Irruk Birruk

As chair of the foundation Adam Briggs worked with Universal Music Australia to launch Irruk Birruk, a music label aimed at distributing music from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community within Australia, and the rest of the world.

 Irruk Birruk has a mission to amplify the voices of indigenous artists and celebrate their rich cultural heritage, Irruk Birruk, whose name was taken from the Yorta Yorta language meaning ‘yesterday’ – reflecting the focus on music from the past - is also designed to protect Indigenous songs and stories from being lost to history, by giving them a platform to share their stories and voices in music. It has also created never-before opportunities for indigenous artists to share their music with global audiences.

The program has already released over 150 recordings, providing distribution to artists such as Coloured Stone, Dave Arden and Kankawa Nagarra Olive Knight who won the Australian Music Prize in 2024 and receiving $50k for her Irruk Birruk release ‘Wirlmarni’.

The label has ambitions to offer the service to many more Indigenous artists from the past who haven’t had the opportunity to share their songs with the world in the streaming age.