The ABC has revealed a new initiative designed to support Australian media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Worth $5 million, The ABC Fresh Start fund will commission new work in various media sectors. This includes an Australian Music Fund, assisting the nation’s independent artists.
Radio stations such as ABC Classic and ABC Jazz will benefit from the package. Meanwhile, music scholarships will become available to artists across the country. Triple J unearthed will spearhead the distribution of these scholarships to “emerging artists across multiple genres and themes.”
The ABC has launched a $5 million fund for the Australian media industry. The Fresh Start program will assist various artists and content creators during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ABC introduced the initiative with a statement: “As the industry deals with the impact of COVID-19, we are working quickly to provide critical support to independent Australian producers and creatives and to safeguard local content and creativity.”
“The Fresh Start Fund will help supercharge development so we can kickstart existing productions as soon as possible after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.”
The music scholarships will be available via application from May 4 to June 12. More information regarding the scholarship’s monetary worth will be revealed closer to this window. However, only submissions adhering to the ABC’s diversity guidelines will be considered. This falls in line with the ABC’s efforts to “tackle under-representation as to disability, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and geographical location.”
Other components of Fresh Start include: an Enhanced Development fund for existing ABC partners, an Innovation fund for creatives with no previous ABC involvement, an Arts Digital fund, and a Children’s Content fund.
