MELBOURNE: Online platform, Community Garden, developed by Melbourne talent management agency Tall Poppy MGMT, has been launched to support Australia’s emerging musicians by bringing together Australia’s fragmented music industry opportunities in one searchable hub.
For many emerging musicians, finding the right opportunity can be just as challenging as creating the work itself. Grants, residencies, competitions, jobs and professional development programs are often scattered across dozens of websites, newsletters and social media pages, making it easy for valuable opportunities to be missed.
Community Garden brings together more than 100 opportunities from across Australia in a single searchable platform. Updated fortnightly, the directory helps musicians stay across the latest grants, showcases, competitions, mentoring programs, industry events and other career opportunities as they are added.
One of Community Garden’s key features is the ability to search opportunities by identity, making it easier for First Nations, LGBTQIAPN+, female and gender-diverse, disabled and culturally diverse musicians to discover programs designed specifically for them.
Founded by music manager Mikaela Copland, Community Garden was inspired by years of working alongside emerging artists and witnessing first-hand how difficult it can be to navigate the music industry without established networks, representation or easy access to information.
Copland noted “there’s no shortage of opportunities in Australia’s music scene, but there is a shortage of accessible information.
“Community Garden was created to remove some of those barriers by bringing opportunities together in one place. Whether it’s a grant, residency, competition or professional development program, we want emerging artists spending more time creating and less time searching.
“We hope Community Garden becomes more than just a directory. We want it to be somewhere musicians can discover opportunities, build connections and feel part of the wider industry.”
While Community Garden sits outside Tall Poppy MGMT’s core talent management business, Copland sees it as a natural extension of the agency’s purpose adding “we’re incredibly passionate about the artists we represent, but we also believe a stronger music scene benefits everyone. If Community Garden helps someone discover their first grant, find a mentoring opportunity or simply feel like they belong in the industry, then it’s doing exactly what we hoped it would.
“Supporting musicians shouldn’t begin and end with representation.”
Musicians can also subscribe to the free Community Garden newsletter, keeping subscribers up to date with newly added opportunities and industry news.
The launch comes as Australia’s music industry continues to explore new ways to better support emerging artists and strengthen pathways into sustainable creative careers, with industry development expected to be a key focus of conversations at BIGSOUND later this year.