Turn It Up! Amplifying Australian Music
This AusArt Day, support PBS to champion Australian music through knowledgeable, human curation, helping people discover emerging, independent and otherwise underrepresented Australian artists.
Your donation supports PBS’s work, including our ongoing commitment to increasing the visibility and discoverability of Australian music, including First Nations music and artists.
Explore PBS's cultural conribution and what philanthropy can make possible, or start a conversation with us.
Finding great music that connects is one of the pleasures of listening to PBS. One song can lead to an artist, a live show or a music community that becomes part of your life.
PBS has made space for these discoveries and connections since 1979.
Across more than 80 specialist programs, our volunteer announcers introduce listeners to emerging and established artists, distinctive genres and musical cultures from Melbourne, Australia and around the world. Selecting the music is only part of what they give to the listener: they provide context, share knowledge and help listeners understand where the music comes from and how to find it.
For almost fifty years, PBS has been shaped by announcers sharing the music they love and the knowledge they have built over many years. As the station approaches its 50th year, philanthropy can help create more opportunities for music to be discovered, shared and experienced, while strengthening the independence that makes this work possible.
Making space for independent music
In 2025, the PBS Music Department reviewed more than 10,000 submissions from artists, labels and industry partners. Across the year, PBS broadcast 30 per cent Australian music and presented hundreds of artist interviews and live performances.
PBS is sustained by more than 400 volunteers. Our announcers connect listeners with music across genres, generations and cultures, creating opportunities for artists and building communities around a shared love of music.
PBS announcers have autonomy over what they play. Their choices are shaped by specialist knowledge, curiosity and cultural value, free from commercial playlists.
National research published in 2026 found that community music radio broadcasts more than twice the volume of Australian music played by commercial radio. Approximately 1.6 million Australians discover a local or emerging artist through community radio each year.
The research also estimates that Australia’s community music radio network generates $151 million of added value for the music industry in an average year, in addition to airplay royalties. For every $1 invested in community music radio, up to $5.55 is returned to the Australian music industries in socio-economic value.¹
Together, these findings show that community radio is an important part of Australia’s cultural infrastructure. It gives Australian artists a pathway to audiences and helps diverse musical cultures remain part of public life.
PBS is a longstanding part of this infrastructure and is committed to amplifying music and artists underrepresented in the wider media landscape, now and for generations to come.
Where philanthropy can make a difference
Membership and sponsorship sustain much of PBS’s day-to-day broadcasting. Philanthropic support allows PBS to invest in work beyond the immediate demands of broadcasting.
Discovering and amplifying Australian music
PBS champions Australian artists and our local music scene through specialist programming, interviews, live broadcasts and direct engagement with the music sector.
Philanthropic support can create more opportunities for emerging, independent and underrepresented artists to be heard. This could include extending artist interviews and live performances, sharing more content online and helping important musical stories reach audiences beyond the broadcast.
This work connects artists with listeners, presents new work and preserves more of what is happening in Australian music now.
PBS in action: Drive Live
Drive Live demonstrates how PBS brings Australian artists and audiences together.
Each February, PBS presents Drive Live, a free, all-ages celebration of live music.
The 2026 line-up moved across First Nations hip-hop and soul, jazz, funk, psychedelia, punk and experimental music. It included Miss Kaninna, Bumpy, Parvyn and Owelu Dreamhouse, whose work draws on distinct cultural histories and musical traditions.
The performances were presented through five specialist Drive programs, with announcers introducing each artist to listeners and the musical communities around those programs. They were broadcast live and made available online.
Artists reached audiences at the event, on the radio and online, while regular listeners heard the performances as part of programs they already knew.
Participation and new voices
PBS was built through participation. Volunteer announcers and contributors continue to shape the station’s sound and culture.
Test Pressing and New Noise, two rotating residency programs for early-career announcers, give participants the chance to develop their practice and bring different musical perspectives to PBS. All-ages programming and events offer younger people a way into the station and its community.
PBS is committed to strengthening opportunities for First Nations artists, broadcasters and communities. Doing this well requires sustained relationships, accountability and time.
Philanthropy can help more people learn to broadcast, contribute to PBS and bring their musical knowledge to the station.
Sustaining an independent future
PBS has operated outside commercial imperatives since 1979. Our independence relies on experienced people, reliable broadcasting technology and creative spaces where artists and broadcasters can work.
Philanthropic support can help PBS invest in these foundations, plan with greater confidence and continue serving music communities as broadcasting and listening habits evolve.
Supporting PBS through philanthropy
Unrestricted donations give PBS the flexibility to respond to needs and opportunities across the station. We are grateful for the generosity of all our supporters.
We also welcome conversations with people and organisations who would like to understand more about PBS’s priorities or explore what their support could make possible.
We take time to understand what matters to each supporter and where this aligns with PBS’s priorities. Where appropriate, support may be directed to an agreed initiative. In each case, we will be clear about what a gift will support and how we will report on its use.
Start a conversation
If you would like to learn more about PBS’s priorities and what philanthropic support could make possible, we would be pleased to hear from you.
Contact our Philanthropy Lead via the form below.
Other ways to support PBS
Join or renew as a PBS member
Learn about leaving a gift to PBS in your will
Get involved with PBS
Read the 2025 PBS Annual Report
Read the PBS Strategic Plan 2023 - 2027
¹ Homan, S. et al., Community Radio and Australian Music: Building the Music Media Ecosystem, Monash University and Griffith University, 2026.
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