Scholarship To Give Aspiring Artists A Shot At $50,000

Independent Australian artists and bands aged 16 and over are being given the opportunity to make their dreams a reality with a little help from industry and $50,000.

The Music Career Scholarship, a joint initiative of Pacific International Music, JMusic Australia and SoGuru Media, will be awarded to one independent Australian artist or band, and includes “production of an album, a professional photo shoot and video clip, 500 copies of a CD, a website, social media set-up and management for three months, professionally written materials, an e-press kit, business plan, marketing consults and media coaching”, the organisers said.

“Australia has an enormous abundance of talent,” Pacific International Music CEO Robert Mackay said. “We want the scholarship to give us a current snapshot of that talent and provide the winner with a big leg-up in the industry.”

The scholarship has attracted talent of a calibre such as Gordon Williams, aka “The Commissioner”, who in his multi-Grammy award-winning career as a producer and engineer has been nothing short of an accolades machine, working with high-profile artists such as Amy Winehouse, Santana, Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill. He has signed on as a judge for the scholarship panel.

“This is a real opportunity for Aussie artists to break into the international scene” Williams said in a statement. “Pacific International Music, the producers and publishers, have great connections in the US, so for the right person, with talent and drive, they could be performing to an international audience much sooner than they think.”

Applications for the scholarship close July 31, 2014. Visit the PIM site for more information regarding the scholarship and application process.