INDUSTRY NEWS MTV Australia Goes Unplugged MTV Australia is producing original episodes of its Unplugged series for the first time in this country. The first two will be filmed in front of a live audience on Wednesday July 25 at Melbourne’s Cobblestone Pavilion at Meat Market, Gang of Youths and Amy Shark. Two more events will be announced for 2018and all Unplugged episodes will premiere on Foxtel and Fetch later in the year. Simon Bates, Vice President and head of MTV APAC, said, “MTV is distributed in 790 million plust homes, so it’s an exciting opportunity for Australian artists to potentially reach a new global audience.” Peter Bingeman, CEO of Visit Victoria, said, “Melbourne is the home of live music in Australia, and we also have more live music venues per capita than anywhere else in the world. MTV Unplugged Melbourne will help us share our stories to new audiences, not only with regard to our music credentials, but also the neighbourhoods, restaurants, cafés, events, arts and other cultural experiences in a city full of surprises.”
Major Names At Indie-Con Some of the biggest names in the independent sector will be at the second Indie Con, held Thursday July 26 and Friday July 27 in Adelaide. These include Charles Caldas (Merlin), Dave Faulkner of the Hoodoo Gurus, artist manager Michael McMartin, A2IM CEO Richard James Burgess, Dean Ormston (APRA AMCOS), Chris O’Neill (APRA AMCOS), Riot Grrrl movement pioneer Molly Neuman, Justin West (Secret City Records), Vincent Fenice (PIAS), Kill Rock Stars’ Portia Sabin, Dom Alessio (Sounds Australia), Harvey Saward (Remote Control Records), Steve Cross (Remote Control Records), Tom Mee (Spotify), Henry Compton (The Orchard), Leanne de Souza (AAM), Linda Bosidis (Mushroom Publishing), Lisa Bishop (Music SA), Lynne Small (PPCA), Mardi Caught (Annex) and Matt Tanner (Native Tongue Publishing). They’ll discuss the challenges, solutions and opportunities for the indie sector. The conference also offers advancement in professional and business development skills, one-on-one networking potential, and insights into the latest innovations and technological advancements in products, services and strategies.
Study #1: Aussies To Spend $1.7B In Four Years PwC’s 17th annual Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook report forecasts that spending by Australians on music will reach $1.7 billion by the year 2022. Digital music spend will leap 10.2 percent from $589 million in 2017 to $959 million in 2022. The spend on live music, including concert tickets and merchandise, is estimated to expand 2.7 percent from $677 million to $775 million.
Study #2: Smoking Weed Makes TV More Enjoyable US media and brand consultancy Miner and Co. Studio has found that smoking marijuana not only makes people want to watch more TV, but it also gives them a greater experience and even allows viewers to relate more to ads. Of those surveyed, 75 percent admitted they watched more TV after a toot, and
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86 percent of these thought it a greater experience, arguing the ganja gave them a greater attention span when bingewatching and made them more attuned to trying out a new show. Other findings show 60 percent are more likely to buy the products that were advertised during the breaks, and 77 percent watched the ad all the way through.
Study #3: More National Pill Testing Needed At Festivals A report from the consortium which held the first pill testing at Canberra’s Groovin’ The Moo in April has urged the federal government to take a leadership role in the issue, saying it will save lives. Safety and Testing and Advisory Service at Festivals and Events (STA-SAFE) revealed that only 46 percent of the tested drugs were deemed relatively pure, while 70 of 83 participants who tested MDMA tabs found that only 42 contained some MDMA and just 32 tested high purity. STA-SAFE called the Moo test an “overwhelming success” in that festival patrons were willing to allow their stash to be tested even when there was still a grey legal cloud over whether they could be grabbed by the blueys.
Study #4: When Do You Stop Listening To Music? According to music streaming platform Deezer, we stop listening to music at the age of 30. From between ages 12 and 22, our brains go through a lot of changes and we’re more receptive to the songs we hear. But at 30, we’re engrossed with other things. Apparently, the peak age to discover new music is 24. The survey of 1000 Brits said at that age, 75 percent listened to ten or more new tracks a week, and 64 percent sought out five new artists per month. After hitting age 30, 60 percent were grinding their wheels in a musical rut listening to the same songs over and over, while 25 percent wouldn’t bother to listen to any style of music apart from their favourite one(s). Nearly half (47 percent) wished they had more time to dedicate
to discovering new music, and 41 percent hope to spend more time in the future checking out new artists.
Label Nominees For AIR Awards Up for Best Independent Label at this month’s AIR indie awards are ABC Music, Milk! Records, Dot Dash Recordings, Bad Apples Music and UNFD. Thanks to independent Australian ticketing agency moshtix, the recipient will receive a digital marketing package valued at $20,000 to help showcase their talent to the public. The awards are held on Thursday July 26 at the Queen’s Theatre.
ACT Govt. Gives Canbeera Live Music A Boost The ACT government has given Canberra’s live music sector a $108,000 funding boost. To be run through peal music association Music ACT, the money will be used to build up skills in artist management, recording, touring, and promoting, as well as to kick-start more all-ages gigs in the region. Minister for the Arts and Community Events Gordon Ramsay said,“ We want to encourage a dynamic culture and improve vitality in our city, and this program is a step in the right direction to achieve this.”
Coaches For Live Music Professional Development Program Victoria’s peak music association Music Victoria has chosen the ten music industry coaches who will be engaged in oneon-one coaching sessions with the 20 successful participants in the Victorian Government-backed 2018 Music Works, Live Music Professionals program. It’s a free professional and business development program for independent promoters, venue owners, venue managers and band bookers that will run from Tuesday July 3 through to October. The 2018 coaches are: Ashlea O’Loughlin (Social Seasons), Ben Thompson, (venue booker at 170 Russell), Brian Taranto (Love Police Touring, Boogie, New Years Evie, Out On The Weekend), Emily Kelly (Deathproof PR), Moira Mckenzie (Sanicki
Lawyers), Nigel Melder (Live Nation, Download Festival), Sally Mather (Corner Hotel, Northcote Social Club), Sharlene Harris (ALH Group), and Tom Harris (White Sky music accounting). More info at musicvictoria.com.au/LMP.
triple j Unearthed High Returns Triple j’s Unearthed High is back for its 11th year, scouring the best high school act in the land. The winner will be flown to triple j in Sydney to record, mix or master their music, which will be played on triple j and triple j Unearthed. They’ll also receive music industry advice and triple j will visit their school. The best Unearthed High entry from an Indigenous artist, as well as being eligible for the major prize, will win ongoing mentorship from the Association of Artist Managers (AAM) and a songwriting workshop at their school by the APRA AMCOS Songmakers program. Deadline is Monday July 30.
Green Music Working On Plastic-free Events Green Music Australia is intensifying its campaign to remove single-use plastic water bottles from festivals and venues. This month is Plastic Free July, and the latest ambassadors to come aboard are Gang of Youths, Alex The Astronaut, The Teskey Brothers, Luca Brasi and Moreton. Their roles will be to stress to venues and festivals where they perform that they don’t want disposable bottles, asking for jugs or water stations to refill their own bottles instead.
GYRO To Open Up Globe For Indie Acts A new Australian GYROstream wants to change the game for independent music distribution. GYRO stands for Get Your Record Out. It does so with various artist services and competitive pricing, offering vinyl production, playlist plugging and sync opt-in, plus publicity, grant writing and entertainment insurance for Australian and New Zealand artists. More details at gyrostream.com.
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