About

Welcome to Australia’s independent classical music magazine. Together we can change the way we think about, discuss, and experience music in Australia.

Back in 2014, you would’ve had a tough time finding a headline about the life of an emerging musician. You couldn’t pick up a newspaper and read a cover story about your best friend’s solo album, or the launch of an orchestra that rocks out in jeans and t-shirts.

Nobody was talking about what it’s really like to be a conductor or an opera singer, or how to work around the pressures of live performance. And the newest voices in Australian composition had few places to discuss their work – especially if that work was a little bit different.

Enter CutCommon. We launched a platform that would share the real stories behind our music industry, without the glossy cover. It was time to give voice to our creative community. It was time to create space to talk about what actually matters to Australia’s artists — and to celebrate the heck out of their work.

It was time for a new generation of classical music.

CutCommon started small. Our founding editor Stephanie Eslake teamed up with a bunch of likeminded arts writers, and together we published street press-style interviews with people we admired. Some were renowned stars of the classical and art music world, others were student performers building their early careers in the arts industry.

People began to take notice. And soon enough, our passion project had evolved to become Australia’s biggest publication produced by and for classical and new music makers.

We’ve shared thousands of stories from musicians, composers, and arts administrators – some established, some early career, and all making remarkable contributions to our creative community.

Thanks to you, these stories are heard.

We’ve also mentored tens of arts writers who make up our national contributor team; their own backgrounds are rich in music and writing. We combine our passions to expose new talent, and present powerful conversations about live and digital performance, mental health in the arts industry, and new music we think you need to know about.

Today, CutCommon is an award-winning publication.

We’re independent and entirely self-funded, but our stories will always be free for you to read. And read them you do: in 2022, you were part of the milestone that saw us reach 1 million visits to our publication since we launched those years ago.

Be part of the CutCommon story.

The best way you can support us is to keep reading. Our stories are there to be shared, treasured, and enjoyed – so we will always aim to keep inspiring you.

If you’d like to do more, you can also become a patron. Help us keep publishing our arts industry resource.

No matter how you choose to join us at CutCommon, we appreciate you, and welcome you to be part of our story, too.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Want to promote your own project with CutCommon?

Jump on our bandwagon. If you love music as much as we do, let’s work together to showcase the remarkable event, project, or initiative you have happening. Email Steph at editor@cutcommon.com to learn about options for promotion.

CutCommon works hard to bring you stories from our community.

We’ve been lucky enough to receive an APRA AMCOS Art Music Award and get shortlisted for the Classical:Next Innovation Award placing us as one of the top 10 classical music projects in the world.

Our editor was named Hobart’s Young Citizen of the Year for her contribution to this community, and in 2021 received a grant from Arts Tasmania to write a book that will share her skills in arts journalism.

Read a full list of our achievements in the arts industry.

Want to know what CutCommon means to the Australian music industry?

Read testimonials from leaders in our community.