Desert Pea Media
Desert Pea Media is an Australian not-for-profit founded in 2002 that delivers community-led creative media programs (music, film, digital storytelling) with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across NSW, QLD, and the NT, funded by government grants, foundations, and individual donors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersMullumbimby, Australia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Desert Pea Media does
Desert Pea Media (DPM) is a registered Australian charitable organization and not-for-profit that delivers community-led creative media programs with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Founded in 2002 by Matthew Priestley and Toby Finlayson, DPM operates as a Public Benevolent Institution with DGR (Deductible Gift Recipient) status, producing music, film, and digital storytelling projects that reflect and strengthen cultural identity. The organization has accumulated 6 National Indigenous Music Awards and over 6 million YouTube views across its content, with thousands of participants and hundreds of partner agencies involved over its two-decade operating history.
DPM's core products are collaborative creative media programs and projects, including DPM Futures, Break It Down, CROSSROADS, B-Town Warriors, and MAYALI. These programs engage participants in songwriting, film-making, hip-hop, rap, poetry, and digital storytelling. The underlying methodology is centered on long-term community engagement rather than transactional, short-term projects, with the organization having shifted from a "lightning strike" model to a sustained, long-burning fire approach. Notable technical components include the video and music production pipeline built around equipment partnerships with brands such as Canon and Rode, and a digital distribution channel via a YouTube channel with 6M+ cumulative views.
DPM's revenue model is multi-source: individual donations through the DPM Connect monthly giving program, government grants (including the NSW Government and multiple Primary Health Networks), philanthropic foundation support (e.g., VFFF, Smugglers of Light), and publishing partnerships (e.g., Homeland Calling with Hardie Grant Publishing). The organization operates across NSW, QLD, and the NT, with offices in Mullumbimby (postal) and Bathurst (registered), and reports a global digital footprint through its content distribution. Customer segments span government health and arts agencies, philanthropic foundations, schools, community organizations, and a long tail of individual monthly donors.
Desert Pea Media firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Desert Pea Media
- Legal name
- Desert Pea Media Association Incorporated
- Website
- https://desertpeamedia.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Desert Pea Media is an Australian not-for-profit founded in 2002 that delivers community-led creative media programs (music, film, digital storytelling) with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across NSW, QLD, and the NT, funded by government grants, foundations, and individual donors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Desert Pea Media industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Arts and Indigenous Media Services
- NAICS
- Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512), Publishing Industries (513), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Social Issue & Advocacy Documentaries (MPADADAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Arts & Culture Documentaries (MPADADAI), Spoken Word & Performance Poetry Workshops (EDAMAMAM), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)
Keywords
Where Desert Pea Media is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mullumbimby
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices2 records
Markets served
Desert Pea Media business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and DPM Connect Monthly Giving: DPM Connect is an active monthly donation campaign providing exclusive opportunities including newsletters, pre-release screenings, welcome packs, and ambassador roles. All donations are tax-deductible as DPM is a registered charity.
- Government Grants and Funding: DPM receives funding from government programs including NSW Government's 'Our Region, Our Voice' program for youth initiatives. Projects are delivered in partnership with government health networks.
- Philanthropic Support: Funding from foundations including Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) enables sustained project delivery and organizational growth.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Desert Pea Media product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Desert Pea Media is a registered charitable organisation that delivers community-led creative media programs for Indigenous communities across Australia. Its core work combines Indigenous cultural principles of 'yarning' and storytelling with contemporary creative forms (music, film, theatre, digital media) to produce songs, music videos, short films, and podcasts through intensive on-the-ground workshops. Programs are delivered in partnership with schools, primary health networks, and community organisations, generating a living cultural archive of community-authored media.
Product overview
Desert Pea Media is a charitable organization offering community-led creative media programs rather than a traditional software product. Its core offering consists of multiple program formats including Songwriting and Music Video Projects (one-week intensive workshops producing songs and music videos), Short Film and Documentary Production, Podcasting and Audio Story Recording, Skills Development and Mentoring, Cultural Archiving, and Long Term Projects. These programs are delivered through various branded initiatives such as DPM Futures (mentoring and training for Indigenous youth), Break It Down (health and wellbeing-focused community conversations), and CROSSROADS (long-term community engagement). The organization also produces feature projects like B-Town Warriors and MAYALI, publishes books like Homeland Calling, and operates DPM Connect as a supporter membership program. All programs follow the 'Collaborative Storytelling' methodology combining Indigenous storytelling principles with contemporary media forms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- DPM Connect: Active monthly donation campaign providing exclusive newsletter access, pre-release screenings, and supporter welcome packs.
