Applications for the 2022 APRA Professional Development Awards are now open
Applications for the awards close at 5pm AEDT Thursday 18 November 2021
Past winners Caitlin Yeo, Sarah Buckley, Amanda Cole, Imogen Clark, Jeremy Rose and Ngaiire share their words of encouragement.
The APRA Professional Development Awards exist to provide support to emerging songwriters and composers. Nine recipients will each receive a game-changing $10,000 cash prize to support their development, along with a prize from Australis Music.
The Smugglers of Light Foundation Music and Media Award also returns in 2022 to provide an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander music or media practitioner with a grant of $12,000, as well as a prize from Australis Music. The award is supported and assessed by the Smugglers of Light Foundation, set up in memory of Eli Westlake.
We asked previous recipients what the PDA meant to them, how it helped propel their musical career, and for tips on applying - whether it's your first time or a few tries in.
The APRA PDA was hugely helpful in so many ways; it raised my career profile, gave me the confidence to step into larger gigs, and also provided the opportunity for me to bolster up my skills.
Winning the PDA was a milestone moment in my career. It was one of those big stepping stones, which really helped me further my professional career. It gave me the opportunity to connect with the other side of the globe, network with international industry, attend workshops, and bolster up my scoring skills. I have carried this experience into every project I have worked on since, and am grateful to APRA for the award.
From receiving the APRA PDA I was fortunate enough to attend the ASCAP film scoring workshop in LA, which was an extraordinary opportunity to learn film scoring from some of Hollywood’s best composers. The funds were vital in paying for all the travel expenses, and associated costs with attending the workshop.
Winning the Professional Development Award was and is so important for me at the stage I am at in my career. To receive this financial support opens up so many opportunities for me to develop into the next as a professional songwriter, growing my skills in this craft through collaboration, travel and building my creative and industry network.
As a songwriter it is such an incredible honour to be recognised by APRA for this craft and this recognition has given me the ability to establish new relationships, both creative and business, within the Australian and International music industry. The prestige of winning the APRA Professional Development Award is globally recognised and a privilege to have on my name. Since winning the PDA I have built my network of songwriters and collaborators as well as industry connections which will continue to impact and further my career and overall development as a songwriter for years to come.
My advice to someone applying for the PDA, is to just apply because you never know! If you have applied in the past, put your hat in the ring again each year, because each year you will be getting a little closer and I also think it's really positive to see how you have developed in those 12 months between applying (both for the judges and for yourself!). As this is the professional 'development' awards, to see how you are developing is an important part of it.
The PDA award will be used to lift me into the next level and chapter for myself as a songwriter, both professionally and creatively. I am excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with some amazing songwriters, artists and producers from around the world and look forward to creating new music and great songs!
Winning the APRA Professional Development Award at that particular time in my career provided me with much needed funds participate in dream development opportunities. I was able expand my knowledge of microtonal tuning and voice science through tuition with leading Australian and American specialists. I was able to connect with exceptional international performers and write them exciting new pieces which have been recorded and shared online. The APRA PDA really could not have come at a better time in my career for me!
Winning the APRA Professional Development Award definitely helped raise my profile and gave me a fantastic sense of recognition.
I applied for the APRA PDA several times and had been a finalist. I guess the saying goes ‘you have to be in it to win it’ so I think if you miss out you have to just re-group and try again!
I used the APRA Professional Development Award to pay for an online American microtonal tuning course and two years of participation in the N.E.O. Voice Science festival with Los Angeles based composers and performers. I also bought software I needed to create and perform my microtonal music compositions. I use the headphones I won as part of my prize everyday!
Winning the APRA Professional Development Award in 2019 was of phenomenal help to my career, especially because I was spending that year in a near-constant state of both national and international touring. Some of these touring opportunities were costing more than they were bringing in, but the effect they were having on growing my fan base was huge, so having the security of this grant in my bank account meant that I could pursue opportunities that were less financially lucrative.
The feeling of having an industry body like APRA AMCOS deem me worthy of such a massive award and financial support was a feeling so wonderful I can’t do it justice in words. The recognition of winning this award gave me the boost of confidence I really felt I needed after so many years working in the entertainment industry and dealing with the usual struggles of a creative pursuit. Being able to put this award on my resume was huge when it came to exposing me to new industry contacts.
My advice is not to give up if you’re unsuccessful after your first or several attempts, because I applied several times without making it past the first stage of the selection process before ever winning this award. I see in hindsight that the previous times I applied were simply not the right time for me to win, and I’m so glad I persisted and that I won the year that I did. In your application, be as specific and direct as you can about exactly how these funds will help you.
The PDA cash prize helped me hugely in being able to take on touring opportunities I would have usually had to reach into my own pocket to afford. As we all know, being an emerging artist often involves saying yes to opportunities you know will help grow your career, but not necessarily result in a profit, so when I won this award, I suddenly felt a heavy financial burden lift from my shoulders. With the help of this award, I was able to continue nationally and internationally touring throughout 2019, right up until the pandemic hit in 2020, including trips overseas to play shows, record two EPs, and partake in multiple writing sessions.
Winning the PDA gave me confidence, momentum and impetus to work even harder at my music. My career has taken on a number of trajectories since then, most notably expanding my work internationally and collaborating with a wider range of artists. I'm really grateful for where I’m at now and I’m sure the PDA came at a pivotal time within my trajectory.
The PDA helped with my profile development and association with the other artists in the winning cohort, who I greatly admire. I have since been able to leverage the award to help apply for other grants. I have also been fortunate to work with international booking agents and festivals and I’m sure it has all helped.
Don’t be put off by not winning, re-apply again and again. Build a diverse portfolio of creative work that best represents your musical vision. Make your musical outputs the best they can possibly be.
I spread the cash prize across a range of career-building activities including attending trade fair events in Europe, undertaking mentorships in New York City and building up my own projects and promotional capacity through my record label Earshift Music.
I was lucky enough to receive this support whilst putting my second album 'Blastoma' together and as most artists know, it's expensive business conjuring up any body of work especially when you're doing it independently. The PDAs not only let you know that other people in the industry think that you're great (which as artists we feed off) but it also gives you some breathing room financially for the sustainability of your business.
I think the biggest thing for me was the encouragement. Being a music artist sometimes feels like a solitary marathon except you never know how long the road is, and your training mostly happens as you're going along so you're constantly on this slog to never arriving but always growing. Almost like in a video game where each level reached propels you forward because if you've reached this level, you can for sure keep reaching and stretching yourself to be the best conduit of message and art you can be.
For the people doing it for the first time - if you're not successful, do it again next year. The more applications I wrote that I wasn't successful in, the better I got at articulating things about myself and the achievements I had at each stage I was at. A lot of artists loathe talking about themselves in this country. So if that's you, just look at it as a free training ground to getting better at doing it. For those giving it another try - well done for still keeping the faith. Our industry really rewards persistence as well as those who actively and patiently trial and error what fertiliser works for their plot. I mean if you like to garden like me because I've now turned into my mum, you know that the rewards of seeing crops fail one season then yield the next are priceless and it means you're getting a kick out of the ride. That's half the battle with surviving out here.
Artists aren't always the best business planners and that coupled with past managers who weren't any better at it, I'd created a few pesky financial debts for myself due to the inability of either of us to manage cash flow. I wanted to fill some of those holes as there's nothing that kills creativity more than outstanding debt.