Sixteen Australian music industry bodies representing an industry worth $16 billion a year to the digital, entertainment, hospitality and tourism economies have come together to outline a three-point plan in the lead-up to the 2022 Federal Election.
The three priorities centre around direct investment in the creation of great new Australian music, skills development and global exports, incentivising the use of local content on streaming and broadcast platforms, insurance to provide certainty for local audiences and programs to build industry sustainability through strong intellectual property and national mentorship programs.
Australian music provides the soundtrack to people’s lives, travelling around the globe as one of the country’s great cultural exports. It projects our continent’s vibrant, diverse, and ancient First Nations cultures to the four corners of the world. Whether it is at a concert, stadium, festival, or gig, in a film, interactive game, broadcast or streamed, it is local music that brings communities together, lifting the spirit of the nation regardless of age, background, or location.
Australian music already supports everything from aged care, mental health, and education. It is already the backbone of a healthy and vibrant visitor and night-time economy, fuelling national GDP and providing jobs through tourism and hospitality supply chains. As part of a strong Australian creative industry, music attracts the brightest minds and supports the development of associated sectors including tech, screen, and interactive games.
Just before COVID-19, Australian music was on a trajectory of extraordinary growth as one of the country’s great success stories. With a pipeline of talent coming from across the nation and with the advent of the next digital revolution, Australia has been fostering the development of an artform in an industry capturing the hearts and minds of millions at home and around the globe.
The 2022 Federal Election provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Australian music to pick up from where it left off. It is an opportunity to learn from the pandemic and build a better, more sustainable, innovative, and successful cultural asset at the forefront of community building and the next digital revolution, supporting the artists of today while fostering new waves of talent and driving the changes to global music consumption.
We urge the Federal Government and Federal Opposition to partner with the Australian music industry on the next chapter of our national story. Australia has the potential to go from a music nation to a music powerhouse. A powerhouse that can fully realise the cultural, economic, and social benefits of an even healthier music industry accessible to all Australians. A partnership approach with the Australian music industry will foster the future of jobs and build the skills in one of the fastest growing global industries at the forefront of community, innovation and economic growth.
THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY HAS COME TOGETHER TO PUT FORWARD A THREE-POINT PLAN TO PROMOTE DURING THE 2022 FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Music is at the core of how our nation comes together- whether at the local pub, club or our biggest stadiums, in a film, interactive game, broadcast or streamed. It is a key driver of many other sectors and the heart and soul of great night-time economy, hospitality, travel and tourism experiences.
The 2022 Federal Election provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Australian music to build back better. Our vision is for a more sustainable, innovative, and successful cultural asset at the forefront of community building and the next digital revolution, supporting the artists of today while fostering talent and driving the changes to global music consumption.
Australia has the potential to go from a music nation to a music powerhouse. A partnership approach with the Australian music industry will foster future job creation and build skills in one of the fastest growing global industries at the forefront of community, innovation and economic growth.
We urge the Federal Government and Federal Opposition to partner with the Australian music industry on the next chapter of our national story. With a pipeline of talent coming from across the nation and with the advent of the next digital revolution, Australia can fully realise the cultural, economic, and social benefits of an even healthier music industry accessible to all Australians and exported around the world.
1. Support rebuild – skills, music creation & export
Provide traineeships and skills retraining programs to address critical skills shortages in metro and regional areas
Wage support and additional funding to Support Act for ongoing crisis relief and to help the industry create sustainable cultural and behavioural change around mental health and wellbeing for artists and industry workers
Expand the Australian Music Industry program to foster the growth of First Nations led music, Sounds Australia and music export, women in music mentors, touring and new programs for young people and diversity initiatives
Invest in new Australian music through an annual Commonwealth Fellowship Program through living wage support of artists, songwriters & composers
Establish a national mentorship and industry development program to help develop the skills of artists, songwriters, producers, managers, sound engineers and music industry workers
2. Drive investment – local content & certainty for local audiences
Incentivise the visibility, use and discoverability of local content across all screen and audio digital platforms as well as commercial and community broadcasters
Provide a tax offset for live music to encourage new investment in activity across the country
Establish a Commonwealth-backed insurance scheme to increase industry confidence to invest in the creation and presentation of music across the nation
3. Ensure sustainability – strengthen intellectual property & policy review
Enhance tech innovation by strengthening intellectual property protection for music in the digital economy to ensure artists get a return on their creations
Partner with industry to support the recommendations of the Music Industry Review into sexual harm, sexual harassment and systemic discrimination
Undertake a ‘Green Paper’ Review of the policy settings supporting the creation, investment and pathways to market for Australian music
THREE-POINT POLICY DETAIL
1. Industry rebuild – skills, music creation & export
New investment in traineeships and skills development to rebuild capacity across the live music industry in metropolitan and regional areas
Provide traineeships to address critical skills shortages across the broader Australian arts and entertainment industry technicians, managers, event and festival managers, administration, programming, and production, stage managers and security. Establish a grants program for venues and companies to access short courses for retraining and re-skilling established technicians. This will serve to encourage a diversity of new entrants to the industry as well as enticing skilled workers back to the industry.
