Live shows and keeping fans
Gigs pay twice if you claim them, and the fans you meet there are the only audience no platform can take away.
Live is where an independent career is usually built, and it's also a royalty stream most artists never claim. Every time your song is performed, including by you, the songwriter is owed a performance royalty. APRA AMCOS pays those quarterly from the setlists artists lodge.
Three things every gig should do
- Get paid for the door or the fee, and lodge the setlist so you're paid for the songs as well.
- Capture a few fans properly: an email address is worth more than a follow, because nobody can throttle your reach to it.
- Come away with content: one clip of the room, one photo you'd actually post.
Free routes for Australian artists
triple j Unearthed takes uploads from Australian artists who aren't signed to a major, with no charge. Approval takes up to ten business days, the licence is non-exclusive so it doesn't clash with your distributor, and community radio programmers look there too.
The rest of this guide is inside droplr
Free accounts included. No card, and the knowledge board is open on every plan.
- Claiming performance royalties from your own gigs
- Getting on a local bill, and what promoters actually want
- Turning a room into an email list without being weird about it
- What you can and can't email fans in Australia
- Free upload routes: triple j Unearthed and community radio
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Where this comes from
- triple j Unearthed — artist agreement
- APRA AMCOS — new member, now what (performance reports)
- APRA AMCOS — funding and grants list
- Creative Australia — Music Australia opportunities
- ACMA — spam rules
Facts checked 18 September 2026. General information for independent artists, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules, prices and deadlines change: check the official pages linked at the end, and get advice for your own situation.