Nominations for the 2018 ARIA Emerging Artist Scholarship, Presented By Virgin Australia, are now open

ARIA (the Australian Recording Industry Association) and Virgin Australia are excited to announce that submissions for the second ARIA Emerging Artist Scholarship are now open.

The Scholarship is open to any Australian artist (represented by a current ARIA member) that hasn’t been previously nominated for any ARIA Awards category with an Album or Single before the 2018 Awards (ie 2018 entrants / nominees are eligible).

The inaugural winner of the ARIA Emerging Artist Scholarship was Brisbane’s independent pop group Cub Sport who, with their win, secured travel support for both domestic and international legs of their 2018 world tour.

ARIA, in partnership with Virgin Australia, first introduced this initiative to acknowledge how much travel plays a role in building the career of an artist. This partnership was built to help support an emerging artist’s travel both domestically and internationally, to help them launch their career.

Dan Rosen, Chief Executive ARIA said, "ARIA is thrilled to announce the return of the ARIA Emerging Artist Scholarship as part of the 2018 ARIA Awards celebrations. We are also very excited to welcome back Virgin Australia as our major partner for the award.

“The applications last year were incredibly strong and a great indication of the quality and depth of our local recording artists. We look forward to working with Virgin Australia again to help more local artists achieve their musical ambitions on the international stage.”

Virgin Australia Group Executive Brand, Marketing and Public Affairs, Danielle Keighery, said the airline was thrilled to partner with ARIA to offer this scholarship opportunity to an emerging artist again.

“Virgin Australia is a proud supporter of the Australian music industry. We offer individual artists 64 kilograms of checked baggage when travelling domestically, and continue to find ways to ensure that Australian music is an integral part of our inflight entertainment services. We continue to focus on making travel as easy and affordable as possible for individual and emerging artists as they break into the industry,” Ms Keighery said.

To enter, all ARIA members need to do is tell us what their proposed artist’s 2019 promotional strategy is, including a US tour plan and a brief description on how ARIA and Virgin Australia can help to achieve these tour plans and ambitions.
 
Please ensure that all submissions are sent through to awards@aria.com.au by 16 November 2018 for judging by ARIA and Virgin Australia representatives.  Note that entries are restricted to two per Member.
For media enquires please email: Adrian DiGiacomo on adigiacomo@aria.com.au
 
About ARIA
ARIA is a national industry association representing major and independent record labels, manufacturers and distributors. It acts as an advocate for the Australian music industry and recording artists, administers the labeling code of practice, provides a ‘blanket’ non-exclusive licensing function for copyright users and compiles industry information and research. For more information please visit www.aria.com.au

About Virgin Australia
Virgin Australia launched in 2000 and has since established itself as a contemporary, full-service airline with a reputation for exceptional customer service. The airline is committed to delivering the world’s most engaging, stylish and effortless flying experience. In doing so, Virgin Australia has partnered with some of the world’s best airlines, opening up a combined network of more than 450 destinations.
 
Virgin Australia has developed an extensive flight network across Australia and the world and also provides Charter and Cargo services. It operates a modern fleet of around 130 aircraft that includes Airbus A330, Airbus A320, Boeing 777, Boeing 737, ATR-72 turboprop and Fokker 100 aircraft.
 
Virgin Australia’s award-winning loyalty program, Velocity Frequent Flyer, offers its more than 8 million members with a range of genuine and unique benefits.