COVID relief package with additional support for Support Act for ongoing crisis relief and to help the industry create sustainable cultural and behavioural change in relation to mental health and wellbeing for artists and music industry workers
Given the long lead-times to plan and deliver live music concerts, festivals, tours and events there will be a significant lag-time for the music industry to recover and rebuild. Direct support to the artists, sole traders and small to medium businesses through a COVID-19 recovery wage subsidy program together with micro-business grants. Investment in Support Act for ongoing crisis relief and a range of innovative mental health and wellbeing programs to support the music community to build back better and stronger throughout the recovery phase of the pandemic and beyond. The coming years are a "once in a generation opportunity" to help create more mentally healthy workplaces through access to industry specific wellbeing and psychological services, education and training programs that include a strong focus on sexual health and safety and the creation of First Nations designed and implemented programs, plus ongoing mental health promotion and sector development.
Expand the Australian Music Industry program to boost funding for First Nations led programs, Sounds Australia, Women in Music Mentorship, Live Music Touring and Venues and develop new youth music and diversity initiatives.
Increased investment for First Nations led programs, Sounds Australia, Women in Music Mentorship and Live Music Australia as well as the development of new youth music and music diversity programs will ensure that capacity building reaches across the entire music industry ecosystem and help develop a new wave of Australian music.
Invest in great Australian music through an annual Commonwealth Fellowship Program for emerging and established artists
A national fellowship scheme for emerging and established artists across genres and across regions providing a living wage to artists, songwriters and composers for a period of three years to create the next wave of great Australian music to be recorded and presented live as well as broadcast across platforms, on screen and through interactive games both at home and around the globe.
A national mentorship and development program to build the capacity of the industry with a national hub and spoke program fostering the professional development of artists, songwriters, managers, music creators and industry workers across the country
A capacity building program for the music industry with a national hub and spoke program fostering the professional development of artists, songwriters, managers, music creators and music industry workers across metropolitan, regional and remote Australia. This would help establish Australia as a centre of excellence for the global music industry, provide clear and sustainable career pathways for the sector and increase international collaborations and reach new markets.
2. Drive incentives – local content & certainty for local audiences
Incentivise the visibility, use and discoverability of local content across screen and music broadcast and digital streaming platforms
Incentivising the visibility and discoverability of local music content to ensure established and emerging creators are supported and celebrated across broadcast, streaming and emerging platforms will not only foster more sustainable careers and music industry innovation, but it will also give all Australians and new global audiences easier access to great Australian music. Leverage existing offset arrangements, particularly around the use of music on screen and interactive games as part of a ‘cultural uplift’ in local music. Renewed investment in community radio will also enhance the development of more diverse music and provide crucial exposure to more diverse audiences.
A tax offset for live music to encourage investment in cultural and economic activity across metropolitan, regional, and remote Australia
The venue-based live music sector is critical to the development of both artist and audiences throughout Australia and is a key driver of economic activity for the hospitality sector in cities, regions and towns across the country. Implement a new tax offset program to encourage investment in live music venues and activity across Australia to drive investment in cultural and economic activity to support local artists and the associated industries of hospitality, tourism and night-time economies. Regulatory barriers and limited venue expertise have impeded the viability and health of the sector.
A Commonwealth-backed insurance scheme to increase industry confidence and navigate further closures brought on by pandemic health orders and natural disasters
In partnership with state and territory governments to increase industry confidence and navigate further closures brought on by pandemic health orders and natural disasters. The fund would do this by providing indemnification for costs if, due to COVID-19 related issues, a live event in Australia is cancelled, postponed or negatively affected by the re-introduction of government restrictions. Industry would contribute a percentage of cost exposure to the BIF and the government would provide underwriting. A government backed insurance scheme would also complement existing RISE funding.
