Sound Fair? New research provides vital snapshot of Australia’s art music commissioning landscape

Music Australia has today released a new report examining the commissioning environment faced by Australian creators of art music, providing the sector’s first comprehensive snapshot in more than a decade.

Sound Fair? An analysis of art music commissioning in Australia takes a comprehensive look at commissioning practices across the art music sector, which encompasses contemporary classical, jazz, improvised and experimental music, and sound art.

The research was undertaken by composer and researcher Cameron Lam in partnership with Creative Australia and Music Australia. It draws on survey responses from 79 music creators and 32 commissioning organisations, covering 195 individual commissions across the sector.

The findings will inform the development of a new best-practice commissioning guide, to be published by Music Australia in mid-2026, to support both commissioners and music creators, providing recommended principles around negotiation, contracts, rights management, professional expectations and fair remuneration.

Director of Music Australia, Millie Millgate, said:

“This research gives us a clear and evidence-based picture of how Australian creators are currently being commissioned. It highlights the immense value artists bring to organisations, ensembles and communities, as well as the structural pressures they face. These insights will help guide fairer, more transparent commissioning practices across the country.”

Key insights:

More thanthree quarters of music creators (78%)received three or fewer commissions per year.55% earned$5,000 or less annuallyfrom art music commissionsThe average commissioning rate was $596.11 per minute (median $414.73)Average actual rates across all work types werelower than creators’ ideal rates,andless than half of comparable international recommended rates.Only 20% of creators (and 55% of commissioners) had a standard contract.Across both creators and commissioners, the majority of commissioning agreements (63%) did not have a clear dispute management processandmore than half (52%) had no clear termination process.