket sales, venue revenue and live music participation
$150,000 per annum for Music Career Pathways for Young People, to build the next generation music workforce and provide viable alternatives to traditional education pathways.
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“South Australia is a small but powerful music industry,” says MusicSA CEO Christine Schloithe. “We have some of Australia’s most talented artists and bands, but they need to be nurtured to be industry-ready, and they need sustainable pathways to connect to national and international networks and industry. Play It LOUD delivers the solid building blocks the local music industry needs to grow and thrive right now.”
John Glenn, MusicSA Chair, adds, “While we value the investment the South Australian contemporary music industry receives, the reality is music industry funding is very small and has not been adjusted in over a decade. Our local industry is falling behind other states and jurisdictions because it’s underfunded. South Australian music contributes significantly to the state’s economy – we have proven that. We are asking for a fairer playing field for an industry that was hardest hit during the pandemic and it still doing it just as tough.”
Play It LOUD has come about after extensive consultation with metropolitan and regional artists, music businesses, venues and festivals. Not only does it align closely with the South Australian Government’s 10-year cultural policy, A Place to Create, but Play It LOUD reinforces contemporary music’s role in delivering South Australia’s aspirations for the future.
For more information on Play It LOUD, visit musicsa.com.au.
