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Official nominations are now open to award female sound engineers or producers, leaders, music photographers, educators and more at the inaugural Australian Women in Music Awards (AWMA).

Having long recognised the need for a shift, industry veteran Vicki Gordon announced the inaugural (AWMA) in March, to shine a light on empowering and recognising the value, achievements and contributions of women.

Gordon understands the need to rectify the significant gender imbalance in the Australian music industry. As detailed in the nominations announcement, women represent only one-fifth of songwriters and composers registered with APRA, despite making up 45% of qualified musicians.

What’s more, of the 100 most played songs on commercial radio in 2016, only 31 were by a female act or act with a female lead. And since the inaugural ARIA Awards in 2006, only 22 of the total 103 awards presented have been won by acts with a female lead, or equal numbers of women and men.

Set to be staged in Brisbane on October 9 and 10, the AWMAs will feature 14 award categories acknowledging and celebrating first nations and multicultural performers, excellence in artistry, technical and production skills, cross-cultural development, song-writing, music education, music photography, management, humanitarian work and more.

The Australian Women in Music Awards categories are:

Lifetime Achievement Award

Presented to a female artist or musician who has made outstanding artistic contribution to the field of recording and/or live performance during her lifetime.

Educator Award

Recognises an individual who has made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and/or to empowering Indigenous female artists in remote and regional communities.

Diversity in Music Award

Recognises individual artists or female-driven musical collaborations for their contribution to advancing a culturally diverse and inclusive music industry.

Auriel Andrews Memorial Award

Recognises a true pioneer of Aboriginal women in music.

Studio Production Award

Recognises a female sound engineer or producer who has made contributions of outstanding significance in the studio recording environment.

Live Production Award

Recognises a female working in a live production or touring environment making significant impact in her field: Includes Tour Management, Live Sound, Lighting, Backstage and Roadcrew.

Music Leadership Award

Recognises a female CEO, Managing Director, Label Manager, A&R Director, Artist Manager or Publisher making significant impact in music industry leadership.

Songwriter Award

Recognises a female songwriter or composer who has made extraordinary impact nationally and/or internationally in the past 12 months.

Breakthrough Artist Award

Recognises a female artist who has had a significant breakthrough impact nationally in the past 12 months.

Music Photographer Award

Recognises a female music photographer currently working in the field and to acknowledge her body of work.

Film-maker Award

Recognises a female music videographer, clip-maker or film-maker currently working in the field and to acknowledge her body of work.

Artistic Excellence Award

Recognises exceptional creative achievement from a female artist/musician across any genre.

Creative Leadership Award

Creative Leadership Award is a curatorial award recognising excellence in creative programming and/or content creation from a woman working i n a music festival, live performance/venue or media setting to champion female artists. (includes: Content Directors, Artistic Directors, Festival Directors, band bookers, broadcasters, writers and publicists).

Musical Excellence

Recognises exceptional musicianship from a female musician across any genre.

The AWMAs launched with a united from the music industry with Tina Arena, Deborah Conway, Kate Ceberano, Katie Noonan, Christine Anu, Clare Bowditch, Isabella Manfredi, Jen Cloher, and APRA Chair Jenny Morris all backing the initiative.

The AWMAs were created with the support of the Queensland Government and Canon. Queensland Minister for Women Di Farmer has called for women to nominate for the inaugural Australian Women in Music Awards:

“The music industry is clearly a male-dominated one and I urge women to seize this opportunity to showcase their industry worth, not only for those talented women on stage but also the many skilled ones behind the scenes,” said Di Farmer. “These awards are not just about picking up prizes – they also shine a light on the depth of female talent in the industry”.

Nominations can be made via the Australian Women in Music Awards website until July 12 2018, with finalists to be announced on September 3, 2018.