Electric Fields, Amanda Brown, Tim Minchin & More Nominated For 2024 Screen Music Awards

The 2024 Screen Music Awards winners will be revealed in a matter of weeks, and today, the massive list of nominees has dropped, courtesy of APRA AMCOS and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC).

With the likes of Joff Bush (music composer for Bluey), Amanda Brown, Tim Minchin, Radical Son, Electric Fields, and many more up for awards, the strength of Australian music on screen will be on display.

This year’s Screen Music Awards will be held at Forum Melbourne/Naarm on Tuesday, 29 October. Hosted by comedian, actor, writer and improviser Susie Youssef, with Musical Director Erkki Veltheim leading a live orchestra, the music from the screen will be brought to life throughout the evening. 

Starring a blend of 29 first-time nominees alongside seasoned screen composers, the Screen Music Awards feature 15 categories that follow compositions for documentaries, short films, advertising, children’s programming, feature film scores and, for the first time, music for games/interactive media and unscripted and reality television.

Bluey has been nominated for some huge awards: Best Music for Children’s Programming and Most Performed Composer – Overseas (Joff Bush), after being named the most-watched show in the US this year.

A brand-new category, Emerging Screen Composer of the Year, has been introduced. It features nominees Alex Olijnyk (co-composer of the original score for Fake), Ayda Akbal, James Mountain, and Luna Pan (The Block, Bondi Rescue, Bluey).

Elsewhere, Amanda Brown and Antonio Gambale have been recognised for their work on Prosper (Best Music for a Television Drama), while Brown received another nomination in the Best Original Song Composed for the Screen category alongside Damien Lane and David Leha (Radical Son) for their work on Carry You for RFDS.

Other nominees in the category include Tim Minchin (Good Day Sunshine from Netflix series Eric), Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross of Electric Fields fame for their song Tjukurpa from Faraway Downs, and Jack Doepel, Benjamin Freeman and Angus Mills for Echo from Lighting of the Sails for Vivid 2024.

You can find the full list of nominees below.

2024 Screen Music Awards Nominations 

Feature Film Score of the Year

Title: Monkey Man                        

Composed by: Jed Kurzel          

Published by: Universal/MCA Music Publishing

Title: Plan Bea                

Composed by: Sean Peter

Title: The Rooster          

Composed by: Stefan Gregory 

Title: Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp

Composed by: Michael Lira

Published by: Universal/MCA Music Publishing

Emerging Composer of the Year

Alex Olijnyk

Ayda Akbal

James Mountain

Luna Pan

Best Music for Children’s Programming

Title: Beep and Mort: Today! The Musical 

Composed by: Harry Covill

Title: Bluey: The Sign

Composed by: Joff Bush, Jazz D’Arcy, Daniel O’Brien & Joe Twist

Published by: Universal Music Publishing

Title: The Sloth Lane 

Composed by: Ack Kinmonth

Title: Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

Composed by: Hamish Francis 

Best Music for a Documentary

Title: Every Little Thing

Composed by: Caitlin Yeo         

Published by: Kobalt Music Publishing obo LILLIPILLI 

Title: Fungi: Web of Life 

Composed by: Piers Burbrook de Vere & Angela Little 

Title: Secrets of the Octopus                   

Composed by: Rafael May

Published by: Sony Music Publishing   

Title: War Tails                

Composed by: Piotr Nowotnik 

Best Music for a Short Film

Title: Blame the Rabbit                              

Composed by: Michael Darren

Title: The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie and Celeste                          

Composed by: Alex Olijnyk       

Title: Quiet Night Thought                        

Composed by: Madeleine Mallis           

Title: We Used To Own Houses  

Composed by: Joel Byrne & Wade Keighran       

Published by: GAGA Music Publishing

Best Music for a Television Comedy

Title: Bump: Work         

Composed by: Jackson Milas & Josie Mann

Published by: Sonar Music Publishing

Title: The Artful Dodger: Season 1 Episode 1

Composed by: Antony Partos

Published by: Sony Music Publishing

Title: While The Men Are Away: Furrowing The Fuhrer's Brow!

