Submissions are now open for First Sounds Volume 15, a national compilation connecting First Nations artists with community radio stations and audiences across Australia.
The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA), in partnership with Gadigal Information Service / Koori Radio, is calling on First Nations artists to submit their music for consideration for the next volume of First Sounds.
Member stations play an important role in making First Sounds a success. By sharing the submission call with artists in your local communities, stations can help ensure a diverse range of First Nations voices, stories and sounds are represented in the next compilation.
Since launching in 2020, First Sounds has released 14 volumes showcasing the breadth and diversity of contemporary First Nations music in Australia. Across the past 12 months alone, tracks from Volumes 10–14 have generated more than 10,000 community radio spins, putting First Nations music in front of audiences across metropolitan, regional and remote Australia.
Help us spread the word
If you work with First Nations artists, musicians, labels, managers or music organisations in your community, please share the First Sounds Volume 15 submission call with your networks.
Your station’s support can help artists discover an opportunity to have their music heard by broadcasters around the country, while strengthening the connection between community radio and the First Nations music sector.
First Sounds spans genres, languages, communities and experiences, from alt-pop, soul and rock to hip-hop, country and Blaktronica. The compilation provides broadcasters with a curated resource to discover and champion First Nations music from across Australia.
For Muruwari-Filipino hip-hop artist DOBBY, whose music featured on First Sounds Volume 1, community radio has played an important role throughout his career. Since then, he has gone on to win an ARIA Award and reach No. 6 on the ARIA charts with his debut album Warrangu: River Story.
“Community radio is arguably the first point of call in terms of fostering artistry in the nation. From a First Nations perspective, it is another vital link in the chain of Blak resistance and representation.”
Keep an ear out for Volume 15
Once submissions close, a panel of First Nations artists, broadcasters, radio programmers and music industry professionals will select the tracks for First Sounds Volume 15.
The selected compilation will then be made available to community radio, providing stations and presenters with another opportunity to discover new First Nations music and bring it to their audiences.
Keep an eye on CBAA and amrap.org.au communications for news of the Volume 15 release. When it lands, we encourage stations to add the compilation to their music libraries, share it with presenters and look for opportunities to feature the artists and tracks across their programming.
Community radio has a unique role in helping Australian artists build audiences, and First Sounds is one way our sector can collectively support First Nations music, storytelling and self-representation.
Successful entrants will be notified in November 2026. First Sounds Volume 15 will be released in February 2027. Find out more via the entry portal at firstsounds.amrap.org.au