- DPM Futures
- Break It Down
- CROSSROADS
- DPM Records
Products and services
- Songwriting and Music Video Projects One-week intensive workshop programs where Indigenous community participants write, record, and film original songs and music videos, building self-expression, identity, and creative skills.
- Short Film and Documentary Production Documentary and narrative filmmaking projects that explore social, cultural, and health themes with communities, creating educational resources and short films about specific issues.
- Podcasting and Audio Story Recording Boutique podcast projects focusing on oral storytelling traditions, including podcast kit building, training, production, story structure, interview techniques, and ongoing mentoring for community podcast teams.
- Cultural Archiving Projects Projects recording Elder stories and interviews with knowledge holders, creating localized educational resources through film, music, oral stories, and digital media to preserve cultural knowledge.
- DPM Futures - Mentoring and Training Program Long-term mentoring program supporting Indigenous young people from communities through creative development, leadership processes, skills development, and career pathways into the creative industries.
- Break It Down - Community Conversations Around Wellbeing Community-led health awareness and education program focusing on social and emotional wellbeing, trauma understanding, and healthy choices through digital media creation, delivered in partnership with Primary Health Networks.
- CROSSROADS Long-Term Community Engagement Program Long-term community engagement program combining music, digital storytelling, skills development intensives, cultural exchange camps, and mentoring for Indigenous communities.
- B-Town Warriors Project Series of collaborative storytelling projects with the Bourke, NSW community featuring music videos and songs addressing leadership, mental health, cultural identity, and positive social change.
- MAYALI (Knowledge) Project Song and documentary project with Kakadu community exploring wellbeing, identity, and connection to country and cultural knowledge, released through DPM Records.
- Homeland Calling Book Print publication featuring lyrics and poetry from 50 DPM songwriting productions, published by Hardie Grant Publishing, celebrating song and story across Australian communities.
- DPM Connect Monthly Giving Program Active monthly donation program providing supporters with newsletter access, exclusive pre-release screenings, welcome packs, and ambassador opportunities; all donations are tax-deductible.
Quantifiable outcome
- DPM programs create positive change for communities and directly strengthen cultural identity through traditional and contemporary storytelling forms.
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Desert Pea Media
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Desert Pea Media technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Desert Pea Media partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
18 partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor, core and foundational.
- Maranguka (Moree)majorCommunity partner for CROSSROADS project in Moree, working with DPM to maximise community impacts and create lasting legacy.
- Just Reinvest MoreemajorCommunity partner for CROSSROADS project contributing to consultation and co-design process.
- Miyay Birray Youth ServicemajorCommunity partner for CROSSROADS project focused on youth services engagement.
- Store DJminorEquipment sponsor for CROSSROADS community media kits including audio equipment.
- CanonminorEquipment sponsor for CROSSROADS community media kits including cameras.
- Rode MicrophonesminorEquipment sponsor for CROSSROADS community media kits including professional microphones.
- Sun StudiosminorEquipment sponsor for CROSSROADS community media kits.
- Amber TechnologiesminorEquipment sponsor for CROSSROADS community media kits.
- Technical Audio GroupminorEquipment sponsor for CROSSROADS community media kits.
- Zoom AustraliaminorEquipment sponsor for CROSSROADS community media kits.
- Hardie Grant PublishingmajorPublisher for DPM's first print publication 'Homeland Calling' - a geographic journey of lyrics and poetry from 50 DPM songwriting productions spanning the Australian nation.
- Red Lily Health (Kakadu, NT)corePartnership for the Mayali Project - a positive creative response to emerging community issues in Kakadu region, focusing on wellbeing and identity and celebrating connection to community, country and cultural knowledge.
- North Coast NSW Primary Health NetworkcorePartnership for delivery of 'Break It Down' program in North Coast NSW region, with independent evaluation conducted on project outcomes.
- North Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN)corePartnership for delivery of 'Break It Down' program across Far North Queensland, including communities such as Palm Island, Thursday Island, Lockhart River, and Bowen.
- Western NSW Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN)corePartnership initiated in 2017/18 to deliver the 'Break It Down' community health awareness and education program focusing on social and emotional wellbeing of young people and communities through collaborative storytelling.
- NSW Outback Division of General PracticemajorInitial partnership supporting DPM community projects in Bourke, NSW including Bourke High School collaborations.