3. Ensure sustainability – strengthen intellectual property & policy review
Enhance tech innovation by strengthening intellectual property protection, particularly across current and emerging digital platforms
To help drive innovation in Australian music across genre and platforms, Australia must ensure the policy settings are right with a framework that ensures music creators receive fair payment for their intellectual property and continue to innovate in one of the fastest moving industries in the world. With new platforms emerging, Australia has a unique opportunity to not only capitalise on new patterns of music consumption but invest in the development of the next wave of digital delivery.
Partner with industry to support the recommendations of the Music Industry Review into sexual harm, sexual harassment and systemic discrimination
An Independent Review into Sexual Harm, Sexual Harassment and Systemic Discrimination in the National Music Industry commenced in December 2021. The Review is the first of its kind in Australian music and will be industry-wide and covers all sectors and professions in the national contemporary music industry; it will be the first time the lived experiences of our people are front and centre of a cultural change process. The Review will include artists, artist management, agents, crew, venues, production, labels, publishing, promoters, studios, trade and peak organisations, and freelancers and creatives. A report will be delivered in June 2022 with findings and recommendations.
A ‘Green Paper’ Review of the policy settings supporting the creation, investment and pathways to market for the key creative industry of Australian music
Global music consumption is changing. It is time for the Australian Government to fully reflect the policy and investment settings of Australian music as a cornerstone creative industry that is a key cultural, social, and economic driver of the nation. An Australian Government green paper on the Australian music industry will provide a critical opportunity for better government focus and a whole-of-government approach. COVID-19 has highlighted incredible opportunities while also accelerating key challenges facing Australian music and its place in the world. These include professional sustainability and skills, local content, global digital export, live music regulation, innovation and touring. A commitment to a ‘Green Paper’ review of the policy settings around creation, investment and pathways to market for Australian music will ensure Australia has the policy and investment framework in place to ensure the industry is sustainable and world leading.
QUOTES FROM MUSIC INDUSTRY BODIES
“The cultural, social and economic benefits of investing in Australia’s contemporary music industry are substantive and far-reaching. The challenge for government is to develop a smart whole-of-government approach across cultural diplomacy, trade, tourism, small business, education, health and arts to take full advantage of the music industry’s impact. The opportunity for government is to see dividends in employment opportunities throughout the industries that rely heavily on music whether it be hospitality or the visitor economy, and delivering on the huge appetite for Australian music around the world.”
Dean Ormston, APRA AMCOS
"A strong music economy and recognition of the true economic and cultural value of local music benefits more than artists and music industry professionals looking to return to touring. The business of music now extends from legacy music catalogues and IP ownership, to gaming and tech industries and everything in between – with the correct government support, this is a significant potential driver of GDP. We currently have an increasingly diverse, important cultural new wave of Australian artists, including Genesis Owusu, Budjerah, and the first Australian ARIA #1 of 2020, Huski. Thanks to COVID these artists have struggled to have their music heard. We cannot risk losing a whole generation of young Australian artists with the potential to be recognised on the same global stage as Flume, Rufus Du Sol, Tame Impala and plenty of others. Whichever party forms government, it is critical that these priorities are addressed, and the real value of music is acknowledged and supported in the same way that the government supports film, TV, and sport.”
Annabelle Herd, ARIA and PPCA
“Australia needs a vibrant arts and entertainment industry, not just to support other Australian industries and contribute to our economic recovery from Covid, but to drive social interaction and well-being in our communities – at a time when it’s never been needed more. We need support from all parties and candidates to drive investment and rebuild skills and capacity in our industry.”
Evelyn Richardson, Live Performance Australia (LPA)
“The live music industry is the training ground of the future Australian music industry. It is where the ecosystem starts and is how artists and music industry workers and businesses get their first start. It’s where the Australian public fall in love with Australian music. The sole traders and small to medium businesses that drive live music in Australia are still recovering from the COVID-19 shutdown. They need targeted investment in skills development and training so we can staff the return of live music long term and a government backed insurance scheme so we can have certainty in the future.”
Stephen Wade, Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC)
“Whoever wins the election on May 21 has an opportunity to fast track the local and global success of great Australian music and leave a legacy for generations to come. The last two years have been devastating for so many in the music industry. But while we’ve been locked down, brilliant Australian songwriters and composers have been creating extraordinary new music that is already travelling the world live, streamed or on screen. RÜFÜS DU SOL, Baker Boy, Tkay Maidza, The Kid LAROI, Gang of Youths, Antonio Gambale and Sampa The Great are just some of the names part of this extraordinary new wave of Australian music. In 2020 I gave a National Press Club address where I set a vision for Australia to become a net exporter in ten years. With the talent we’ve got and the right investment, it’s something Australia can achieve.”
