Growing Gigs Fund
The Growing Gigs Fund (the Fund) is a program of the Queensland Government’s Grow 2022-2026 action plan, the second action plan for Creative Together 2020-2030.
The Fund forms part of the Queensland Government’s Live Music Support Package, announced through the 2024-25 State Budget, which commits $3 million to grow Queensland’s night-time economy and live music sector.
Objectives
The Fund works to assist small live music venues to program Queensland contemporary music artists and musicians by supporting performance fees and costs associated with presenting. The benefits of this investment include:
- increasing paid performance opportunities for Queensland contemporary music artists
- enabling venues to program live original music
- ensuring audiences can continue to connect with artists in live music venues.
Funding
Queensland live music venues of up to 500-person capacity can apply for funding of between $2,000 and $10,000 to support fees for performances (single performance or program of performances) by Queensland artists and musicians.
A live music venue is defined as a business whose primary function is to program or host live original music, or that has a significant area within their venue that regularly and frequently hosts live performances of original music – e.g. a pub with a staged area and a regular program of touring bands would be eligible, but a pub which has weekly live music as part of its dinner service would not.
Original live music is defined as live performances of music that is composed and written by the artist(s) performing (or is exclusively written for the artist/band by someone else). The artist or band may include ‘covers’ in their live performance, i.e. songs written or previously performed or recorded by other artists, but these should make up no more than half of the songs or pieces performed. The fund will support a single performance or a program of performances.
A minimum of 30% of total distributed funds will be prioritised for activity in regional Queensland. Applicants must provide evidence of matched funding (1:1), cash and/or in-kind.
How to apply
Visit the Arts Queensland website to apply.