SOUND WEST & Sony Music Aus Giving Emerging Talent A Serious Leg-up

Landmark festival SOUND WEST and Sony Music Australia are backing upcoming talent in a big way.

A partnership between the two ahead of the inaugural music and technology festival this 23- 28 August in Parramatta has resulted in an initiative that aims to boost career opportunities for local artists.

As part of the artist-development project, one emerging artist will receive a six-month A&R mentorship program with Sony Music Australia, home to the likes of The Kid LAROI, Amy Shark and Tones & I.

As well as creative and business mentoring, the selected act will also score studio recording time.

Recording artists who want to take part in the competition can submit themselves online via the SOUND WEST website.

A panel of industry representatives will then choose 10 semi-finalists who will be invited to attend SOUND WEST on Thursday 25 August for a mentorship session with Sony Music Australia’s Senior Director of A&R and Creative Development Alexander Franco, including a 30-minute listening and A&R session with Sony Music experts and an artists and repertoire creative and business session with experts.

The winner selected will receive a free six-month A&R mentorship program with Sony Music Australia that includes:

• Four free studio sessions at Sony Music studios with an in-house engineer.
• Two in-person mentoring sessions with Sony Music Australia A&R.
• Support with building their networks in the music industry through introductions to local producers that suit the artist and genre.

“Western Sydney is a hub for great ideas, food, creativity and music, so it’s fitting that this will be where we uncover Australia’s next big musical talent,” Minister for Tourism and Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said.

“SOUND WEST will be a fantastic celebration in Western Sydney, and as we continue on our roadmap to recovery it will provide a significant boost to the local visitor economy - attracting performers, organisers and fans to local businesses."

City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Donna Davis added: “Sound West is going to be a landmark event for Parramatta, and a career-defining moment for one talented artist through this incredible initiative.

“SOUND WEST presents a great opportunity to find emerging talent from Western Sydney.

“This partnership is a great way for our team to help emerging Australian talent by giving them access to our global reach and decades of expertise to help kick-start their music careers.”

For more details, head to the SOUND WEST website.