Entries are now open, with registration closing on 5 September 2021.
Image: Chris Gray Photomedia.
Award-winning mental health music charity Listen Up Music have teamed up with philanthropic group Wyatt Trust to launch a new songwriting competition, in an effort to campaign for increased support for JobSeeker.
Launching today, the initiative offers a $10,000 cash prize to Australian musicians who are unemployed or underemployed. Applicants have been set the challenge to write and record their best anthem, representing the current climate for musicians who are currently on income support and unable to make ends meet. Entries are now open, with registration closing on 5 September 2021.
Co-convenor Stacey Thomas, CEO of The Wyatt Trust states, "There was widespread support for a raise in income support rates but the resulting $4 per day earlier this year did little to change things for people living in poverty. We need to continue to give voice to those on JobSeeker and having an anthem that speaks to the dilemmas they face is a new way of doing this."
In providing the platform for the competition, Ali Taylor, Listen Up Music Co-Founder and CEO says, "Music is a universal language. We know that people experiencing different forms of adversity find not only solace, but voice and community through song. This competition expands our reach from those passionate about positive mental health to a larger group whose financial hardship has far-reaching health and wellbeing impacts."
Song contest co-convenor, Paul Madden, says, "Providing, along with others, a donation towards the $10,000 anthem prize was easy. The hard part is understanding why our government persists in refusing to provide a basic safety net for those who are unemployed or underemployed."
The JobSeeker Anthem Song Contest will be open from 6 July 2021 and submissions close at 11:59 pm Sunday 5 September 2021. Entries can be lodged here.
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