The UpStart Award is back for 2026, dangling $10,000 in front of Victoria's most promising unsigned singer-songwriters.
The UpStart Award is an annual grant funded by a music-loving Melbourne family, set up to give developing artists a serious leg-up. This year’s winner walks away with $10,000, while second place picks up $3,000 and third place lands $2,000. Everyone else in the top 10 receives $1,000, so there’s plenty of reason to throw your hat in the ring.
Entries opened on 13 July and close at midnight on 31 August, with the winner set to be revealed in mid-November. A panel drawn from community radio, retail and streaming services will do the picking, so your tracks land in front of people who know the local scene inside out.
UpStart Award
- Entries close midnight 31 August
- Winner announced mid-November
- Winner receives $10,000, second place $3,000, third place $2,000
- Remaining top 10 finalists each receive $1,000
- Entries sent to [email protected]
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To be in the running you’ll need to be an individual songwriter rather than a band, though if you write for a group, the group’s songwriter can still put their name forward. The award is aimed at emerging talent, meaning you’re not signed to a major label and you haven’t been playing major venues on the regular.
There are a few boxes to tick: you must have lived in Victoria for the past two years, hold Australian citizenship or permanent residency, be an APRA AMCOS member and have an ABN. Applicants submit up to three original songs via SoundCloud, Dropbox or YouTube, plus a short bio and a plan for how the cash would push their career forward.
Both write-ups are capped at 200 words apiece, and there’s room to chuck in a performance video or lyric sheets if you want the panel to catch every word. It’s one entry per person, and the prize money has to go towards your music, whether that’s recording, marketing or touring rather than gear or old debts.
For more information, head here.
