Australia’s largest independent music competition, Needle in the Hay, is dedicated to giving local artists a much-needed boost. Our ultimate goal is to provide a prize that covers the essential costs of launching a music career—funding a high-quality album recording, an accompanying music video, professional photography, and a tour of regional Australia with a reliable vehicle for travel.
These elements are often prohibitively expensive for many talented artists, limiting their ability to fully realise their artistic visions. By offering this comprehensive support, Happy and their partners aim to break down these barriers, empowering artists to create and share their work with a wider audience and make a meaningful impact in the music industry.
We believe in this cause and the incredible opportunity it provides to support our community. Since joining forces, we’ve discovered that other inspiring brands we admire, like Heaps Normal, are also sponsors of the competition, and we’re truly honoured to be part of this initiative.
If you’re an emerging band or musician from Australia or New Zealand and want to enter, you could compete for a prize pool of over $50,000. This includes vinyl pressing, high-quality recording gear, and plugin packages. The competition has been thoughtfully designed to give artists the boost their projects need.
A local business looking to support grassroots Aussie and Kiwi artists? We invite you to join us in making a difference! Reach out and connect with the team at Happy Mag to see how you can get involved.
Together, we can uplift emerging artists and help them shine.
