Isol-Aid (pitched as an Instagram Live Music Festival[1]) is a stay-at-home festival initiative aiming to assist the Australian music industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
| Isol-Aid | |
|---|---|
| Location(s) | Australia |
| Years active | 2020–present |
| Website | www |
The first concert featured 72 artists and took place from 12 noon to 12 midnight on 21–22 March 2020. Artists' live-streamed their 20-minute performance via their Instagram accounts from wherever they were practising self-distancing.[1]
A second festival occurred on 28–29 March 2020, featuring 74 artists and a third on 4–5 April 2020.[3]
In July 2021, Isol-Aid launched Homegrown, a new program providing creative and financial support to emerging bands across Australia and New Zealand. Homegrown was pitched as a 16-week program whereby "emerging local acts are invited to perform 30-minute sets alongside established artists as part of Isol-Aid's online festival." The first event took place on 14 July 2021.[4]
On 1 September 2021, Isol-Aid announced Australian Musicians for Afghanistan, as eight-hour livestream concert to help raise funds for Afghanistan, with all money raised from the event being donated to the Australian-based aid organisation Mahboba's Promise. The event took place on 2 September 2021.[5]
At the 2021 Music Victoria Awards, Isol-Aid won Best Festival.[6]
Background
editIsol-Aid is an online music festival and community, profiling musicians – who would otherwise have had shows, launches, tours and other appearances planned – to create content and stream live and online to an audience. The festival was created in the days after the coronavirus pandemic reached Australia, when it became immediately clear that musicians and their teams would be heavily impacted by the cancellation of their shows and tours.[3]
The online festival was free to watch, but viewers were asked to support the artists if they could saying "whatever you donate will go directly to the Isol-Aid artists and their teams."[3] An Isol-Aid statement added "If they are in the financial position to do so, viewers are encouraged to buy music and merch from the artists' Bandcamp and Patreon pages, [and] their websites."[1]
Awards and nominations
editMusic Victoria Awards
editThe Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. Best Festival commenced in 2016.[7][8]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Isol-Aid | Best Festival | Nominated | [9][10] |
| 2021 | Isol-Aid | Best Festival | Won | [11][12] |
References
edit- ^ a b c Newstead, Al (19 March 2020). "Isol-Aid is a stacked Aussie livestreaming music festival that's happening this weekend". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ Keith, Sarah; Hughes, Diane; Crowdy, Denis; Morrow, Guy; Evans, Mark (2014). "Offline and online : liveness in the Australian music industries". In Sarafian, Victor; Findlay, Rosie (eds.). The State of the music industry. pp. 221–241. hdl:1959.14/336715. ISBN 978-2-36170-087-4. OCLC 896253467. S2CID 65034042.
- ^ a b c "About Isol-Aid". isolaidfestival. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ "Online phenomenon Isol-Aid unveils Homegrown, a new program supporting emerging artists". beat.com.au. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ Brewster, Will (1 September 2021). "Isol-Aid announces livestreamed Afghanistan fundraiser concert". The Music Network. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Kylie Minogue, Pierre Baroni, to be inducted into Music Victoria Hall of Fame at upcoming awards". The Music Network. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ "Previous Nominess". Music Victoria. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Industry Awards Winners And Hall Of Fame Inductees Revealed + 2020 Music Victoria Awards Nominees Announced With Public Voting Now Open!". Music Victoria. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Sampa The Great Walks Off With a Stack of Music Victoria Awards". noise11. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "Music Victoria Awards Reveals Line-up And Nominees for 2021". Noise11. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Music Victoria Awards 2021 Winners". scenestr.com.au. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.