The Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (Amrap) distributes new Australian music to community radio stations nationwide & empowers broadcasters to promote new Australian music on air & online.

You can distribute your music to community radio stations around the country through Amrap's AirIt (for free) or their Monthly CD Mailout. More info here.

You can also send music directly to radio stations. Generally, it's best to send a streaming link (such as a private Soundcloud link), a download link to a 320kbps MP3 file or higher, and an artist bio. See their websites for details as each station has their own requirements.

• FBi Radio
• Koori Radio
• 2SER
• triple j unearthed

Check out the full list of radio stations at our music industry directory.

If you’re an unsigned artist, you can use a service called an aggregator to submit music to digital streaming services, such as CD Baby, TuneCore, Ditto Music and GYROStream (Australian owned). Make sure you know what rights and fees are involved when signing up to these services.

Music publishers work with artists to find opportunities to use their songs in order to generate royalties. Find out more about music publishing at APRA AMCOS.

Background music suppliers provide businesses and organisations with music and music playlists for use in commercial environments. Find out more.

Check out our DIY PR Guide and How To Build A Press Kit resource for info on how to do your own music publicity. 

When finding the right publicist, it’s important to consider who has experience with your style of music, what stage you’re at in your music career and your budget. A great way to start is to check out other artists that are similar to you and asking for feedback on any publicists they’ve worked with.

Some PR companies in NSW include:

• The PR Files
• Bossy Music
• Positive Feedback
• Morse Code PR
• twnty three

See our music industry directory for more!

Check out our From Load In to Load Out resource for information on what you need to do before, during and after live shows, as well as sample stage plots, input lists and backline.

Many music festivals accept applications to perform on their lineups. See our list of NSW-based music events and festivals here.

There are many ways to secure a music act for your event. Here are some options.

1. Contact booking agents with a brief and budget and they will get back to you with a selection that suits your criteria. Just go to their website for contact details.

Some booking agents:

• Village Sounds
• Select Music
• Handsome Tours
• Collective Artists
• New World Artists

2. Contact artists directly. Most artists have their contact details listed on their Facebook page in the about section with either the band, their managers or booking agents email address.

There are a range of organisations and initiatives dedicated to making live music and venues more safe and inclusive in Australia:

• Accessible Arts is the peak arts and disability organisation in NSW and has a range of information and resources on accessibility.
• We Have Voice is a collective of 14 musicians, performers, scholars, and thinkers from different generations, races, ethnicities, cultures, abilities, gender identities, economic backgrounds, religious beliefs and affiliations. Together, they are determined to engage in transformative ways of thinking and being in their creative professional world, while being ingrained in an inclusive and intersectional analysis.
  They have a code of conduct available on their website to promote safe(r) workplaces in the performing arts, as well as resources on consent, assault, mental health and more.
• Ask For Angela is an example of a campaign by the NSW Government designed to combat violence and sexual assault in Sydney venues.

If you are a songwriter, sign up as a member of APRA AMCOS to collect royalties for use of your music, including performing your own original music live.

If you own the rights in your sound recordings, register as a Licensor with PPCA, to collect royalties for the use of your recordings. If you are a featured artist that performs on a recording you can also register with PPCA under PPCA’s Artist Direct Distribution Scheme.

If you are both a songwriter AND a recording artist you should register with both APRA AMCOS and PPCA, to make sure you are maximising your income.

Check out our Funding Calendar for information on grant opportunities to support your music projects.

Whether you're considering a performance or recording opportunity, or you're writing a budget for a grant application, it's important to consider whether minimum entitlements are being met and what safeguards can be implemented to ensure fair and prompt payment for work performed. 

Fair Work Australia have set legally required minimum wages for anyone employed as a musicians. The Live Performance Award 2010 covers musicians performing live, whilst the Broadcasting and Recorded Entertainment Award 2010 covers musicians who are being recorded and/or filmed.

In the case of musicians hired as independent contractors, the Musician's Union of Australia recommends that they are paid at least the minimum entitlements they would receive as an employee in order to avoid possible legal action and uncertainty.

See here for more details.

Check out our Regional Touring Network for information on touring across NSW.