Why American Express is investing $1 million in the Australian music scene

To say that Australians love live music is an understatement.

A band playing their hearts out at a festival show. This concert was created for the sole purpose of this photo shoot, featuring 300 models and 3 live bands. All people in this shoot are model released.http://195.154.178.81/DATA/i_collage/pi/shoots/782588.jpg

To say that Australians love live music is an understatement.

To say that Australians love live music is an understatement. More Australians attend live music events each year than sporting events making it as significant as any other national pastime.

That insight was among one of many that inspired the creation of the American Express Music Backers Program. Since its inception, the program has been backing the goals, ambitions and passions of musicians, businesses and fans, as part of its pledge worth $1 million to support the music scene.

Kicking off the program by bringing international sensation The Killers to Selina’s in Coogee Bay, a venue that once hosted Nirvana and INXS in their heyday, the American Express Music Backers Program has looked at how to make a genuine impact across the industry.

“Selina’s was just the beginning – we wanted to show Australians that we are serious about our commitment to backing an industry they love, one that enables fans to create cherished life-long memories,” said Naysla Edwards, vice president of brand and experiences for American Express.

Along with Selina’s, which received additional funding towards upgrading their venue’s sound and interior, the program has already aided over a dozen Australians in receiving backing to help turn their lifelong dreams into a reality. While the program supports traditional contributors to the industry, it also looks to support the unsung heroes behind the scenes, including production studios, song writing initiatives, content creators, as well as loyal fans.

From assistance in getting tickets to a gig, learning an instrument, to starting up a music blog, the program is open to anyone, novice to professional, looking to support the music scene.

“Based on the response to the American Express Music Backers Program, it’s clear that the country values local, homegrown music. We’ve been in awe of the volume of entries the program has received just in the first six months. Whether it’s driving creativity and collaboration amongst diverse groups of artists, enabling the next stage of a musician’s career-making tour or keeping the passion alive for a dedicated fan, there are so many ways that Australians have shown us how they’d like to contribute to the music being made in our own backyard,” said Edwards.

Winners to date have included:● Ricochet Songs, a free program to mentor and support the next generation of female producers and songwriters started by musician and DJ Kirsty Peters (aka KLP); ● GRID Series, an artist development program in Melbourne’s outer suburbs that discovers and supports the rise of diverse, original and independent musicians in wider communities; ● BellBird Studios, a studio space that puts creative control back in the hands of artists in a safe, nurturing environment;● Musicians Maddy Jane , Keelan Mak, Treehouses, and Riley Pearce● Venues Selina’s (Sydney) and The Zoo (Brisbane)● Super fans Zach Edwards, Eden Sher and Aimee-Paige Sherrif

“I’m proud to be part of an initiative that will support the industry on a number of levels and it’s great that this will give something back to a scene that so many Australians are passionate about,” said Roger Field, one of the judges of the program’s panel.