<\/p>\n
With two nominations, Ninajirachi<\/a> could seriously cash in at the first-ever New South Wales Music Prize, the finalists for which were unveiled on Monday, Oct. 27.<\/p>\n The Central Coast-raised artist, DJ and producer\u2019s 2024 girl EDM <\/em>collection is shortlisted for the main prize, the most lucrative in the Australian music industry which carries with it a A$80,000 ($52,000) winner\u2019s check.<\/p>\n More from Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n Ninajirachi is also a chance for NSW breakthrough artist of the year, with a A$40,000 ($26,000) cash prize.<\/p>\n The 26-year-old\u2019s star is on the rise. With eight nominations at next month\u2019s ARIA Awards, Ninajirachi (real name: Nina Wilson) is the leader of the pack. Separately, her debut full length album\u00a0I Love My Computer<\/em>\u00a0(via NLV Records) is one of nine titles shortlisted for the coveted 2025 Australian Music Prize<\/a>, awarded each year to the outstanding Australian album of original work from the previous year, judged by a music industry panel. And in August, the month I Love My Computer<\/em> dropped, she was named as Billboard\u2019s <\/em>dance rookie of the month.<\/p>\n Other two-time NSW Music Prize nominees include 3% (Kill the Dead<\/em>), BARKAA (Big Tidda<\/em>), Shady Nasty (Trek<\/em>) and SPEED (Only One Mode<\/em>), while the likes of Royel Otis, R\u00dcF\u00dcS DU SOL and ONEFOUR each secure one nod.<\/p>\n The Minns government in July announced the\u00a0new prize<\/a>\u00a0to \u201ccelebrate, support and incentivize\u201d the state\u2019s most talented artists, with \u201cthe aim of inspiring the next generations of stars.\u201d<\/p>\n All told, 15 artists have a chance of sharing in a combined prize pool of A$160,000 ($104,000), delivered by Sound NSW and decided by panels of contemporary music experts.<\/p>\n The three categories are:<\/p>\n \u2022 A$80,000 NSW Music Prize, to be awarded to the NSW artist or act whose release has had the most significant impact. Awarding the prize \u201cwill provide a vital financial boost for the winners and a big incentive for the next generation of aspiring stars,\u201d says John Graham, NSW minister for music and the night-time economy. \u201cWe want to boost their careers, recognize the cultural importance of local music and inspire the next generation of prize winners.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds, \u201cunless we back local musicians, the wave of algorithmically enhanced American music will continue to swamp us. We have amazing song writers and world class live performers here in NSW and this is a moment to celebrate them.\u201d<\/p>\n The winners will be announced during the NSW Music Prize awards ceremony at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney on Nov. 24 \u2014 the week following the ARIAs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat shines through in this year\u2019s finalists is the incredible array of talent in our community. From emerging voices to beloved icons, each has left their mark on audiences and is shaping the future of music in NSW,\u201d enthuses Emily Collins, head of Sound NSW.<\/p>\n Visit the Sound\u00a0NSW\u00a0website<\/a> for more and see the full list of nominations below.<\/p>\n NSW Music Prize<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 3% (Kill the Dead<\/em>)<\/p>\n BARKAA (Big Tidda<\/em>)<\/p>\n Kobie Dee (Chapter 26<\/em>)<\/p>\n Ninajirachi (girl EDM<\/em>)<\/p>\n ONEFOUR (Look At Me Now<\/em>)<\/p>\n Party Dozen (Crime in Australia<\/em>)<\/p>\n R\u00dcF\u00dcS DU SOL (Inhale \/ Exhale<\/em>)<\/p>\n Shady Nasty (Trek<\/em>)<\/p>\n SPEED (Only One Mode<\/em>)<\/p>\n Vv Pete & Utility (Varvie World<\/em>)<\/p>\n NSW First Nations Music Prize <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 3% (Kill the Dead<\/em>)<\/p>\n BARKAA (Big Tidda<\/em>)<\/p>\n Djanaba (Did I Stutter?<\/em>)<\/p>\n Stiff Gins (Crossroads<\/em>)<\/p>\n Ziggy Ramo (Human?)<\/p>\n NSW Breakthrough Artist of the Year ($40,000)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Don West<\/p>\n Ninajirachi<\/p>\n Royel Otis<\/p>\n Shady Nasty<\/p>\n SPEED<\/p>\n Best of Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Billboard’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With two nominations, Ninajirachi could seriously cash in at the first-ever New South Wales Music Prize, the finalists for which were unveiled on Monday, Oct. 27. The Central Coast-raised artist, DJ and producer\u2019s 2024 girl EDM collection is shortlisted for the main prize, the most lucrative in the Australian music industry which carries with it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2117701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[401770,29110,401773,401771,401772,385383],"class_list":["post-2117700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-australian-music-industry","tag-billboard","tag-music-prize","tag-nsw-breakthrough-artist","tag-royel-otis","tag-shady-nasty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Finalists-Unveiled-For-Inaugural-NSW-Music-Prize.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2117700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2117702,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117700\/revisions\/2117702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2117701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2117700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2117700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2117700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u2022 A$40,000 NSW First Nations Music Prize for an NSW First Nations artist or act whose release has had significant and meaningful impact.
\u2022 A$40,000 NSW Breakthrough Artist of the Year for an emerging<\/em><\/p>\n