- Bourke High SchoolmajorPartner school for initial B-Town Warriors project delivery, with approximately 150 students, 69% identifying as Aboriginal.
- The Makhampom FoundationfoundationalInternational CCD organization where Toby Finlayson trained in Thailand; foundational influence on DPM's creative methodology.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Desert Pea Media competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Reconciliation Australia: National body promoting reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community. Operates at a much larger scale and scope; comparable as an adjacent Indigenous-focused Australian organisation influencing policy and funding environments relevant to DPM.
- First Nations Media Australia: National peak body for Indigenous media organisations across remote, regional, and urban Australia. Broader incumbent in the same Indigenous media/cultural production space, operating as an industry body rather than a direct program delivery peer.
Direct peers
- Moogji Aboriginal Council East Gippsland: Indigenous community organisation in East Gippsland running arts, cultural, education, and wellbeing programs. Comparable as a small Indigenous-led NFP delivering creative and cultural programs in regional/remote Australia with similar community empowerment outcomes.
- BigHart: Australian Indigenous-focused arts and media organisation delivering collaborative storytelling projects with marginalised young people. Most directly comparable peer: co-founder Matthew Priestley was previously Principal Artist at BigHart (1989-99), and DPM's methodology is a direct lineage from BigHart's CCD practice.
- ILBIJERRI Theatre Company: Australia's leading Indigenous-led theatre company producing contemporary First Nations performance and storytelling. Comparable because both are Indigenous-led Australian performing/storytelling organisations combining community engagement with produced creative works.
- The Torch: Indigenous-led not-for-profit providing art, cultural, and offender reintegration programs for Indigenous Australians. Comparable in operating model (Indigenous-led NFP arts/cultural programs supporting identity, wellbeing and outcomes for marginalised communities in Victoria).
- Yothu Yindi Foundation: Indigenous-led cultural foundation in Northeast Arnhem Land running music, arts, and youth programs in remote communities. Comparable as an Indigenous music/cultural foundation operating in remote Australia with a similar focus on cultural continuity and youth empowerment through creative practice.
- The Makhampom Foundation: Thailand-based community cultural development (CCD) organisation using theatre and media for social change with marginalised communities. Direct peer in CCD methodology: DPM co-founder Toby Finlayson trained at Makhampom in 2003 and credits it as foundational to DPM's collaborative storytelling framework.
Emerging players
- Australian Children's Music Foundation: Australian charity delivering music education and mentoring programs to disadvantaged young people, including Indigenous communities. Partial overlap on music-based youth engagement; connected via DPM board member Louise Pocock (former ACMF board member 2018-2024).
- Blak & Bright Literary Festival: Australia's first Indigenous-led literary festival celebrating First Nations writing and storytelling. Emerging player with thematic overlap on Indigenous storytelling amplification, but operates in publishing/literature rather than music and film.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Desert Pea Media social profiles
Digital presenceDesert Pea Media compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Desert Pea Media financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Desert Pea Media leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Desert Pea Media funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Desert Pea Media M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Desert Pea Media
What does Desert Pea Media do?
Desert Pea Media is a registered charitable organisation that delivers community-led creative media programs for Indigenous communities across Australia. Its core work combines Indigenous cultural principles of 'yarning' and storytelling with contemporary creative forms (music, film, theatre, digital media) to produce songs, music videos, short films, and podcasts through intensive on-the-ground workshops. Programs are delivered in partnership with schools, primary health networks, and community organisations, generating a living cultural archive of community-authored media.
Is Desert Pea Media a public or private company?
Desert Pea Media is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Desert Pea Media founded?
Desert Pea Media was founded in 2002. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Desert Pea Media based?
Desert Pea Media is headquartered in Mullumbimby, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Desert Pea Media make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and DPM Connect Monthly Giving is the primary driver. The others are government Grants and Funding and philanthropic Support.
Who are Desert Pea Media's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Reconciliation Australia and First Nations Media Australia. Direct peers are Moogji Aboriginal Council East Gippsland, BigHart, ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, The Torch, Yothu Yindi Foundation and The Makhampom Foundation. Emerging players are Australian Children's Music Foundation and Blak & Bright Literary Festival.
Does Desert Pea Media have an API?
No public API is recorded for Desert Pea Media.
What industry is Desert Pea Media in?
Desert Pea Media's product category is Community Arts and Indigenous Media Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADADAG, Social Issue & Advocacy Documentaries, with a secondary code of MPADADAI, Arts & Culture Documentaries. Its NAICS code is 512 and its SIC code is 7812.