Composed by: Michael Yezerski

Title: Wolf Like Me: Season 2 Episode 4

Composed by: Piers Burbrook de Vere

Published by: Universal/MCA Music Publishing

Best Music for a Television Drama

Title: High Country: Season 1 Episode 1

Composed by: Cezary Skubiszewski and Jan Skubiszewski

Title: Ladies in Black: Season 1 Episode 1 

Composed by: Matteo Zingales

Published by: Sonar Music Publishing

Title: Prosper: Season 1 Episode 2

Composed by: Amanda Brown & Antonio Gambale

Published by: Kobalt Music Publishing obo LILLIPILLI

Title: The Newsreader: Fireworks

Composed by: Cornel Wilczek & Thomas Rouch* 

Published by: Concord Music Publishing ANZ*

Best Music for Unscripted & Reality Television Series

 Title: Australia By Design Architecture

 Composed by: Marlon Grunden & Robert Upward

 Published by: Mushroom Music

Title: LEGO Masters

Composed by: Adam Gock, Dinesh Wicks, Anthony Ammar, David Bruggemann, Brontë                Horder, David Huxtable, Richard LaBrooy, Adam Sofo, Mitch Stewart, Cassie To

Published by: Universal Music Publishing obo Endomol Australia Pty Ltd

Title: MasterChef

Composed by: Adam Gock, Dinesh Wicks, Anthony Ammar, Emma Greenhill, Brontë Horder, Richard LaBrooy, Adam Sofo, Mitch Stewart & Cassie To

Published by: Universal Music Publishing obo Endomol Australia Pty Ltd

Title: The Summit

Composed by: Charlton Hill, Justin Shave, David Barber

Published by: Universal Music Publishing obo Uncanny Valley

Best Music for a Video Game or Other Interactive Media

Title: Every Hue of You

Composed by: Meena Shamaly & Natalie Jeffreys   

Title: Nine Realms: Revolt 

Composed by: Rory Chenoweth & Samuel Marks

Title: Seekers of the Shard: Dragonfire 

Composed by: David Barber

Title: Solium Infernum

Composed by: Michael Allen

Best Opening Title Television Theme

Title: Night Bloomers 

Composed by: Darren Lim

Title: The Mission

Composed by: Joel Farland

Title: The Way We Wore

Composed by: Ned Beckley & Josh Hogan

Title: Zip and the Tiny Sprouts

Composed by: Jazz D’Arcy

Best Original Song Composed for the Screen

Title: Carry You from RFDS 

Composed by: Amanda Brown*, Damien Lane* & David Leha

Published by: Kobalt Music Publishing obo LILLIPILLI*

Title: Echo from Lighting of the Sails for Vivid 2024 

Composed by: Jack Doepel, Benjamin Freeman & Angus Mills

Title: Good Day Sunshine from Eric 

Composed by: Tim Minchin

Published by: Kobalt Music Publishing/David Platz Music (Australia)

Title: Tjukurpa from Faraway Downs

Composed by: Zaachariaha Fielding & Michael Ross

Published by: Sony Music Publishing

Best Soundtrack Album

Title: Sleeping Dogs                     

Composed by: David Hirschfelder

Published by: Cas Music Australia

Title: Talk To Me 

Composed by: Cornel Wilczek & Thomas Rouch*         

Published by: Concord ANZ*

Title: The Rooster 

Composed by: Stefan Gregory 

Title: Travels on My Donkey

Composed by: Burkhard Dallwitz          

Best Music for an Advertisement

Title: Carlton Dry: Drylandia

Composed by: Jeremy Richmond

Published by: Rumble Studios

Title: Husk

Composed by: Matteo Zingales & Josh Pearson

Published by: Sonar Music

Title: Life Giving Learning

Composed by: Finn Clarke

Title: The Voice 2024 Launch aka Team Unite

Composed by: Charlton Hill, Justin Shave, Reigan Derry* & Graham Donald^

Published by: Universal Music Publishing obo Uncanny Valley, Mushroom Music Publishing obo Young&Vicious*, Red Music Publishing^

Most Performed Screen Composer – Australia

Composer: Adam Gock & Dinesh Wicks

For MasterChef Australia, Travel Guides, Married At First Sight

Composer: Jay Stewart

For: The Block, Better Homes & Gardens, The Force

Composer: Mitchell Stewart

For: MasterChef Australia, Travel Guides, Married At First Sight

Composer: Neil Sutherland

For: Border Security, Australian Crime Stories, Bondi Vet

Most Performed Screen Composer – Overseas

Composer: Joff Bush

For: Bluey

Composer: Adam Gock & Dinesh Wicks

 For: MasterChef Australia, Stars on Mars, Lego Masters Australia       

Composer: Mitchell Stewart

For: Stars on Mars, Lego Masters Australia, The Biggest Loser

Composer: Neil Sutherland

For: Border Security, Mythbusters, Bondi Vet