Jenny Morris MNZM OAM, Chair APRA
“The NATSIMO is invested in working alongside music industry bodies and governments to develop programs that support self-determined pathways for our music creators. We want our members to be engaged and ready to participate in an industry that is equally invested in becoming fluent in understanding Indigenous culture and protocols as we collectively as a nation move forward into the next phase of becoming a music powerhouse.”
Leah Flanagan, National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Music Office (NATSIMO)
“Australia’s screen music composers are the forefront of some of the most iconic scores for film and television around the world. These screen music composers create not just the soundscape to great screen content, they generate valuable intellectual property for the nation. These creators and creative businesses must be fostered by whoever is election on 21 May if we want Australia to be not just a global location for filming, but also the home to globally relevant screen stories that travel the world.”
Antony Partos, Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC)
As the sector takes vital steps towards rebuilding after a two year hiatus, Australian acts are operating in an increasingly fierce and hyper competitive landscape. The cost of doing business has gone up and will only continue to increase, with agents and managers reporting that their touring costs are increasing from between 20% – 100%. The time is ripe for dedicated, targeted and ongoing investment to support international activity for Australian artists and industry professionals at different stages of their export careers”.
Millie Millgate, Sounds Australia
"One of this country's greatest assets became clear when it was forced to shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic; the Australian Music Industry. We at the Association of Artist Managers represent hard-working, ethical and nurturing Managers who protect, and forge the careers of Artists and Songwriters in an already challenging commercial market. Investment in Artist Managers alone has proven to have a phenomenal return based on the value they give to stakeholders in quantified benefits. With this three-part plan, we are ready to play our part, to not only realise this industry's full potential, but to send it skyrocketing."
Maggie Collins, Association of Artist Managers (AAM)
"Festivals and live music employ thousands while boosting the economy and spreading joy. This election there is an opportunity to invest in the Australian music and live entertainment industry that touches each and every voter. The AFA is proud to stand beside a united industry seeking courageous leadership on Australia's cultural identity.”
Julia Robinson, Australian Festival Association (AFA)
“Australian content, whether its live, on platforms or broadcast to audiences around the country, is the best and easiest way to support great Australian music. We know that audiences love it and it helps support the sustainability of our sector. Not only that, the value of music, whether it’s for mental health or inspiring young people at schools is a return on investment, culturally, socially and economically.”
Simone Schinkel, Australian Music Industry Network (AMIN)
“On behalf of live music workers and the many, varied businesses that employ them, CrewCare wholeheartedly support these recommendations in the knowledge they will help our industry return to the upward trajectory we enjoyed pre-Covid which will in turn continue to feed into other industries, such as tourism, hospitality and aviation.”
Tony Moran, CrewCare
“Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all music workers is critical if the industry is to build back better and achieve its true potential at home and internationally. The creation of mentally healthy workplaces through the development and implementation of industry specific prevention, education and training programs that drive productivity, boost creativity, and keep people connected to their work and colleagues will help ensure future success and sustainability.”
Clive Miller, SupportAct
“Since 2020 AIR has been running the Commonwealth funded women in music mentor program nationwide and has delivered a comprehensive professional development program to help educate, empower and propel career progression. We have been overwhelmed by positive feedback from mentees and mentors attesting to its success. Mentoring is an invaluable tool that increases self-confidence and one’s ability to problem solve which is vital in order to navigate the many challenges practitioners face in this industry. The value of expanding this program to cover the entire music industry ecosystem will ensure Australia has the skills to build a sustainable and globally facing future for the industry.”
Maria Amato, Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR)
“The Australian music industry and the many people who make up our sector make a substantial contribution to the cultural and economic life of the country. But there are challenges we face, particularly following the significant impacts from the Covid pandemic. So our industry has come together to align on these priorities that we believe are worthy of investment and support, and we look forward to building on what these priorities can provide to better assist our sector and the cultural and economic development of the country.”
John Wardle, Live Music Office (LMO)
“AMPAL supports these recommendations for the Federal Government and Federal Opposition to partner with the Australian music industry including music publishers, and to champion the great talent of Australian songwriters domestically and abroad. A robust intellectual property framework is integral to the ongoing success of the industry and to foster innovation.”
Matthew O'Sullivan, Australasian Music Publishers' Association (AMPAL)
Photo by Scott Gruber on Unsplash
