Industry Assessor Pool - Frequently Asked Questions

The Industry Assessor Pool is a group of industry assessors with a broad mix of skills and experience from across the contemporary music ecosystem.

Members will be selected for relevant assessment panels throughout the year based on their expertise. Assessors will review and score applications against the assessment criteria, agree on final rankings, and put forward recommendations to the final decision-maker.

For further information read the Terms of Reference.   

Applications are invited from music industry professionals, including (but not limited to) artists, songwriters, managers, producers, programmers, presenters, venue owners, technical support, label staff, publishers, publicists, journalists, radio hosts, content creators, as well as senior staff in music businesses and organisations.  

Industry Assessor Pool members need to reflect the: 

• diversity of contemporary music in NSW, including genre, gender, First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse, people with disability, Western Sydney and regional and remote communities.  

• different stages of artists career and development, including emerging, mid-career and established, independent artists and artists signed to major labels.  

Members must have:

• an excellent understanding of the contemporary music sector and/or the regulatory environment within which the music sector operates

• strong communication skills and the ability to represent a range of industry views

• willingness to engage in constructive discussion with other industry assessors

• an inclusive approach to group discussion. 

Most assessment meetings will be conducted online. But there may be a need to have an in-person meeting, depending on the program or volume of applications. 

Sound NSW will confirm the format and location of the assessment meeting as assessors are engaged for assessment panels.  

Sound NSW will coordinate the assessment process, support assessors, and facilitate the online assessment meetings. Other roles include:

• informing eligibility

• providing sector knowledge 

• facilitate all assessment meetings

• take assessment meeting minutes. 

Industry assessors will be paid a fee for reviewing applications and a set fee for attending an assessment meeting (if required).  

Fee for reviewing applications:

• $350 for up to 20 applications  

• $500 for 21-40 applications  

• $650 for 41-60 applications  

• $750 for 60+ applications. 

Fee for attending an assessment meeting:

• $450 for attending a half day assessment meeting (online or in person).  

No, you do not need to be an experienced grant assessor to apply. But your application should outline your music industry skills and experience and how this would benefit the Industry Assessor Pool.  

Appointment to the Sound NSW Industry Assessor Pool will not prohibit you, or any organisations you are associated with, from applying for Sound NSW grants.

To ensure fair assessment processes, we will require all Industry Assessor Pool members to declare their conflicts of interest. These will then be managed internally to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest in assessment. 

Sound NSW will deliver multiple funding programs and rounds each year and members of the Industry Assessor Pool will be invited to participate in relevant assessment panels based on their expertise and availability.

This will involve completing an individual assessment of each application, followed by attendance at an assessment meeting.

Time taken to complete assessments will vary based on the number of applications received. Sound NSW will be managing workloads to ensure an equitable and reasonable time commitment across funding programs. Industry Assessor Pool members will be allocated a capped number of applications to assess per round and this cap considers the amount of time assessors may need to complete assessment.

Industry Assessor Pool members will be notified in advance of assessment time frames and assessment meeting dates.