Gold Coast Music Awards organisers Chloe Popa, Samantha Morris and Amanda Gorman are departing their roles ahead of this year’s event. But, they’re staying on board to establish a “new entity” to take the reins and provide the awards with “renewed leadership and energy.”
In a joint statement, the trio revealed that they’re “burnt out” and while the awards are incredibly important to them, the experience of running the industry event has “provided little personal benefit.” So, the trio are turning their attention elsewhere.
“Over 11 years, we’ve had a huge impact on the local music scene, supporting thousands of artists and championing the city’s entire music ecosystem in immeasurable ways… but we are completely burnt-out,” Popa, Morris, and Gorman shared in a statement.
They continued, “Over the past few years, it feels like every time we turn a corner, there’s a new challenge for us to overcome. We only ever started these awards to support local artists, not to get involved in music politics or to fight over resources, which are becoming scarcer and scarcer.
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“We’re done. While the Awards have been incredibly meaningful to us, they’ve provided little personal benefit, and it’s time to turn our focus to other things.”
Determined to help the awards continue, Popa, Morris and Gorman are working with a committee to establish a new entity to take over the event. At the end of the year, the trio will step down from “any further commitment” with the committee as the new organisation enters a new era.
“We’re not going to let the Awards die, though,” they explained. “We’re working with a committee to establish a new entity that will take carriage of the event, with plans for it to go ahead later this year.
“From the close of this year, we will step away from any further involvement with the committee, the new organisation, delivery of the event and will hand over all IP, partnership agreements, sponsorships and branding. We want nothing more than for this new group, many of whom are our friends and highly respected in the industry, to succeed.”
The trio continued their statement, saying that the only way they see the Gold Coast Music Awards successfully progressing into the future is with the help of the local Council.
“However, the only way this can happen and that the Awards can continue under new leadership is for Council to step up and invest at an appropriate level,” they said. “Council’s approach to support of the Awards has played a large role in our decision.
“We’re calling on the Council to secure the Gold Coast Music Awards’ future by working with the committee to ensure investment is on par with the outcomes delivered.”
The statement concludes, “As for the Gold Coast Music Network, we have Bandcamp, a training needs survey and some industry upskilling events to deliver over coming months, and our last commitment will be 29 November 2026 when we wrap up a new project supporting 8 young musicians to record and release their own songs. We hope you’ll join us for the listening party and farewell celebrations.”
The 2025 Gold Coast Music Awards were held in November, with major winners including Beckah Amani, Lyric, and Hollow Coves.
